[sixQuarks]

Henry Ford was the one that started the independent dealer model. It made sense back then, because there was no way he could handle both the manufacture and distribution of the vehicles across the nation.

Today, the average dealer makes about $750,000 in profit each year. Many of these dealers are family owned and very active with local politics. In many smaller cities, the car dealership provides a good portion of tax revenues.

With all this said, dealerships have incredible clout when it comes to legislation. They pretty much ruined TrueCar.com's business model.

I think Tesla will be forced to offer independent distribution at some point if they get larger. And I've read that they are planning to do so. The dealer lobby is just way too strong in this country.