Massively subsidized carmaker demands level playing field

Elon Musk of Tesla Motors has been lobbying the Texas legislature to let him sell directly to consumers. Texas law currently requires car manufacturers to use a middleman (a car dealership).

Naturally, the Texas Automobile Dealers Association disagrees. They would rather not risk losing their government-guaranteed spot in the food chain.

A statement by Republican State Senator Craig Estes, who supports Musk, is quite humorous: "The design and the engineering on these new cars is really impressive. At the end of the day, if they want to sell them through the Internet and at shopping malls –- in my opinion what’s wrong with that? It’s called the free market, free enterprise."

Free enterprise? An electric carmaker that receives huge government subsidies, both directly and through taxpayer-financed customer rebates? Maybe Elon Musk should also be lobbying for the termination of his subsidies.

Sadly, car manufacture and sales in Texas (and America) are the opposite of free enterprise.