On Tuesday, Tesla Motors—the eclectic, aggressive electric-car company that is promising to upend the automotive industry—was in the news for two seemingly distinct but in fact related issues.
It surpassed iconic Ford Motors in its total market capitalization and it lost a case before the Utah Supreme Court to allow it to sell directly to consumers without going through dealers. At first blush, the latter would seem to undermine the former, but in truth, the attempts of states to prevent Tesla from upending the 20th-century auto-sales ecosystem is perhaps an even bigger sign of the disruptive threat that it and others pose than the technology the company is employing to make a new kind of car.
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