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!
Hopefully, there’s a criminal fraud investigation around the corner.
Why a billionaire needs to lap up such a comparatively small amount of money is beyond me. Taking all this risk, doing something that would be so blatantly obvious… What’s the point?
I wondered the same thing.
Spite? Muscle memory, from when he wasn’t a billionaire? Or we might see a self-selection thing happening. The folks who have any point where they are sated, those folks, we never even notice those folks, they do good in business and never get public attention. Billionaires are only the folks where the chase broke some limiting factor in them, they have no satiation point, and so folks notice them.
A normal person like you and me can never understand the mind of a billionaire. They are fucking sick in the head.
Rebates paid to Tesla are rebates NOT paid to competitors = less competing vehicles on the road.
Keeping your boot on the scale, just to hurt others.
I dont know if this is what they did but… Its not illegal to legitimately sell the cars to the dealerships at cost, get the rebates and then have the dealerships sell the cars as “demonstrators” or “dealer stock”
You’re now technically selling a used car, but to someone buying a car saving a few grand “why is that one cheaper” “Ah its technically a demonstration model, but we never put any miles on it. So instead of 5 years warranty, you get 4 years 10 months, but it is $10,000 cheaper.” Can be a hell of a motivator.
Also it pumps Teslas short term numbers and move old stock at the same time.
Tesla are their own dealerships. There’s no selling involved.
I think you’ll find that (aside from Tesla dealerships not being independent businesses) judges aren’t stupid. They issue judgements on what things are, not what you call them.
This kind of legal shenanigan has been smacked down time and time again (even in corrupt third-world countries like the USA!) to the scammers’ shock. Tesla is fucking around … and finding out.
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.
Hearing my pride and joy get called a third world country hurts pretty bad. But I honestly can’t correct you, our judiciary, something broke? Folks used to trust judges. I’m old enough to remember those days.
I’ve stood before a judge, got my ass handed to me, and I took the beating without complaint because everybody respected the judge (and let’s be real, I knew I did what I did, it was speeding and I am true to my name, I was absolutely speeding). Those days are gone.
Boss, you just described an absolutely bog-standard type of fraud XD If that is what occurred, people will go to prison.
The Canadian program also has, you know, rules. Rebates are marked as commercial or consumer. Every sales record I saw for the Teslas in question here, they were entirely consumer-grade from what I saw. So, if Tesla was selling the cars to themselves, they applied for the wrong type of rebate.
If thats what they did How is it fraud?
Companies can own assets, provided they filled out all the correct paperwork, paid the taxes and insurances or whatever Canada does they now “Own” the cars and can do with them as they please. Including sell them. Provided they dont misrepresent the cars as “brand new” and sell them as “used cars” then its not fraud.
Doing it on this scale is dodgy as hell which is why the Govt froze the rebates. But I absolutely beleive Elon would do something like.this to prop up the sales numbers and stock price while forcing the Canadian govt to either make an issue of it (which means he can play victim) or let him get away with it. (Ego boost)
The company already owned the cars, boss :) Tesla the car manufacturer and Tesla the car dealership are both the same company, that single company is publicly traded under the symbol $TSLA.
Here’s the Canadian statute. Notice that the jail terms are vastly longer if the deception influence the stock market in any way. IDK, I’m not a lawyer.
https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-46/section-380.html
You don’t become a billionaire by not finding a way to abuse and exploit every single possible way to earn an extra buck.
Hey Canada, you do have the right to kick this company out of your fine nation. Just a reminder.
“Billionaires hate this one trick!”
Geez that could hurt their reputation.
