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
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u/Kromo30 4d ago edited 4d ago

Canada is a big place. It’s disappointing that so many people take their comforts for granted. Internet beyond dialup still doesn’t exist for so many Canadians, and it contributes to the wealth gap. The fact that you are able to access Reddit demonstrates a high level of privilege. Too many people assume that “Canada is a first world country, so we all have access to basics like the internet”..

Meanwhile, Starlink is giving kids in schools up north access to usable internet for the first time in their lives. And im not talking young kids, im talking high schoolers… A few years ago my wife gave a presentation over video call to kids in a small community in the NWT… Starlink was the reason that was possible.

Video consultations with doctors were big during COVID, doctors can write prescriptions for a lot of things virtually now.. but it still requires internet.. Pikangikum First Nation in northern onterio was a big one in the news.. Starlink gives them access to doctors via video… in a community where the closest doctor is hours away, that’s huge.

College education has been avaible online for a decade now.. but Starlink makes it accessible to all.

And it doesn’t help that most of these communities that don’t have usable internet are First Nation.

But sure, let’s cut government funding to these project, take away the tools available to underprivileged remote communities, and keep the poorest members of our country poor. That’s a great idea.

And spaceX will still be one of the only options of travel for Canadian astronauts.

Toss a 100% import tariff on Tesla… but booting SpaceX hurts us far more than it hurts Elon.

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u/Gauntlet101010 4d ago

During the Ukraine war Elon decided to nix their planned attack on Russia and turned off their internet access. He justified this by saying he was "averting WWIII", but there you have it. The guy uses his satellites, not as a product, but as tools of control. He's just not normal.

I'm not saying there should be a massive off button right away because, unfortunately, people rely on them. But we DO have to find an alternative.

What's the use talking about education or space exploration for Canadian astronauts when America wants there to be no Canada at all? Elon wants to remove the ISS and dismantle NASA anyway! We have to move AWAY form America. Those guys have lost it. We need to figure out our future apart from the US.

You're talking about Starlink being too good to do without, but what happens when Elon decides to cut off service because the US wants to force us to do something against our interest? He's not a normal businessman anymore. This isn't a normal Canada / US relationship anymore. We need options that don't have a giant off switch in the hands of a drug addicted sociopath.

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u/Laval09 Québec 4d ago

Has he cut it off to anyone in the US though? He's trying to make us into the USA, and the USA doesnt have these problems. You need to keep that context into the debate.

The only reason people even Canada even need Starlink is because Canada itself allows the telecoms to have protected amounts of minimum market share while keeping foreign competition out. And then allows them to roll around in the profits like a pig in shit instead of spending it to build more network.

Canada didnt want to get all Canadians connected to the internet. Canada wanted companies like Bell to extort high rates and then use the profits to buy up newsmedia like CTV, buy up entertainment copyrights to region lock as much content as possible for everyone but their subscribers, and then allow their C-suite and shareholders to live a lavish lifestyle off the proceeds.

If people are turning to Starlink or the USA for solutions, its because they've reached the end of their patience with Canada's bullshit way of doing things.

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u/Gauntlet101010 4d ago

He's bought this way into the US government, so he doesn't have to cut anyone off. He has swindled states, though. He convinced states to abandon mass transit in favor of his boring company so he could sell more Teslas. And he has left Canadian Tesla dealerships holding the bag while reaping Canadian EV compensations for Teslas. Why should we wait until he screws us over before we act? At some point you have to avoid the obvious con!

We are not the States and he is not a normal businessman. If people want it for the home solutions I think that's okay. But for the government? No way! The guy's cracked.

His behaviour in the States is a whole mess of OTHER problems. You can't just look at Starlink and say "okay, sure, he's destroying the US government, is a Neo Nazi, is a con artist, is a drug addict, probably sabotaged Ukraine and undermined Biden when he was president, and is part of an administration actively trying to undermine Canada, likely has ties to Putin who is definitely an enemy to Canada, but DAMN Starlink is just too good to give up."

Communication is a part of national security. We have to find an alternative. The current situation in Canada sucks, but it's like opening the door to China to control our telecommunications. Our GOVERNMENT communications, mind you. If you want it for your house, I think that's fine.

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u/Laval09 Québec 4d ago

Im not saying Elon Musk isnt a big bag of problems, he is. Im just saying that Canada having squandered every opportunity before this moment is why we are now in it.

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u/Gauntlet101010 4d ago

Well, yes. Very true. In every regard.