When the federal government reopened the online portal for car dealers to claim EV rebates this summer, it was supposed to be for all the independent Canadian dealers who got stiffed when Tesla gobbled up almost all the remaining money and forced the subsidy program to close early.
But new data released Monday shows that Tesla came back for more and ended up claiming more government money than any other EV brand.
This summer, the American EV giant claimed more than 20 per cent of the additional $20.4 million in rebates filed during a special makeup period after the iZEV program prematurely shut down in January.
The government had abruptly paused its EV rebate program after receiving an 鈥unprecedented surge鈥 in rebate claims from Tesla, which used an automated system to mass-file more than 8,600 rebates over a three-day period 鈥 a rate of more than two a minute, 24 hours a day.
Tesla听filed more than 8,600 rebate claims听in under 72 hours to make a run on the bank of Canada鈥檚 dwindling EV subsidies.
Tesla听filed more than 8,600 rebate claims听in under 72 hours to make a run on the bank of Canada鈥檚 dwindling EV subsidies.
When the Star broke the story in March, it sparked outrage at the idea that Tesla could have sold so many cars over a single weekend. Tesla had, in fact, rushed to file a massive backlog of rebate claims for sales dating back as much as two years earlier. The outrage nonetheless prompted then-minister of transport Chrystia Freeland to freeze payouts pending an audit, which subsequently cleared the company of wrongdoing. She also pledged to make whole the estimated 200 car dealers who were left out of pocket when the program shuttered early.
Monday鈥檚 numbers show that Tesla took advantage of the extended claim period to obtain $4.2 million in additional public subsidies.
鈥淭here鈥檚 incredible irony in this,鈥 said Huw Williams, a spokesperson for the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association. 鈥淚n trying to restore fairness to independent Canadian auto dealers, the government provided yet another cash influx to Tesla.鈥
Tesla did not respond to questions for this story.
Since Ottawa launched the iZEV program in 2019, Tesla has claimed more than $717 million, or 27 per cent, of the $2.6 billion paid out in EV rebates. The second highest claimer was Hyundai, with $392 million.
鈥淎s Tesla鈥檚 models reached a high market share percentage, it drew considerable funding from the Program,鈥 states an internal Transport Canada document discussing Tesla鈥檚 large draw on government funds.
When the government announced in January that the program was running low on funds, Tesla rushed to stake out more than 89 per cent of the remaining funding before the online portal was shuttered, additional documents, obtained using access to information legislation, show.
That the company laid claim to so many public funds at the same time as its CEO, Elon Musk, stood beside U.S. President Donald Trump as he mused about annexing Canada, added public scrutiny to the file, especially as the Star reported that independently-owned Canadian auto dealers were out of pocket more than $10 million.
鈥淭ransport Canada has examined all possible options for dealerships who did not submit their eligibility application before the pause of the Program. The temporary re-opening of the iZEV web portal is to ensure that dealerships and manufacturers have another opportunity to submit the required documentation/information,鈥 one document states.
The government originally intended to exclude Tesla from being able to claim additional subsidies when the portal reopened, the document states. Monday鈥檚 public data dump shows that the government eventually abandoned this plan and allowed Tesla to file more rebate claims.
In response to questions, Transport Canada spokesperson听Hicham Ayoun wrote that the only change made to the program when it was re-opened was a听daily submission limit of 25 claims per dealership.
EV sales in Canada have dropped since the federal rebate was discontinued in January, going from 18.9 per cent of the new car market in December 2024 to 9.7 per cent in March 2025, according to data from S&P Global Mobility. This drop coincided with the end of provincial rebates in B.C. and Quebec, which added as much as $12,000 to the price of some EVs.
As more makes and models have become available in Canada, Tesla鈥檚 share of the EV market has been collapsing since 2022, going from nearly 50 per cent to less than 10 per cent, the S&P numbers show. This trend accelerated in the first four months of 2025, with Tesla鈥檚 market share dropping by more than half, exacerbated by both the end of rebates and the public pronouncements of Musk.听
鈥淭esla is a company surviving on government subsidies,鈥 said CADA鈥檚 Williams. 鈥淥ur dealers are locally owned, family-run businesses in local communities. And you can see that there鈥檚 a fundamental inconsistency when government money is being shovelled out the door to Tesla and Elon Musk and his shareholders.鈥
Ottawa has been tight-lipped on the increasingly sensitive issue of public money going to Tesla, refusing to even confirm statements it gave to other media outlets. The internal documents show widespread concern over how the issue would be perceived.
鈥淣ot reimbursing eligible claims for which an incentive has already been provided to consumers could trigger criticism from Tesla vehicle purchasers, especially if Tesla tried to recover the incentive from purchasers,鈥 stated the investigation. 鈥淭he Department will also face a challenge as to why it is not reimbursing claims from other dealerships and authorized sellers who fell short of the Program due to the abrupt closure of the iZEV portal.鈥
鈥淎ny decision on this file is likely to generate media scrutiny, polarized stakeholder reactions, and an increase in public inquiries through emails and phone calls.鈥
With data analysis by Nathan Pilla.听
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