Oneidas will have Tesla showroom near Turning Stone

A rendering depicts what the planned Tesla showroom, on Oneida tribal lands in Central New York, would look like.

CANASTOTA — The Oneida Indian Nation has long made use of its independent status for economic development, largely with the building of the Turning Stone casino on tribal land before they were allowed in New York.

Now it is offering a workaround to laws that have stymied the Tesla company's push to sell their electric cars direct to consumers without going through a third-party franchise dealer.

By 2025, the Oneidas expect to host a Tesla showroom off Exit 34 on the Thruway near Canastota, as part of a larger retail plaza development on tribal property there. The showroom will be leased to Tesla. The plaza will be west of the Turning Stone Casino in Verona.

Until the new showroom is completed, buyers will be able to pick up their cars at Turning Stone.

Under pressure from the state's influential auto dealers, lawmakers almost decade ago rebuffed the concept of allowing direct sales of automobiles without a franchise, as Tesla was ramping up its direct-sales model nationally.

Currently, there are a handful of Tesla-owned direct sales outlets in the state, with the closest to the Capitol Region being in Westchester County. Those were allowed as part of a compromise struck in the Legislature.

In addition, Tesla maintains a gallery in Latham where consumers can test drive the EVs. They also can service Teslas there.

But to order a Tesla, consumers need to go online and pick them up at the nearest store.

Because the Oneidas are exempt from the laws banning direct sales of cars, however, they can have a traditional showroom where customers will eventually be able to pick up their cars. The showroom will be 25,000 square feet.

These plans have their roots in 2013 when Oneidas gained an added measure of independence with a settlement between the tribe, New York state and Madison County. That ended years of wrangling and legal action over land claims, taxes and other matters.

Around the same time, groups like the New York State Auto Dealers Association began rallying political support to beat back legislation that would allow direct sales of cars to consumers — which Tesla is pioneering.

They’ve managed to halt such efforts since then, keeping in place the traditional system in which individual franchisees purchase cars from the manufacturers and sell them to the public.

Auto dealers claim that protects jobs and ensures that communities have a local contact for servicing the cars they sell. There has also been pressure to maintain the system, mostly in the metropolitan New York City area, from unions, since many dealer service departments are unionized.

On the other side, environmental organizations have generally supported Tesla, as they support the move toward emission-free electric cars. Gov. Kathy Hochul has created regulations saying that after 2035, all new cars will be EV or other emission-free vehicles.

Two other EV makers, Rivian and Lucid have also pushed, unsuccessfully, to allow direct sales in New York.

Executives with the Oneidas and Tesla praised the new showroom arrangement in prepared statements.

"We are proud to expand access to EVs in upstate New York," said Oneida Indian Nation Representative and Oneida Nation Enterprises CEO Ray Halbritter. "This initiative and partnership with Tesla align with the Nation's commitment to environmental stewardship, the constant diversification of our enterprises and warm hospitality for all who enter our ancestral homelands."

"Tesla's partnership with the Oneida Indian Nation is an opportunity to make electric vehicles and charging infrastructure more accessible to Nation members and the residents of upstate New York," said Rohan Patel, Tesla's vice president for public policy and business development.

The tribe noted that under this arrangement, county sales taxes on the Teslas will go to the counties where the buyers reside. The portion that would normally go the state will go to the Oneida nation to fund their services such as health care, education and conservation.

As part of the earlier 2013 agreement, the Oneidas each year pay the state and 10 surrounding counties a 25 percent share of revenue from their casino slot machines. That has amounted to $600 million with a record $85 million payment last year.

Tesla buyers later this month will be able to pick up EVs they ordered online at Turning Stone, which is at Thruway Exit 33.

[email protected] 518 454 5758 @RickKarlinTU