Canada Permanently Freezes Tesla Out Of EV Rebate Program

The Canadian government announced this week that Tesla has been permanently shut out of its iZEV federal EV rebate program. The primary driver for this rebate ban is Tesla CEO Elon Musk's support of U.S. President Donald Trump and his "illegitimate and illegal U.S. tariffs imposed against Canada," said Canadian Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland. Trump announced in early March that he would impose an absurd 25 percent tariff on most goods entering the United States from Canada and Mexico, and implemented a further 25 percent tariff on all imported automobiles on Wednesday. Trump and Musk have individually pushed for the United States to invade and annex Canada as American territory, and Tesla has recently become the subject of a massive $43 million iZEV rebate system fraud investigation. 

Tesla sales in Canada have been on the rise for many years, hitting a peak of 46,000 units in 2024. Until recently each of those sales was eligible for a federal $5,000 point-of-sale rebate, in addition to rebates offered by individual provinces. The wildly successful iZEV program is currently paused across Canada as it ran out of earmarked funds earlier than planned. The current Prime Minister has promised to push for funding to continue the EV incentive, though Canada's upcoming late-April general election will ultimately decide the fate of iZEV. 

Tesla sales are trending downward around the world, with the European Union reporting a 43 percent dip in sales so far this year, and nearly 50 percent in China. Tesla's sales progress in North America won't be announced until after the first quarter ends later this week, but demand does not seem to be high. Anti-Musk sentiment began in earnest when the world's richest man threw up a pair Nazi-style salutes during Donald Trump's presidential inauguration ceremonies in January. The EV company has been struggling to play catch up ever since.

Canadians have turned hostile to Tesla in the first quarter of 2025, a flip from last year's record sales. Residual vehicle values are tanking as the cars seem to be impossible to offload on the used market, new sales seem to be trending toward zero, and anti-Musk vandalism taken out on Tesla vehicles continues apace. In addition to the reasons the rest of the world has to hate Elon Musk and wish for the downfall of his corporate empire, Canada also has a pending iZEV fraud investigation. The Transport Minister has brought to light that Tesla submitted some 8,600 new vehicle sales in the final three days of iZEV eligibility, claiming it sold 18 percent of the company's annual sales volume in that short period approximately one car every two minutes per showroom. While the threat of fraud is investigated, Canada has frozen $43 million CAD in government subsidies distribution to Tesla until the matter is resolved.