By Joe Sexton
Nanbé Owingeh, also known the Pueblo of Nambé, exercised its inherent sovereignty as a Native Nation to facilitate the opening of a Tesla sales, service, and delivery center near Santa Fe on the Pueblo’s lands, despite—or perhaps because of a—New Mexico law[1] banning the direct sales of motor vehicles by manufacturers.
As of 2009, direct-to-consumer auto manufacturer sales were banned in nearly every state according to a U.S. Department of Justice analysis of those laws. At the time, private challenges to those bans were largely unsuccessful.
But the Department of Justice analysis concluded twelve years ago that state bans on manufacturers directly selling motor vehicles were archaic given the trajectory of auto commerce in the 21st century. The author of that analysis forecasted that the industry itself would compel change, and states would change their laws along with the industry. Today, Tesla has direct manufacturer-to-consumer auto sales locations in 24 states. Yet several states beyond New Mexico maintain laws restricting auto manufacturer sales bans.
In 2019, two New Mexico state legislators introduced legislation, informally dubbed “the Tesla bill,” to do just that—allow “motor vehicle manufacturers to be licensed as motor vehicle dealers under certain conditions.” The proposed legislation ultimately failed. Tesla and the Pueblo of Nambé found a way around New Mexico’s laws by effectively moving direct Tesla commerce beyond the state’s reach and onto Pueblo lands.
While the applicability of state laws and regulations on Indian country lands is complex and often times tied to court interpretations of federal laws pertaining to the status of specific parcels of lands within a tribe’s reservation, Native Nations can often leverage their sovereignty to facilitate economic growth despite state impediments.
Nambé Pueblo’s exciting move is a prime example.
[1] NMSA 57-16-5(V).
