Tesla Buys A Company In A State Where It’s Barred From Selling Cars

Tesla Motors has acquired Michigan-based Riviera Tool, Tesla confirms. This purchase marks Tesla’s first presence in Michigan, a state where the auto maker is not allowed to sell its vehicles.

“We are excited to have reached a deal with Riviera and have a presence in the state of Michigan and bring additional tool building capabilities in-house,” a Tesla spokesperson said in an email. “This acquisition will help us to build new stamping and plastic parts in a cost-effective manner, support new metal forming technology development, and allow us to increase production as we introduce more models.”

Riviera Tool specializes in constructing stamping die systems, the machinery that stamps large sheets of metal into auto parts. The company will be renamed Tesla Tool & Die, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Tesla has so far largely ignored the Motor City State. The state’s governor signed a law last October that banned the company from selling its vehicles directly to consumers. Yet this deal likely has little to do with reaching consumers, but rather tapping into the state’s vast supply of auto parts suppliers. Smart deals can happen anywhere.

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