Tesla used an automated system to make a run on the bank of Canada鈥檚 dwindling EV subsidies, outmanoeuvring Canadian dealerships that filed claims manually and were left short millions of dollars, the Star has learned.
In January, when the federal government announced that funds were running low in its electric vehicle rebate program, it sparked an 鈥渦nprecedented surge鈥 as the American EV giant filed more than 8,600 rebate claims over the next 72 hours, a rate of more than two per minute, around the clock.
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 and prompted then-minister of transport Chrystia Freeland to freeze payouts pending an audit of each claim.
The resulting investigation into Tesla鈥檚 conduct, obtained by the Star, has cleared the company of wrongdoing and found the cars weren鈥檛 actually sold during that last weekend.
Instead, the investigation found that the company employed a robot to file a batch of back claims for cars sold months and even years beforehand.
鈥淪ince early in the iZEV Program, Tesla Motors Canada has used a tool that allows for (an) accelerate(d) submission of claims, and correspondingly, they have submitted claims at a faster rate than other dealerships,鈥 states a memo to the Deputy Minister of Transport summarizing the results of the investigation, obtained via access-to-information legislation.
鈥淭esla is the only authorized seller who submits claims in bulk.鈥
The Transport Canada investigation found that Tesla鈥檚 claims covered EVs delivered to customers as far back as Oct. 14, 2022 and as late as Jan. 30, 2025, nearly three weeks after the iZEV program shuttered.
In all, Tesla claimed $43.1 million in rebates over the three-day period, 鈥渟ignificantly contributing to the surge,鈥 the memo states.
Tesla accounted for 89 per cent of all funds claimed during the final weekend.
鈥淭he number of claims submitted by Tesla over two days just before the program pause has generated public and industry criticism. The public may not understand how Tesla Motors Canada could claim such a high volume of incentives between the pause announcement and the pause itself,鈥 states the memo.
鈥淚t鈥檚 important to clarify that, while media-reported figures are accurate 鈥 the data has been misinterpreted. The term 鈥榮ubmitted鈥 does not indicate that the vehicles were sold on that specific day. Rather, 鈥榮ubmitted鈥 refers to the date on which the requests were entered into the iZEV portal, which may not align with the actual date of the delivery of the vehicles.鈥
The confusion was compounded by program rules on Transport Canada鈥檚 website that stated dealerships 鈥渕ust鈥 file claims before delivery to the customer. In practice, this rule was not enforced and backfilling for EVs that had already been shipped out was common practice across the industry.
Tesla鈥檚 claims for EVs sold nearly two and a half years prior were approved because 鈥渢he vehicles were delivered during the eligible period of the iZEV Program (before the Program paused),鈥 on Jan. 12, the memo states. The Teslas delivered after that date were deemed eligible because 鈥渢hose vehicles were pre-approved before Jan. 12, 2025, but delivered afterwards.鈥
Tesla and Transport Canada did not respond to emailed questions for this story.
The Monday morning following the program鈥檚 pause, when hundreds of independently owned Canadian car dealerships attempted to file for reimbursement of rebates they had given customers, they found the online portal had been deactivated weeks ahead of schedule, leaving them out of pocket an estimated $10 million.
The federal government began reimbursing car dealerships for rebates paid out before the iZEV program ended Jan. 12 鈥 but not consumers whose cars
The federal government began reimbursing car dealerships for rebates paid out before the iZEV program ended Jan. 12 鈥 but not consumers whose cars
They were outraged that the federal government had cut them off while tens of millions of taxpayer dollars flowed to Tesla, which is run by CEO Elon Musk, who was a key figure in the U.S. President Donald Trump鈥檚 White House as it waged a trade war against Canada.
In July, Ottawa re-opened the iZEV claims portal and pledged that dealerships would be made whole. At the time, those dealers were told they could not submit claims for EVs delivered after the program ended on Jan. 12.
News that Tesla received reimbursement for rebates on cars delivered after the program ended will not be well received by EV buyers, many of whom didn鈥檛 receive their expected rebates because their vehicles weren鈥檛 delivered on time.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e protecting the dealerships but not the people who were supposed to benefit from the EV program,鈥 said Sherine Young, who didn鈥檛 get the rebate after ordering an EV in 2024 and receiving it in April this year.
鈥淭hey should be honouring when you actually purchased the vehicle because that was within the program鈥檚 time frame,鈥 she told the Star earlier this summer.
As the only electric vehicle dealer to employ a 鈥渂ulk submission鈥 system, Tesla had overwhelmed the EV rebate system in the past and had been warned by the federal bureaucrats to knock it off.
鈥淏ecause Tesla didn鈥檛 provide upfront notification for their bulk submission, it has been difficult for the iZEV program,鈥 states the memo. 鈥淭he iZEV team met several times with Tesla Motors Canada to request that they submit on a more regular basis and, as a result, reduce the number of claims submitted in bulk.鈥
Nevertheless, the surge in claims was anticipated by federal bureaucrats, who warned their superiors before the program was wound down that this was likely to occur.
A weeklong driving trip in Iceland gave Trevor Melanson a glimpse of what Canadians can only imagine 鈥 driving the Chinese electric car that
A weeklong driving trip in Iceland gave Trevor Melanson a glimpse of what Canadians can only imagine 鈥 driving the Chinese electric car that
鈥淚t is likely that when a program pause announcement is made, the manufacturers and dealerships will create a surge of requests 鈥 to ensure they receive the reimbursement for the incentives they already provided. This may speed up the depletion of funds,鈥 a December 2024 memo to the then-minister of transport Anita Anand states.
鈥淢any manufacturers/dealerships do not proceed with the required eligibility assessment prior to the delivery of the vehicles (they perform this step after the delivery, even if instructed to submit before) 鈥 As a result, there are many vehicles already delivered for which the funds have not yet been reserved.鈥
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