Looks like Tesla’s profiting off government subsidies has finally hit a wall in Canada.
After Tesla requested reimbursement for an unprecedented 8,669 Canadian EV rebates in just three days, the Canadian government froze Tesla’s rebate payments and paused all future eligibility.
For those keeping score, Tesla claimed to sell 1.5 vehicles per minute, a huge spike that came after the company was alerted that the rebate fund would run out.
That means that $43 million in Tesla rebate payments are frozen and future subsidies paused. Read on for the full story!
You seem to be under the impression that I approve. No, Elons a cunt.
But follow me here… Tesla dealerships are OWNED by Tesla, but will almost certainly be a seperate company on paper. If only to limit liability. For a vehicle to be “sold” and to claim the EV rebates iit has to have an owner, so “Tesla Dealers LLC” buys the cars off “Tesla MV production PTY LTD” money changes hands, they legally register the cars under the business name and then dont drive them. Even if they arent Ford Motor Company certainly has a motor pool for execs and those cars will likely be owned by the company too.
It happens all the time in brand new motor vehicle sales. More like 1 to 3 cars a month at a dealership, usually to push the dealership over a threshold for a “volume bonus” (Sell 10 Corollas this month and the dealership gets $20,000 from Toyota)
IF THIS IS WHAT THEY DID - Tesla Canada buys a shitload off Tesla Corporate cheap, pays the registration and tax, claims the subsidies. Do it with the oldest stock on the books to get rid of it and pump up Teslas plunging sales and stock and when the Canadian government cries “foul” (justifiably) Elon and Donny can shout about how its illegal and Canada is engaging in a trade war on private businesses who didnt break any laws… Sound like.something Elon and Donny would cook up?
I wouldnt be surprised if they try and ship some of these “used” cars into the US and then cancel the registration to get the money back. I dont know how the taxes and stuff works on “used” cars. I’m just saying the basic practice isnt illegal and happens all the time and it doesnt mean they commited outright fraud. They definitely are doing something dodgy.
Again, judges don’t GIVE A SHIT what you call it. They give a shit what things ARE.
And they will utterly fucking smack Tesla over this.
Judges aren’t stupid people (at least not in Canada; can’t vouch for American judges seeing some of the decisions Down South). You’re not going to fool them by renaming things. That’s the kind of view of law that a toddler would hold. “I didn’t spill my juice because I call it … ah … foobles now!”