By Jonathan Stempel
(Reuters) -Tesla on Monday settled a lawsuit against Louisiana and various auto dealerships and trade groups, in which CEO Elon Musk’s electric car company challenged the state’s ban since 2017 on direct vehicle sales to consumers.
According to a dismissal motion filed in New Orleans federal court, Tesla’s claims have been “fully and finally resolved,” with state officials maintaining they were simply doing their jobs and did not violate criminal laws.
Tesla sued members of the Louisiana Motor Vehicle Commission, dealerships owned by individual commissioners, and the Louisiana Automobile Dealers Association in August 2022.
It accused motor vehicle commissioners associated with rival dealerships of exploiting their control of the commission by targeting its sales model, which does not use a network of franchised dealers, as an alleged “existential threat.”
The lawsuit also challenged restrictions on leasing and servicing Teslas in Louisiana.
Lawyers for the defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Tesla and its lawyers did not immediately respond to similar requests.
In August 2024, the federal appeals court in New Orleans revived Tesla’s constitutional due process claim and set aside a judge’s dismissal of its antitrust claim, citing possible bias against the Austin, Texas-based automaker.
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of that decision by 18 motor vehicle commissioners.
The case is Tesla Inc et al v. Louisiana Automobile Dealers Association et al, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana, No. 22-02982.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
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