Direct Hit: How Tesla Went Straight to Consumers and Smashed the Car Dealers' Monopoly

by Daniel A. Crane

Overview

Since 2013, Elon Musk has been at war with car dealers in the United States. Battles have played out in legislative backrooms, courtrooms, governors' offices, and news media outlets across the country. As of now, Musk has won the war. Telsa has established a foothold across the country, sold over 2 million cars without using a dealer, established a loyal customer base, and overcome most states' franchise dealer laws. Direct Hit tells the story of this fight, taking readers into courtrooms and legislative halls where the dealers tried in vain to derail Tesla's advances. The book shares key insights on the strategic choices made by dealers, legacy car companies, and electric-vehicle startups. With a combination of historical narrative, blow-by-blow accounts of the Tesla wars, and a consideration of America's longstanding romance with the personal automobile, Direct Hit shares a uniquely American drama over cars and the people who sell them.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781009687898
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	11/20/2025
Pages:	188
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 1.25(h) x 9.00(d)

About the Author

Daniel A. Crane is the Richard W. Pogue Professor of Law at the University of Michigan, An expert in antitrust law, he has written over 200 books and articles in that field. Since 2014, Professor Crane has been the leading academic voice on the controversies surrounding direct-to-consumer sales of automobiles in the United States.

Table of Contents

Introduction; 1. The birth of the franchised dealer model; 2. Elon Musk's direct sales decision; 3. The empire strikes back; 4. It's the consumer, stupid!; 5. Legacies in the crossfire; 6. Crony capitalism in the motor city; 7. Strange bedfellows; 8. The others; 9. How Tesla turned the tide; 10. The road ahead.

Editorial Reviews

‘In Direct Hit, one of our greatest experts on competition and regulation puts automobile sales under the microscope. And what he shows us is high drama: special interests pulling the levers of power, a thrilling wave of technological innovation, and - at last - a growing movement for change. Don't miss this tour de force from a brilliant writer on a subject that affects us all.’ Daniel Francis, New York University School of Law

‘Direct Hit is a must read for anyone who has ever had a bad experience haggling for a car. Daniel Crane skillfully lays out how car dealers across the country convinced states to adopt laws that supposedly protected consumers but in practice just protected the dealerships. It took a Goliath - in the form of Elon Musk at the helm of Tesla - to break their stranglehold. Crane’s account of how it took an ambitious, hard-charging and wealthy entrepreneur to disrupt laws that hurt consumers is a testament to all that is broken in today’s political system.’ Kathryn Judge, Columbia Law School

From the Publisher