ALBANY, NY— An upstate New York lawmaker who has stated that she is “disgusted” by Elon Musk is targeting Tesla’s operations.
State Sen. Pat Fahy, an Albany Democrat who has advocated for electric vehicles, introduced legislation Wednesday that would revoke permits for Tesla’s five in-person sales locations in New York. Other electric vehicle manufacturers would be allowed to compete for permits under the legislation.
“No matter what we do, we’ve got to take this from Elon Musk,” Fahy told the crowd. “He’s part of an effort to go backwards.”
Musk’s close relationship with President Donald Trump, who is leading an aggressive, fast-paced effort to reduce the federal workforce, has become an issue for Tesla in Democratic states.
Musk, the world’s richest man, funded Trump’s reelection campaign and was appointed by the president to lead the Department of Government Efficiency in reducing government spending. He has pushed for DOGE employees to have unprecedented access to government information, resulting in legal challenges. Musk is also the face of widespread terminations of probationary federal employees.
Lawmakers and advocates have been pressuring pension funds to divest from Tesla and protesting at Tesla showrooms to demonstrate their displeasure with Musk. Tesla vehicles have also been the target of arson and vandalism.
Trump cheered Musk and purchased a Tesla in a made-for-TV event on the White House lawn earlier this month, despite the fact that Tesla vehicle sales have dropped dramatically.
Tesla continues to sell more electric vehicles in the United States and New York than any other manufacturer. The company rejects the traditional dealership model of selling cars to third parties through franchise agreements. Instead, Tesla sells directly to customers.
In many states, auto franchise laws restrict this approach. Under a 2014 agreement with brokers, Tesla was allowed to continue operating five retail locations in New York to sell directly to consumers. The state’s powerful auto dealers want to outright ban Tesla’s model.
The New York agreement also excluded new electric vehicle manufacturers such as Rivian and Lucid, which prefer the direct sales model.
In previous years, Fahy advocated for legislation to eliminate all restrictions on direct sales by EV manufacturers. This would have benefited Tesla and other EV manufacturers. Fahy stated that she wanted to see an increase in electric vehicle sales to reduce emissions in New York and help the state meet its climate goals.
However, associating with Musk via the Tesla brand has become politically toxic for Democratic lawmakers.
The Musk factor contributed to a decline in support for a bill in Connecticut that would allow direct sales. A bill to end Tesla’s ability to sell to consumers was introduced in Washington state, along with another to allow other EV manufacturers to set up shop, but neither is expected to be implemented this year.
Fahy’s proposal would keep the number of direct sales locations for EV manufacturers at five, but would prevent Tesla from continuing to operate after July 2026.
Assemblymember Bobby Carroll, a Democrat from New York City, intends to propose an end to direct sales altogether. He stated that he wants to close the “Tesla loophole.”
“We should never have done this for Elon Musk in the first place,” Carroll told the crowd.
He said he supports the franchise model because it keeps billionaires from accumulating wealth and power.
“It allows for small businesspeople to be actors in this market,” Carroll told me. “They are not perfect, but they are clearly superior to the alternative. If we allowed the expansion of direct sales, two or three people would have so much control.
Fahy said she would collaborate with Carroll because the priority is to eliminate Tesla’s — and Musk’s — advantage in the state.
“The bottom line is, Tesla has lost their right to promote these when they’re part of an administration that wants to go backwards,” according to Fahy. “Elon Musk was handed a privilege here.”
