Canada has banned cars made by Elon Musk’s Tesla from future electric vehicle rebate programs as the country engages in a tit-for-tat trade dispute with President Trump, the country’s transport minister Chrystia Freeland said.
Freeland said on Tuesday that Tesla vehicles would not be eligible for the rebate program so long as “illegitimate and illegal U.S. tariffs are imposed against Canada.”
Aside from barring Tesla from future incentive programs, Canada is also investigating a flurry of rebate claims made by the automaker shortly before the country shuttered an existing rebate program, according to Freeland’s statement obtained by Reuters.
In total, Canada froze C$43 million ($30.11 million) in pending payments to Tesla.
Freeland said that the payments won’t be complete until each submissions is reviewed and determined to be valid.
In January, Canada shuttered the current version of its rebate program – which offered payments of up to $5,000 toward the purchase of electric vehicles – due to a lack of funds.
Tesla sellers submitted a wave of claims just before the program ended, with one dealership in Quebec City seeking nearly C$20 million ($14 billion) in subsidies.
That would equate to 4,000 vehicle sales in a single weekend, a huge number that sparked suspicion for officials.
The Toronto Star was first to report on the rebate claims.
Representatives for Tesla did not immediately return The Post’s request for comment.
The move is more bad news for Musk, who has drawn heavy scrutiny in recent months for his work leading the Trump-backed Department of Government Efficiency. He has also served as a key adviser for Trump, who slapped 25% tariffs on goods imported from Canada and Mexico.
Tesla dealerships around the US have contended with a wave of vandalism and arson incidents, leading top Trump administration officials to warn that such actions would be treated as domestic terrorism.
Experts have pointed to Tesla and other US automakers as among those likely to be hit hardest by Trump’s tariff battle – in part because nearly every part of their supply chains, from material sourcing and production to sales, is impacted.
Tesla pushed the Trump administration to consider the impact that escalating tariffs would have on US companies in a letter to the office of the US Trade Representative earlier this month.
At the time, Tesla warned it could be “exposed” to “disproportionate impacts” as countries imposed retaliatory tariffs.
“For example, past trade actions by the United States have resulted in immediate reactions by the targeted countries, including increased tariffs on EVs imported into those countries,” Tesla said.
Negative effects included higher manufacturing costs for Tesla vehicles built in the US as well as higher costs for its exported vehicles sold overseas.
With Post wires
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