Even though Tesla is not officially attending the Detroit auto show this week, the company managed to use the event to shine a light on the regulatory hurdles it is facing in the state of Michigan. Tesla’s vice president of business development Diarmuid O’Connell talked to MLive and confirmed that the company skipped the Detroit auto show this year because of Michigan’s direct sales law. expand full story

Ford appears to be set to unveil a plug-in vehicle at the Detroit Auto show next month as evidenced by recent pictures (see above) posted to Twitter by WSJ’s Detroit Bureau Chief John Stoll. expand full story

NAIAS officials confirmed to local Detroit news that Tesla pulled out of the North American International Auto Show “at the last minute”. Tesla’s presence was confirmed on the NAIAS’ floor plan for months. The news comes while Tesla is still not allowed to sell cars in Michigan since the state government “clarified” a direct sale law in 2014 by removing one word from the bill, which now prevents Tesla from operating its own stores in the state. expand full story