You have no evidence that the petition was put up by auto dealers. This is simply a straw man post and of no value to the discussion.

Thanks for pointing that out, I've flagged that as inappropriate. Lets hope the WH removes it.

Why do you think it is inappropriate? It seems to be a reasonable complain. Online petitions are inherently unreliable (just like online pools). Most of the time, they don't reflect real concerns and are subject to arbitrary popularity. e.g. the death star petition [1].

Now, it doesn't mean that it is all bad, but this is serious debate (and surely not an inappropriate one)

[1] https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/secure-resources-a...

Everything stated in the petition is true. The site is basically a way to convince people that the president gives a damn about the American People.

They only reply to the useless petitons and not the real issues like the Snowden Pardon Petiton or Aaron Swartz one.

I agree, though other petitions can be effective. If you care about a cause, place your signature on a petition hosted with an organization that will tirelessly advocate for that cause. Organizations in turn live and die by their ability to gather and show support for the causes they fight.

If there's anything techies should've learned from the SOPA battle, it's that it is possible to make political change when enough people speak out. If you haven't watched aaronsw's talk on stopping SOPA, it's well worth your time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fgh2dFngFsg

At least this petition clearly asks for something within the remit of presidential power, unlike most other ones (including Tesla's).

Tesla's IS actually in the realm of Presdiential power.

One, he can have his people in Congress sponsor a bill forcing car companies to complete with Tesla instead of trying to lock Tesla out using antiquated laws.

Two, I'm pretty usre he can just use an executive order to make this work. Underhanded, but it can be done.