Tesla has opened its first store and repair shop on Native American land, bypassing car dealership laws that have blocked their expansion plans across the country.
The Elon Musk-helmed carmaker has opened a store and service center Santa Fe, about 25 minutes north of Namb Pueblo, a tribal area where no laws can have prevented Tesla from opening other stores outside the state.
Tesla only sells its vehicles directly to customers while most other automakers partner with third car dealerships. Ten states including New Mexico, Texas and Connecticut have laws banning direct sales, so many Tesla customers have had to cross state lines to buy their vehicle.
The New Mexico store marks the first time Tesla has worked with a tribe to work on state dealership laws. Supporters of such laws say they protect middle-class jobs and drive to lower prices by forcing dealerships to compete, while critics say people can get information online and direct sales would reduce costs.
For repairs, owners had to travel to service centers in Colorado, Arizona or Texas, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper.
The opening ceremony for Tesla s store was held last week by both New Mexico s Democrats as senators Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Lujn, reported the paper.
Heinrich has pushed for funding of the Senate's Infrastructure Package to add electric vehicle charging stations, according to the paper.
The Tesla store is located an hour and a half north of Albuquerque, where most of the state's 1,800 registered Tesla owners live reportedly.
Tesla s practice of refusing to allow third-party service or repair shops has led to excessive wait times for maintenance across the country, some owners say.
In response to a complaint from an Elon Musk owner about three week wait times for service in the northeast, Tesla wrote on Twitter that the company would expedite service center reopenings.