[waselighis]

One guess, dealerships are local and have a much stronger interest to support local candidates as opposed to auto manufacturers who have a national or global presence. Dealerships are also far greater in number, hundreds if not thousands in every state.

It may also not be such a big deal for most automakers like Ford, which have historically always sold through dealerships. It would likely cost more than a few million in lobbying to undermine these laws, and multiply that by 50 states, it may be a battle not worth fighting. Unlike Tesla, which has always sold direct-to-consumer, and has notably never paid for advertising, direct-to-consumer is very much their business model, so they have a much stronger interest in maintaining the status quo.