On December 3rd, an amendment to Ohio Senate Bill 137 failed to pass. The amendment would have required Tesla Motors to sell its electric cars through a third party rather than directly to consumers. Ohio is number two in auto manufacturing in the midwest and Tesla’s new line of ultra-efficient electric vehicles are a threat to the entire automotive industry. Contrary to what those in Detroit and Ohio would have you think, this is a good thing.

For far too long the automotive unions and automotive industry lobbyists have suckered the individuals in this country into believing they were the backbone of American manufacturing when in fact they were a leech sucking money from more productive uses. For example through the years 2008 to 2011 Ohio granted $80.8 million in subsidies to General Motors, $54.4 million to Ford, and $28.7 million to Chrysler. This is ignoring the billions of dollars spent on the auto bailout last decade which, much like Chrysler bailout in 1980, simply saved failing corporations from their own shoddy business practices. While Tesla gets its own fair share of subsidies any threat to the auto industry is a positive thing for consumers.