The war between billionaire inventor Elon Musk and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is far from over.
After the Christie administration slammed it this week by outlawing the direct sales of cars, Musk’s Tesla Motors is now “evaluating judicial remedies to correct” the state ban, he wrote Friday on the company’s blog.
Tesla is the only car company selling directly to drivers rather than through authorized dealers.
Several states, including Texas, Arizona and Virgina, ban or curb direct sales.
But New Jersey is the first state to issue a direct sale license to Tesla — and then move to ban such an activity.
“We have a good legal challenge,” a source close to the company told The Post. “The administrative body in New Jersey made a ruling in direct contravention of the law that licensed us.”
In the blog post, Musk said Tesla is on track to convert its two New Jersey mall stores, in Short Hills and Paramus, into “galleries” by April 1.
Tesla also has galleries in Texas and Arizona that display its cars but don’t allow customers to order one. They can’t even discuss price at the stores.
New Jersey residents can visit a Tesla showroom in Manhattan, Musk suggested. But that option may disappear soon.
Several auto dealership groups in New York are pressing lawmakers to ban direct sales. That effort could bear fruit as early as this summer, according to Mark Scheinberg, president of the Greater New York Automobile Association.