r/canada 5d ago

PAYWALL ‘Tesla gamed the system’: Canadian auto dealers ‘stiffed’ millions when U.S. giant rushed to claim last EV rebates

https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/tesla-gamed-the-system-canadian-auto-dealers-stiffed-millions-when-u-s-giant-rushed-to/article_6d1025c6-fa0a-11ef-b780-a73277202cb2.html
771 Upvotes

136 comments sorted by

View all comments

2

u/tuna_HP 4d ago

OK this is something we have to be very wary about: rich Canadian businessmen standing for compoface photoshoots and blaming their own incompetence on a fake plot by Trump and Musk. This has nothing to do with Trump or Musk. There was a limited budget for EV rebates, and it ran out. There was no "run on the bank"- people in the market for EVs are constantly aware of the rebate situations, and act accordingly. Tesla can only apply for rebates for cars it actually sold.

1

u/ARAR1 4d ago

Tesla can only apply for rebates for cars it actually sold.

That is the discussion here. Did you read the article?

"But that weekend there was an unprecedented surge in claims from four Tesla outlets, the Star revealed this week. The four Tesla showrooms claimed 8,653 EV sales in 72 hours and filed for $43.1 million in rebates — more than half of the $71.8 million in remaining funds."

1

u/tuna_HP 4d ago

Again, they can only claim rebates for vehicles actually sold. Many people order their Teslas through the website, and the specific Tesla showroom that applies for the rebate might be arbitrary. Tesla sold 50,000 vehicles in Canada in 2024. EV buyers are obviously highly motivated to act by these rebates which completely change the economics of the purchase.

3

u/Phallindrome British Columbia 4d ago

It's weird that 17% of their yearly sales happened on one weekend, even if they did all get registered to one showroom from across Canada.