May

1, 2017



Senator Martin Looney Representative Joe Aresimowicz
President Pro Tempore Speaker of the House of Representatives
Legislative Office Building, Room 3300 Legislative Office Building, Room 4105
Hartford, CT 06106-1591 Hartford, CT 06106-1591

Senator Bob Duff Representative Matthew Ritter
Senate Co-Majority Leader House Majority Leader
Legislative Office Building, Room 3300 Legislative Office Building, Room 4106
Hartford, CT 06106-1591 Hartford, CT 06106-1591

Senator Len Fasano Representative Themis Klarides
Senate Co-Majority Leader House Republican Minority Leader
Legislative Office Building, Room 3402 Legislative Office Building, Room 4200
Hartford, CT 06106-1591 Hartford, CT 06106-1591

Senator Kevin Witkos
Deputy Senate Republican President Pro Tempore
Legislative Office Building, Room 3400
Hartford, CT 06106-1591

RE: Connecticut House Bill 7097


Dear Legislative Leaders:

The Connecticut Automotive Retailers Association (CARA) continues to interfere with the wishes
of Connecticut consumers to cause jobs to be lost and to harm business, all in an attempt to remove
what it regards as a competitor from Connecticut. Jim Flemings recent letter to legislative leaders is yet
another attempt to do just that.

After fighting for years against Teslas ability to sell cars in Connecticut to customers who want
them, Tesla was forced to open a non-sales location in Greenwich what we call a gallery. This gallery is
not how Connecticut consumers want Tesla to operate and it is not how Tesla wants to operate.
However, it is all that Tesla could do given CARAs campaign to keep us out of the state. At the
Greenwich gallery, Tesla was not permitted to and did not sell any cars, as CARA has thus far
successfully fought against consumers rights to buy cars from Tesla within the state. Instead, the
Greenwich gallery provides a location where visitors can simply be educated about Tesla products.

Tesla, Inc.
3500 Deer Creek Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304
p: (650) 681-5100 f: (650) 681-5101

May 1, 2017
Legislative Leaders
Page 2

CARA knows full well that a car cannot be bought at the Greenwich gallery (or anywhere else in
Connecticut), which is what we said at the February 22nd Transportation Committee hearing. Indeed,
CARA learned this firsthand when it sent secret shoppers to the Greenwich gallery in a failed attempt
to trick our local employees into selling them a vehicle. Despite these fake shoppers repeated requests,
our employees did not sell them a car or take their order. What our employees did, and what they
continue to do, is educate visitors about Tesla, its cars and other products, and broadly about electric
vehicle technology and its many benefits. It is a basic constitutional right for Tesla to be able to
communicate with Connecticut residents about these topics. Ironically, even this limited non-sales
activity is too much in the eyes of CARA, which is seeking to entirely shutter the Greenwich gallery.

Due to CARAs actions, customers who are interested in actually purchasing our vehicles must
be referred to out-of-state locations, in New York and Massachusetts, where we are able to sell vehicles.
Those states have attracted jobs and economic development benefits without a dime of state tax
incentives for the construction, sales and service jobs we would like to deliver to Connecticut.

HB 7097 would solve all of these problems once and for all. Rather than fighting about what
educational activity Tesla can or cannot provide to Connecticut consumers at a non-sales location,
Connecticut consumers would finally have the freedom to buy the products that they want, and Tesla
could create the jobs, business, and improvements to sustainable transportation in the state that it
wants. This is what Tesla does around the world and is what Tesla would like to do in Connecticut.

We know legislators are working hard to create jobs and economic development, and we want
to be a productive partner. We arent looking for state tax breaks or incentives to build our stores and
service centers. Were merely asking for the ability to create jobs, improve public health, and sell our
vehicles to consumers who want them. Now, more than ever, is the time for the Legislature to support
HB 7097.

We respectfully ask for your support and are happy to answer any questions or address any
concerns that you may have.

Sincerely,



Diarmuid OConnell
Vice President, Business Development
Tesla, Inc.