Tesla, known for its sleek design and usage of sustainable energy, plans to open a service center in Nesconset by the end of the year.
They will be moving into the vacant Sixth Avenue Electronics store off of Route 347.
Tesla's dealerships are limited under a decades-old law designed to protect independent auto dealers from major corporate competition. It has been limited to only five sales locations in New York.
A bill in Albany would increase Tesla's store count to 20 across the state, but the industry is already complaining.
“We feel that Tesla's ask in Albany is nothing more than a state-sanctioned, unfair leg-up on its competition,” says Scott Hall, of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers.
Tesla is getting support from state Sen. Carl Marcellino, of Oyster Bay. He told News 12 that “this bill will allow more stores to open upstate and not limit consumer access to these environmentally friendly vehicles to just the New York City market."
Tesla says that if the bill passes, the future Nesconset service center would also become a sales center.