Tesla Wins Electric Vehicle Rebate Lawsuit Against Ontario

One of North America’s most cutting-edge tech companies has won its lawsuit against Canada’s most populous province.

Tesla announced in mid-August that it would sue the government of Ontario after claiming they were treated unfairly after a program that provides rebates to residents who bought electric vehicles was cancelled. Ontario Superior Court Judge Frederick Myers ruled earlier this week that the province’s decision to exclude Tesla from a grace period allowed for the electric vehicle rebate program was arbitrary and had unnecessarily singled out Tesla for harm.

“We’re pleased with the Court’s decision to strike down the [Ontario government’s] transition plan as unfair and unlawful,” a Tesla rep said.

The new ruling from the court will require the Ontario government to review the rebate program so that it either includes tesla or provides better justification as to why the company was excluded in the first place. The Electric and Hydrogen Vehicle Incentive Program (EHVIP) could give qualified buyers up to $14,000 back when they purchased certain vehicles.

Tesla originally filed the suit claiming that they lost sales and suffered substantial harm when the program was scrapped. When the EHVIP was cancelled, Ontario promised to still honour the rebates for buyers who had their vehicle delivered if it was purchased from a dealer before a specific date. The province then said it would not honour the incentive for those who purchased straight from a manufacturer—which is how Tesla conducts the majority of their sales.

Many Tesla customers shared how they were forced to cancel orders or postpone them due to the missing incentive. Tesla said they had 600 active customer orders when Ontario ended the program in July—four unallocated vehicles on its lots plus 319 in transit. In total, 175 orders were cancelled since the program ended.