Tesla is demanding the federal government release over $43 million in electric vehicle rebates, warning it may pursue legal action if payments aren’t reinstated immediately.
In a letter sent to Transport Canada on March 28, obtained by the Toronto Star through an access to information request, Tesla said it was blindsided by the government’s decision to halt reimbursements under the iZEV program, which offers up to $5,000 off the purchase of eligible EV and hybrids. Tesla said it learned of the freeze only through media coverage, which was reported on by the Star.
Tesla Canada wrote in the letter it was “shocked”, which was signed by Fereshteh Zeineddin, the company’s director of sales and service. “Transport Canada knows full well that Tesla Canada has been fully compliant with its participation in the program,” explained the letter.
The letter warned that if the matter isn’t resolved directly, Tesla would explore “appropriate remedies.”
The funding suspension followed a surge in rebate claims filed by four Tesla retail locations—in Toronto, Quebec City, and Vancouver—right after Transport Canada sent out a notice in January that program funds were running low.
Within one weekend, Tesla filed more than 8,600 claims, amounting to roughly 60% of the remaining rebate pool. That sudden spike emptied the fund, leaving over 200 other dealerships unable to recover an estimated $10 million they had already fronted to customers. Ouch.
According to federal rules, rebates must be claimed before vehicles are delivered. But Tesla’s letter argues that post-delivery claims—also known as “backfiling”—were in fact allowed, based on guidance shared during a 2023 webinar for dealers.
“While eligibility forms were strongly encouraged in advance, they were not required,” the company wrote. Tesla also claimed that Transport Canada had quietly updated its website to confirm backfiling was permitted, but later reverted the language after the media found out, again reported by the Star.
Also, the payment freeze was issued shortly after Prime Minister Mark Carney called a federal election. Tesla argues that during the “caretaker” period of an election, departments are expected to maintain normal operations and not make major changes to program delivery.
“Tesla expects the department to carry out its responsibility during the writ period to continue program delivery per status quo,” the letter stated.
Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland, who took over just before the freeze, has said the suspension was kicked in before the election began. She has ordered a detailed review of Tesla’s claims to determine if they meet the program’s requirements.
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So Tesla is now telling how the Canadian government should operate!
They're probably right but unfortunately nobody likes them anymore. Tesla reaps what Elon sows. That worked for them until it didn't anymore.
Typical hater move by the Liberals. I guess they no longer care about EV adoption. I hope Tesla sues them real good.
What they are showing is their disdain for rule of law.
Laws that’s apply differently depending on the political whims of the days means we aren’t living under rule of law but under a system no better than under Xi.
What’s most amusing is watching the young folks cheer it on. Same crowd that cheered on the suspension of constitutional rights. Somehow they are too dim to recognize what they are cheering on. They will certain deserve the Canada they inherit.
Canada doesn't have a constitution. Canada didn't become the 51st state
“Canada doesn't have a constitution. Canada didn't become the 51st state”
Please, please, please tell me you are just pretending. Please tell me you aren’t a living example of our failed education system.
Carney supporter, right?
Did you finish secondary school/high school? The repatriation of the Canadian constitution in 1982 is one of the most significant events in Canadian history and it's part of the curriculum.
Tesla can suck the world's biggest lemon
This is not about a private company telling the government what to do, it is about a legal stand that can have merit because there is a certain way of operating this kind of programs that both the government and EV companies like Tesla should respect and follow. This is also about the buyers, who should be protected by the government because that's what the government is supposed to do, part of the reason of existence. If Tesla has a legal way to do this they should pursue it to the fullest. I hope they do! There is no better car to buy in Canada anyway and the bullshit about helping Canadian EV manufacturers is completely idiotic because there is no such thing in reality. Unfortunately, Canada showed at voting that it is not ready to be smart about its future….
Government rebate is a grant, given away by a good will of the government. It’s not the money that any company, including Tesla, has legal entitlement to. They can offer it or withdraw it as they please. There is no any financial or legal obligation towards Tesla. There might be one towards the dealerships.
You are correct that government should protect the buyers, but it also has the duty to protect the taxpayer’s money, which they are doing by investigating some suspicious machinations, like 6800 rebate claims in one weekend on the eve of rebate pause. $43 million is not chump change.
Umm, no. It’s a rebate offered with specific conditions to be eligible. People spent thousands of dollars under the conditions set out by the government, under legislation
We are supposed to be a country with rule of law. That means the law is supposed to apply equally and blindly, without taking into account political considerations and someone’s tantrum of the day.
They are investigating some shady practices by Tesla. The ridiculous number of rebates claimed in a short period of time is what caused this, it wasn't just done on a whim. Tesla brought this on themselves either by trying to scam the government, or by being lackadaisical about claiming the grants and then panicking when they realized the grant program was being paused. Either way the government had to do their due diligence before handing over that kind of money. It's as simple as that.
Nah. At worst, they are investigating whether the industry standard practices that were explicitly allowed by the ministry rules can be framed as being unacceptable when applied to Tesla.
Note, the gov has made no actual accusations nor explanations as to why they wouldn’t qualify. Instead, they are looking to see if they can find something to use to deny the claims.
Freeland “ordered a detailed review of Tesla’s claims to determine if they meet the program’s requirements.” If they knew of something, they’d say it.
They are investigating because it is politically convenient and expedient to do so right now. Their base expects and would accept no less than for them to after Tesla, hence special treatment for Tesla. It’s as simple as that.
Believe what you want, but that amount of claims in that amount of time would raise anyone's eyebrows. Do you think there's nothing wrong with that and that it shouldn't be investigated?
At any other time, with any other company, a huge number of clearly legitimate claims would be used to boast about the popularity and success of the program.
For any large expenditures they should have a well designed audit system.
Well they're auditing it now and we'll see if it was legitimate or not.
Yes, but they have a right to request proof of eligibility. The government may operate assuming good faith, but honour system claims are not a right. The payment is frozen, not declined. They have been asked to provide proof. If the sales were legit, this shouldn't be a problem.
"No better car"? Teslas are cars for people who hate driving. If that's your idea of the best car you can buy, just take the bus.
Are you kidding? Tesla is a driver's car like no other. Have you ever driven one?
So MAGA is all for cutting government programs spending except when it hits their own bank accounts?
Even though the ev rebate program was very poorly managed , i hate to see this last 41 millions go to the Muskrat pocket. They should have restricted this grant and made it once in a life time rebate per person instead, they allowed fraudent behaviors where people were claiming the grant selling the car then reclaiming the grant again. The program could have had funds still for a while…
But facist leader Herr Musk said Canada is not even a real country so the currency can't be real either. Si-eg He-il Elon you loser. Swastikars are fugly and should be banned from our fake country.
But facist leader Herr Musk said Canada is not even a real country so the currency can't be real either. Si-eg He-il Elon you loser. Swastikars are fugly and should be banned from our fake country.