[bgilroy26]

It is more economically efficient for the manufacturer to deliver ~300 cars to one location every couple of months and have the 300 customers drive the "last mile" to their homes when they want to buy a car.

The alternative is to have the manufacturer drive all the way to each customer's house at a time the customer chooses individually.

The current system of car delivery is a better use of energy/people's time than autos on demand.

[icebraining]

Cars on demand don't prevent the manufacturer from having local warehouses to where they deliver ~300 cars every couple of months, so the energy expended doesn't really change, only who does the last-mile driving (new owner versus some employee). If anything, a warehouse will waste much less than a dealership holding the same number of cars.

As for it being a better use of people's time, if people are choosing the buy from the websites vis-a-vis going to dealerships, I'd say they have shown otherwise.

[bgilroy26]

If you're suggesting that removing the sales staff, mechanic shop, and loud promotions from car dealerships would cut costs, I agree.

Perhaps we agree on all counts. I do not understand how a dealership and a local warehouse differ in a conversation about how to distribute auto inventory for sale.

[icebraining]

Well, I guess the issue is that I didn't think that was the conversation we were having. cinskiy asked why would one need a dealership, when one can order directly from the manufacturer - this doesn't imply anything about the distribution of inventory, just how the sales process works.

[nitrogen]

The parent may have been referring to states with laws prohibiting Tesla from opening its own dealerships or selling directly to customers in those states.