Tesla service center permit rejected in Connecticut

Tesla Inc. will not be allowed to set up a service center in East Hartford, Conn., after the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission revoked the electric vehicle maker’s building permit last week.

The action comes after local retailer Hoffman Auto Group filed a lawsuit against Tesla, a firm working with Tesla and the Planning and Zoning Commission in May.

The lawsuit said Tesla was breaking state franchise law by selling cars directly to consumers and that the automaker was hiding its true intent by filing its application with misleading information.

The lawsuit initially delayed a decision to approve Tesla’s showroom and service center until August, but in that month, the commission approved the permit for just the service center.

The commission was unanimous in its March 8 decision to revoke the permit, and the continuing lawsuit was the main reason, Connor Martin, chief of staff to East Hartford Mayor Michael Walsh, told Automotive News.

“Ultimately it was not worth going through litigation, and that was simply it.” Martin said.

Even though the building would just be a service center, Hoffman Auto and commission members believed Tesla would still attempt to sell to consumers directly, Martin said.

Hoffman released a statement to the Hartford Business Journal on March 9, applauding the decision to revoke the permit.

Hoffman and other dealerships “will continue to resist global manufacturers from illegally entering our state in a way that would deprive local consumers of many of the protections they currently enjoy,” the group said.

Martin said East Hartford has not yet heard whether Hoffman withdrew the litigation. The group did not respond to requests for comment from Automotive News.

The property will go back to its previous owners, Gengras Motor Cars, as Tesla never officially purchased it.

A representative from Tesla did not respond to a request for comment. Tesla has dismantled its U.S. public relations organization.