the kind of competition lacking if the manufacture sets the price and there are no negotiations over that price.
Really? I would love to be able to shop for a car and know that no matter where I shopped I was getting the exact same price. I absolutely HATE having to negotiate on the price, and the popularity of services like truecar suggest that a huge number of people agree with me.
I think Tesla will have to sell cars via dealers
Why? Tesla sees dealers for the unnecessary middle men that they are. They've already shown that they would rather not enter a market than open a franchised dealership. I don't see any reason that this would change.
and arguably in some sense can't be the way Nature does what it does
citation needed.
Saliva causes cancer, but only if swallowed in small amounts over a long period of time. -- George Carlin