Title should really say "NY State Senators." (It used to say NY Senators which I would assume is NY US Senators, but it's been changed.)
Auto dealers are basically the guys trying to screw you over on the price of a new car. In other words, NOT Ford, or Toyota, or Volvo. But the guys selling the cars.
This is equivalent to, for example, mistaking the guy who runs a BP gas station with BP the company. Boycotting the gas station does jack shit to the bottom line of BP, though it does make for nasty public relations.
On top of that, he does so with no evidence that 'auto dealers' are even behind this bill being pushed through. Maybe it is the auto makers and not the dealers. Maybe it's a different source entirely, like the oil industry. Who the fuck knows?
And that's my point - this is an ambiguous incendiary tweet alleging something we don't know and can't prove. The only thing that's a real fact is there's a bill in New York and Elon Musk wants you to get mad about it.
Anyone who's following this issue, even cursorily. In my state of Virginia, it's no secret that the auto dealers have formed a cartel and are leaning on every level of government to forbid Tesla from selling cars here. This activity is not remotely secret, and is known to be happening in several states. There may be other groups pushing this anticompetitive legislation in NY, but the chance that the dealers are not is vanishingly small.
In New York, the legislative session is winding down, so it is a particularly dangerous time for bad legislation to be introduced.
That being said, I doubt a low volume car constitutes any significant amount of tax revenue.
Is there any other source who speaks this dialect of legalese and has concluded that that's what the bill would do? Have the bill's sponsors had a chance to explain the bill?
Read the bill. Line 11-17 of the bill text linked to in this thread.
"The commissioner shall not issue any certificate of registration authorized by this section to any franchisor, MANUFACTURER, DISTRIBUTOR BRANCH OR FACTORY BRANCH, as such [term is] TERMS ARE defined in section four hundred sixty-two of this title, OR TO ANY SUBSIDIARY, AFFILIATE OR CONTROLLED ENTITY THEREOF, except that the commissioner may renew such certificate previously issued or otherwise approved to operate to a franchisor prior to [May second, two thousand two] JULY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND SIX."
In other words, if you are a manufacturer (or subsidiary) of automobiles who wasn't in operation prior to 1 July, 2006, the Commissioner of the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles shall not authorize your registration as an auto dealer. If enacted, this bill would not allow Tesla to operate its outlets in New York.