As in lots of locations all over the world, Tesla gross sales in Canada have been falling for months, an obvious response to Elon Musk’s outsize position within the Trump administration and his repeated denigration of Canadian sovereignty.
But in some way, 4 Tesla- owned dealerships reported to the Canadian authorities that they offered an astonishing 8,653 vehicles throughout a single weekend in January — sufficient to qualify for 43 million Canadian {dollars}’ (about $30 million) value of presidency subsidies underneath a program simply earlier than it expired.
Now the Canadian authorities desires to know precisely how the electrical carmaker managed to maneuver two vehicles a minute off its tons — a charge that assumes these 4 sellers had stayed open 24 hours from Jan. 10 to Jan. 12.
These funds had been frozen this month after Mark Carney turned Canada’s prime minister and named a brand new transport minister who ordered officers “to totally look at every declare individually and decide whether or not all are eligible and legitimate.” The minister, Chrystia Freeland, stated that “no funds can be made till we’re assured that the claims are legitimate.”
The subsidy program has expired, however Ms. Freeland, taking goal on the Trump administration, stated that if there was a brand new one, Teslas wouldn’t be eligible “as long as the illegitimate and unlawful U.S. tariffs are imposed towards Canada.”
Tesla’s achieve was a loss for a few of its rivals.
The corporate’s breathtaking flurry of gross sales claims for a few of its sellers in Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec drained funds from the federal government’s rebate program, bringing it to a detailed earlier than its scheduled March 31 finish date. In consequence, the Canadian Vehicle Sellers Affiliation estimates, 225 sellers promoting different manufacturers had been unable to assert about 10 million in Canadian {dollars}, placing a few of them in monetary peril.
“While you’re a 43 million greenback hit over a weekend, an investigation is certainly warranted,” stated Huw Williams, a spokesman for the sellers’ affiliation. “The extent of transactions simply doesn’t make frequent sense.’’
Tesla didn’t reply to a request for remark. The Toronto Star first reported the gross sales rush claims, which had been posted on a authorities web site that tracks rebate funds.
Below the federal government plan, which started in 2019, sellers deducted rebates of as much as 5,000 Canadian {dollars} once they offered electrical automobiles earlier than reporting the acquisition data — together with patrons’ names and the automobiles’ identification numbers — to the federal government for reimbursement.
The torrent of Tesla claims began on Jan. 10 after Transport Canada warned sellers throughout the nation that this system would run out of cash earlier than the top of March. By Monday morning, the account was empty and this system was closed.
About 1,000 sellers promoting different manufacturers submitted claims over that weekend however Tesla accounted for about 88 p.c of the purposes.
“How did Tesla magically know to hit that quantity?” Mr. Williams requested, referring to the draining of the rebate program’s remaining funds.
Whereas some sellers stacked up claims earlier than submitting them to the federal government, Mr. Williams stated, the Tesla surge “doesn’t match any sample for Tesla going backwards.”
He additionally stated that it was bodily not possible for the 4 Tesla dealerships to maintain 1000’s of vehicles readily available.
Mr. Williams stated that Ms. Freeland instructed his group that sellers who missed out after Tesla emptied the fund would in the end be reimbursed, however that how lengthy that may take was unclear.
Tesla has turn into a selected source of anger among Canadians since President Trump started imposing tariffs on Canada and calling for Canada to turn into the 51st state. Annexation has additionally been championed by Mr. Musk, who holds Canadian citizenship and lived in Canada earlier than transferring to america.
An internet petition calling on the Canadian authorities to revoke Mr. Musk’s citizenship has drawn tons of of 1000’s of signatures.
Greater than 80 Teslas had been vandalized, their tires punctured and their paint scratched at a supplier in Hamilton, Ontario, this month. A Tesla outlet in Montreal was defaced with pink paint. And in Vancouver, organizers of an auto present banned the corporate over considerations about attainable protests and vandalism.
4 Canadian provinces have excluded Tesla from their electrical car rebate packages this 12 months.
No less than one Tesla competitor has been making an attempt to money in on the antipathy. Polestar, the Swedish -based, Chinese language-controlled EV maker, is providing Canadians a 5,000 Canadian greenback low cost if they will show that they’re registered Tesla homeowners.
