What Is Going On With The $43 Million In Rebates Tesla Claimed In Canada Over 3 Days?

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Individuals have been asking us to cowl this story from Canada about 4 Tesla shops claiming $43 million in EV rebates from the Canadian authorities in 3 days and thus emptying this system account and blocking different auto sellers from getting reimbursed for EV rebates they handed alongside to prospects. The issue is, it’s nonetheless unclear what’s going on right here.

Listed here are some extra particulars on what we all know:

• Solely C$71.8 million (US$50M) of presidency funding for EV subsidies was remaining, and it was introduced this EV rebate program (iZEV) would quickly be paused.
• Then, instantly after that was introduced, in three days, 4 Tesla shops reported promoting 8,600 automobiles, claiming C$43.1 million (US$30M) in rebates — 60% of remaining funding.
• That’s about 120 vehicles per hour for 3 days straight, 24 hours a day — or about 2 vehicles per minute.

Some within the business have claimed this isn’t doable.

“Tesla had a run on the bank,” stated Huw Williams, a spokesperson for the Canadian Car Sellers Affiliation (CADA). “Somehow, Tesla gamed the system. What we can’t figure out is how this could have happened without setting off alarm bells.” He added that “the registration gaming of this may be inappropriate.”

“They didn’t sell those cars that weekend,” a authorities official reportedly said.

Nevertheless, it’s unclear if one thing was executed inappropriately or not right here. It’s doable Tesla simply didn’t submit the rebate kinds automobile by automobile as they made gross sales after which ended up submitting a number of thousand all of sudden. It’s additionally doable — although most likely much less doubtless — that there was an enormous rush to purchase Tesla automobiles earlier than large tariffs have been doubtlessly positioned on Teslas, and likewise earlier than rebates ran out.

Or there’s after all the chance — which many are implying — that Tesla did one thing inappropriate or unlawful right here and submitted EV rebate requests for vehicles that haven’t truly been offered but with a purpose to gobble up the rebate cash.

“Keep in mind that Tesla is struggling when it comes to sales in Canada right now,” Carscoops writes. “According to the National Postdeliveries nosedived some 70 percent between December 2024 and January 2025. When the Canadian government announced that it would soon end electric vehicle subsidies, it was expected that Tesla would see a small bump up in sales. However, a giant spike like this is a different ballgame altogether.”

Some have prompt that some workaround allowed Tesla to promote the vehicles to itself and declare the rebates. Nevertheless, others have identified {that a} purchaser is just allowed one rebate a yr. So, that doesn’t seem to be an actual choice. Once more, although, it’s doable Tesla simply submitted the paperwork from earlier months in large batches unexpectedly.

The proprietor of one other 8 dealerships in Canada says he’s paying the worth for this. After the rebate cash ran out, Terry Budd (that’s his identify) had submitted about $150,000 in rebate requests, cash they’d handed alongside to patrons, and one other $25,000 was being processed.

“The deal’s done, and we’re shy that money,” Budd stated. “Nobody can tell us whether we’re going to be paid or not.” He was additionally skeptical of what Tesla did. “There’s no way they delivered or sold that many cars in a weekend,” he stated.

As others have identified and I’ve stated repeatedly above, it’s simply not clear what occurred right here. It’s arduous to even conjecture. I’m positive extra will come to gentle and we are able to replace you. A full Transport Canada investigation has been requested by business watchdogs.