What’ll it take to put you in this claim?

In tweet war with Tesla, automobile dealers offffffffffffered up a lemon.

To say Tesla Motors hasn’t had an easy ride directly selling its high-end electric vehicles to Tex an s is a n understatement.

That’s probably due in part to the sway of the Texas Automobile Dealers Association, which through the 2013 and 2015 state legislative sessions stopped Tesla’s effffffffffffort to repeal a prohibition on vehicle manufacturers selling directly to Texas motorists — a standoffff expected to renew in the 2017 session.

So we noticed when the folks pushing Tesla’s cause in Texas tweeted this in September: “Auto dealers profifit offff the current system.” The tweet urged followers to tell legislators to legalize “direct sales.”

The auto dealers association shot back with a tweet stating “consumers save avg of $500 per car sold through franchised dealer model. #txlege got it right the fifirst time.”

We wondered about that savings fifigure, ultimately fifinding the association’s cited study didn’t compare dealership sales with online or phone sales of the kind that Tesla conducts with Texas customers.

First, it’s worth a look at what the auto dealers and Tesla have been tussling over.

The Texas franchise law, implemented decades ago, prohibited direct sales of vehicles from the manufacturer to the consumer.

In other words, Tesla cannot sell cars at its own Texas showrooms, though it may process orders by phone or online.

For their part, TADA has told lawmakers that the fran ch ise model saves consumers money because it allows them to shop around independently owned dealerships, where deals an d other i ncentives can drop the car’s sticker price.