If you thought buying an electric vehicle was already complicated enough, try doing it in Ohio if you want a Rivian. The state's franchise dealership laws make it impossible for the EV maker to sell cars directly to customers there, even though it can service them. That means prospective buyers have to get temporary Illinois tags and fill out power-of-attorney forms just to drive off the lot. It's not exactly the seamless, futuristic experience you'd expect from a company trying to revolutionize transportation.

Executives from Rivian and Lucid are speaking out about how these laws are holding back EV adoption across the U.S. In an interview with Business Insider on Monday, they described the regulations as "restrictive," "complicated," and "convoluted." The laws, which vary by state, generally prohibit automakers from selling vehicles directly to consumers, forcing them to go through independent dealerships. That might have made sense in the era of the Model T, but for EV startups trying to control pricing and educate first-time EV buyers, it's a major headache.

Beau Whitman, Rivian's director of state public policy, called out Ohio specifically. "We can't sell vehicles there, but we can service them," he said. The Ohio Automobile Dealers Association pushed back, noting that Rivian could sell through a dealership if it wanted to. But for a company that prides itself on a direct-to-consumer model, that's not an appealing option.

Daniel Witt, Rivian's head of public policy, added that the laws create "awkward" interactions with customers. Sales reps aren't legal experts, he said, but they have to navigate a minefield of "red lines" just to close a deal. It's a far cry from the smooth, online-ordering experience that Tesla has championed.

Tesla, of course, has been fighting these battles for years. The Elon Musk-led automaker sells directly to customers through its own showrooms, often clashing with state regulators. Musk once said during a 2013 interview that selling through dealers would create a conflict of interest, since most dealers make their money on gas cars. That argument still resonates today.

Meanwhile, both Rivian and Lucid are pushing ahead with their own growth plans. Rivian recently reported first-quarter revenue of $1.381 billion, up 11% year-over-year and beating the consensus estimate of $1.363 billion. But a big chunk of that — $468 million — came from its fleet deal with Amazon. The company is also developing its own LiDAR sensors in the U.S., using Chinese technology, as part of its self-driving ambitions unveiled last December.

Lucid, for its part, is working on a midsize EV priced under $50,000. Interim CEO Marc Winterhoff said the move will let Lucid target a broader customer base and help offset competition from Rivian's R2 and Tesla's Model Y. It's a smart play, but only if customers can actually buy the thing without jumping through regulatory hoops.

For now, the dealership laws remain a stubborn obstacle. As EV adoption accelerates, the question is whether state legislatures will update rules designed for a different era — or keep making life difficult for the companies trying to build the future of transportation.