by Jerry Cornfield, Washington State Standard
March 2, 2026
Legislation allowing luxury electric vehicle makers Rivian and Lucid to join rival Tesla in selling directly to Washington customers is on a fast track for action in Olympia.
And if it crosses the legislative finish line and is signed into law, Rivian would drop plans to spend millions of dollars this fall trying to convince voters to make the change.
Senate Bill 6354 was introduced Feb. 19 and voted out of the Senate Transportation Committee on Friday.
It is the product of private negotiations between the firms and the Washington State Auto Dealers Association, a longtime foe of direct sales. Lawmakers also tacked a dealer fee increase into the bill. A portion of collections from the higher charge would pay for rebates on used EV purchases by low-income families.
“I think on balance it’s a good compromise,” said Sen. Marko Liias, D-Edmonds, at a public hearing Wednesday in the transportation committee he chairs.
Key to the deal are provisions that restrict eligibility to United States companies that exclusively produce battery electric vehicles and have at least 300 of their cars registered in Washington as of Jan. 1. They also must have one service facility in the state and have never had a franchise agreement with a motor vehicle dealer.
This means inexpensive Chinese-made EVs would not be eligible for direct sales if they become widely available in the U.S.
Meanwhile, existing car makers are barred from using a subsidiary to sell directly to the public, so legacy car makers like Ford or Toyota wouldn’t be able to cut out dealers
Added up, only Rivian and Lucid could comply.
Rivian and Lucid executives said Wednesday the sideboards are a compromise between competing interests.
“The legislation honors the role of franchise dealerships while expanding access to electric vehicles for Washingtonians,” said Abigail Ramsden, who manages western states policy for Rivian Automotive.
Daniel Witt, director of state public policy for Lucid, called the bill “a testament to what is possible when EV manufacturers and dealers can come together, after quite some time, to support a framework that benefits Washington businesses and consumers alike.”
Vicki Giles Fabre, executive vice president of the Washington State Dealers Association, said the bill is the “result of joint good faith deliberations.”
It will require qualifying manufacturers to obtain dealer licenses and follow the same laws as existing dealers and, she said. And it “provides the necessary safeguards to protect consumers and prevents manufacturers with franchisees from unfairly competing against their own dealers.”
She elicited smiles with a nod to the time devoted by lawmakers to resolving this dispute.
“With no disrespect to you, this is that booger you’ve been trying to shake off your finger for a number of years,” she said.
‘It won’t end with Rivian and Lucid’
State law blocks car buyers from purchasing electric vehicles directly from the manufacturer, so they’re forced to instead buy through dealerships. Tesla has been the sole exception since 2014 under a carveout to that law. So while Rivian and luxury EV brand Lucid have showrooms in Washington, they can’t sell vehicles through them.
Last year, a House bill to open up direct sales to more EV makers stalled in the House Consumer Protection and Business Committee, where Rep. Amy Walen, D-Kirkland, the chair, said it lacked caucus support. Walen and her husband own a couple of car dealerships in Seattle, but she said that was not a factor in the bill’s demise.
A coalition of environmental and business groups, including Rivian and Lucid, backed last year’s bill, saying it would open the EV market wider for consumers and quicken the pace of sales.
This session, if the Senate bill reaches the House, Walen said she expects it will go directly to the Transportation Committee, without a stop in Consumer Protection and Business.
Rivian is serious about securing the same exemption as Tesla. It made that clear in January with a $4.5 million contribution and a $20 million pledge to a political committee it formed, the Washington Coalition for Consumer Choice and Innovation. Those dollars would be for an initiative to let Rivian and other EV makers sell cars in the same manner as Tesla.
“Obviously, our group is watching the Legislative process closely,” a coalition spokesman said in a statement. “Since Washington law currently limits these options for certain manufacturers, if necessary, we are ready to pursue a November 2026 ballot measure to make these choices available to Washington consumers.”
“The coalition remains committed to efforts to ensure that all Washington drivers have the option to test drive and purchase the vehicle of their choice,” he said.
This week, some of those attending the hearing said they had heard Rivian was willing to spend up to $50 million if needed to get its way via the ballot.
Association leaders are said to have viewed the proposed legislation’s limited reach to two companies as preferable to an all-out ballot battle in which a defeat could permit direct sales by any electric vehicle makers, potentially including Chinese firms one day.
Car manufacturers were not included in the negotiations. They stridently oppose the legislation.
“We fundamentally believe all automakers should operate under the same set of rules,” said Curt Augustine, senior director for state affairs for the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a voice for the nation’s largest automakers. “They could have dealerships and could be on the same side as the Washington state dealers.”
At Wednesday’s hearing, Augustine told lawmakers the alliance opposed the exemption for Tesla in 2014, anticipating other automakers would seek a similar bypass of the franchise distribution model in the future.
“Here we are,” he said. “To be clear, this special treatment didn’t end with Tesla, and it won’t end with Rivian and Lucid either.”
He said some of the largest manufacturers of EVs in the world are government-supported Chinese firms. They don’t sell in the country today, he said, but passage of this bill will embolden their attempts to do so in the future.
Walen is not a fan of the legislation as written and was unaware of the bill until it was introduced. She said her perch as a dealership owner gives her insight into the legislation’s shortcomings.
For example, she said it needed more protections for consumers and stronger requirements for EV firms to have a physical presence in the state. That could mean more showrooms and repair facilities.
“We shouldn’t pick winners and losers and we’re doing it again,” she said.
Washington State Standard is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Washington State Standard maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Bill Lucia for questions: [email protected].