Tesla has been the only EV manufacturer allowed to sell directly to consumers in Washington, as the law limits these companies to sell through dealerships.
However, as new EV makers like Rivian and Lucid Motors emerge, the Elon Musk-led company’s exclusive right to sell directly in the state could end.
According to media outlet Washington State Standard, Rivian is investing $4.6 million in a public initiative to overturn this rule.
The Washington Coalition for Consumer Choice and Innovation plans to submit a ballot measure on the issue.
“We are currently pursuing a November 2026 ballot measure to make these choices available to Washington consumers,” the coalition stated, adding that “all Washington drivers should have the option to test drive and purchase the vehicle of their choice.”
Ballot Measure
It is unclear which organizations or businesses make up the coalition, however, they believe “the majority of voters will agree with us that Washington’s outdated car sales laws should be updated.”
To get on the ballot, initiative campaigns in Washington must submit at least 308,911 valid voter signatures to the Secretary of State by early July.
Since some signatures are often invalid or disqualified, the Secretary of State recommends submitting at least 390,000 signatures to be safe.
It represents about 6—8% of the total of about 5 million voters registered in the state.
According to the outlet, the coalition had not yet filed its proposal with the Secretary of State as of late Thursday.
Previous Tries
Last year, a bill that would have allowed EV makers like Rivian and Lucid to sell directly to consumers failed in the State House.
Supporters — including environmental and business groups — argued that opening the market would boost EV sales and help Washington reduce transportation-related carbon emissions.
However, car dealers, concerned about losing business, strongly opposed the bill.
The legislation came to a halt in a legislative committee chaired by Rep. Amy Walen.
Walen had a complaint filed with the Legislative Ethics Board, that alleged a conflict of interest as the Rep. owns dealerships.
She stated that her ownership did not influence the bill’s failure, as it simply lacked support, a position that was backed by the board.
They determined that “rather than Respondent favoring her outside employment interests over her legislative duties as is alleged in the Complaint, it appears that there has been and continues to be a general lack of support for these aforementioned bills.”
EVs in Washington
Data from the official Washington State Department of Transportation shows that battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales grew from 45,292 units in 2020 to 177,151 in 2024.
However, in the first half of 2025, and according to a report by the Washington Policy Center, sales have “stalled.”
Between January and April 2025, BEVs and plug-in hybrids (PHEV) represented about 20.5% of new passenger vehicles sold.
According to the report, the figures are still far “from the goal of 35% of all new passenger vehicle sales being either EVs or plug-in hybrids next year [2026],” and even “farther behind meeting its own non-mandatory goal of 100% EV sales by 2030.”
Rivian operates four service centers in Washington — in Fife, Seattle, Bellevue and Bothell — with another one just on the other side of the border with Canada (in Richmond, British Colombia).
The company is also present in the University Village Shopping Center in Seattle.
Other State Bans
In several states, Tesla has an advantage over other EV makers because it was the first major electric vehicle manufacturer in the US and is often exempt from direct-sales bans.
North Dakota is not the case. There, a similar ban on direct sales by EV manufacturers is in place, however Tesla is not exempt from it.
North Dakota maintains that the separation between manufacturers and dealerships is important to protect both franchise dealers and consumers.
Late last year, the company sued the North Dakota’s Department of Transportation after it has rejected its applications to open direct-to-consumer showrooms in the state.
Tesla claimed it should be exempt from the law since its sales model relies exclusively on direct-to-consumer sales throughout the United States.
The company has also filed petitions against similar direct-sales bans in Louisiana, Wisconsin, and several other states.
