Tesla At Detroit Auto Show 2017: Why Elon Musk's Autopilot Model 3 Skipped NAIAS

Telsa was not present at the 2017 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) for the second year in a row. The California-based electric car company said it would not attend the two-week long vehicle showcase, which began Monday, due to an ongoing court case stemming from a piece of Michigan legislation introduced in 2014, according to reports. Although no official statement was released, Tesla did confirm they would not be in attendance at the NAIAS.

Tesla was banned from selling vehicles in Michigan following the passing of House Bill 5606, a measure that initially enforced franchise auto dealer fees. The bill was reportedly initiated by the Michigan Automobile Dealers Association. However, just days before the legislation was signed off by Gov. Rick Snyder, Republican Sen. Joe Hune added “anti-Tesla” legislation banning auto companies from practicing direct sales models, such as Tesla’s model.

Tesla is known for selling products out of its own dealerships and galleries, and the company allows car buyers to purchase products online. Under House Bill 5606, car companies are only allowed to sell products through dealers with franchises.

Similar measures against Tesla’s sales model has blocked the car company from selling vehicles in Connecticut, Indiana, Maryland and Ohio.

Despite skipping NAIAS, commonly referred to as the Detroit Auto Show, Tesla has planned to release the latest version of its Autopilot software, which Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced via Twitter on Sunday. The software update was expected to roll out with a 1,000-car test fleet Monday in “shadow mode,” which reportedly improves Autopilot Hardware 1 and Hardware 2enables Ludicrous, Musk said. If all goes well, cars will officially be switched from shadow to active mode by the end of the week, Musk added.

Meanwhile, car enthusiasts were still waiting for the highly anticipated Model 3, which is supposed to be Telsa’s autonomous vehicle, to retail at affordable prices. However, production delays mixed with undelivered forecasts from Tesla had some critics worried that Model 3 may not make it to market in 2017 as projected. The company has activated its new Gigafactory, which will produce Tesla batteries.

The last time Tesla and Musk appeared at the NAIAS was in 2015.

Jaguar, Land Rover, MINI and Porsche were also missing in action at the Detroit Auto Show.