Tesla is asking a Manitoba court to overturn the province’s decision to exclude its vehicles from an electric vehicle rebate program, arguing the move was unfair, politically motivated and made without a clear explanation.
According to CBC News, Tesla lawyers appeared before the Manitoba Court of King’s Bench on Monday challenging the company’s exclusion from rebates in 2025 and 2026.
Manitoba launched its EV rebate program in 2024, offering up to $4,000 toward eligible new electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles and $2,500 for used models. Tesla and Chinese EVs were removed from the program in the province’s spring 2025 budget, shortly after the Canada-U.S. trade dispute began.
The move came as other governments also distanced themselves from Elon Musk’s companies. In March 2025, B.C. removed Tesla products from CleanBC and BC Hydro rebate programs, while Ontario later cancelled its $100 million Starlink contract and paid an undisclosed termination fee.
Tesla lawyer Michael Parrish called Manitoba’s decision “incredibly unfair,” arguing the province has not clearly identified who made the decision or what information was considered. “What is at issue in this proceeding is the actual decision,” Parrish told the court. “We don’t know why Tesla Canada was excluded, we don’t know what information or documents were considered.”
Tesla also pointed to comments from Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, who previously said Tesla CEO Elon Musk should “get Donald Trump to stop the tariffs, and then we can talk about the EV rebate.”
Parrish argued those comments suggest Tesla was excluded for “seemingly political reasons.”
That push away from Musk’s companies has also led to some interesting contradictions. The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan has earned billions from its SpaceX investment, while Prime Minister Mark Carney has said Canada will “diversify away from” Starlink as Ottawa backs alternatives such as Telesat Lightspeed.
Manitoba argues the exclusion was a budgetary policy decision that cannot be reviewed by the court, while Justice Elissa Neville reserved her decision.
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