Yeah I definitely don't agree with it - and in Tesla's case since there were no franchises it isn't even relevant. This was an obvious case of the current car companies fearing competition.
The current car franchise system sucks (which Tesla is acutely aware of) and with selling something new requires a good team to do it.
I have an example first hand when I went to check out the Volt after it first launched. I kept hearing the advertising saying its 'range' which confused me since I thought the gas generator could power the electric motor after the batteries were exhausted and you could just refill the gas. I started thinking maybe the gas generator could only extend the range or something (the internet wasn't clear since things were new).
When I went to the Chevy dealers they were worse than useless, they knew nothing about the volts they had and what they did tell me ended up being wrong. It turned out the advertised range was just terrible marketing.
That story isn't unique to the Volt. In my experience, sales people rarely know the details of the products they sell. Best Buy is a classic example when the sales people tend to read the box for answers to questions. Of course, you'd think that an expensive product, like a car, would be different, but its not. It goes to show how sales is about so much more than the product itself.
The current car franchise system sucks (which Tesla is acutely aware of) and with selling something new requires a good team to do it.
I have an example first hand when I went to check out the Volt after it first launched. I kept hearing the advertising saying its 'range' which confused me since I thought the gas generator could power the electric motor after the batteries were exhausted and you could just refill the gas. I started thinking maybe the gas generator could only extend the range or something (the internet wasn't clear since things were new).
When I went to the Chevy dealers they were worse than useless, they knew nothing about the volts they had and what they did tell me ended up being wrong. It turned out the advertised range was just terrible marketing.