Mississippi Bans Direct In-Person Sales of Electric Cars Over Some Republican Calls for Veto

Earlier this month, Mississippi legislators passed a bill banning direct, in-person sales of electric vehicles within the state. It wasn’t a close vote — 75 percent of the state’s senators wanted the bill passed. But Mississippi residents who live in the 21st century, and who want to see the archaic, scam-laden, needless middlemen that are dealerships dead, still held out hope: Governor Tate Reeves, a small-government conservative, could veto the anti-consumer legislation.

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Of course, he didn’t. Despite calls for a veto coming from within his own Republican house, the governor — who has received over $120,000 in political contributions from dealerships and dealer advocates — signed H.B. 401 into law on Tuesday. Electric vehicle makers will now be held to the same 53-year-old restrictions as traditional auto manufacturers, and be barred from owning their own physical points of sale in the state.

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