This all occurred over the course of three days just before Canada’s subsidies for electric vehicles dried up
Four Tesla stores in Canada each sold an average of 30 cars per hour, amounting to 120 cars per hour across all four locations—essentially one car every minute, 24 hours a day…for three straight days. And yes, this includes hours when the stores were closed.
This extraordinary surge in sales conveniently coincided with Canada’s impending end of its electric vehicle subsidies, and it led to Tesla filing for C$43.1 million (US$30M) in rebates. This sum represents more than half of the remaining C$71.8 million (US$50M) allocated for EV rebates. Naturally, these details have left officials scratching their heads, wondering just how Tesla managed to pull it off.
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Keep in mind that Tesla is struggling when it comes to sales in Canada right now. According to the National Post, deliveries nosedived some 70 percent between December 2024 and January 2025. When the Canadian government announced that it would soon end electric vehicle subsidies, it was expected that Tesla would see a small bump up in sales. However, a giant spike like this is a different ballgame altogether.
In total, it reportedly sold 8,653 cars in three days across four stores in Canada. The sales figures come from Transport Canada, which is the body that accounts for the rebates. According to the The Star, an official from that governmental body openly said “Tesla didn’t sell those cars that weekend.”
The Impact on the Rebate System
While these sales are a win for Elon Musk’s company, they left rival brands without access to the same EV credits. Tesla’s $43.1 million in rebates consumed more than half of the remaining funds for EV subsidies. By the time other dealers attempted to claim their rebates, the money had run out. And there were plenty of them.
According to the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association (CADA), 226 dealerships submitted rebate claims for 2,295 electric vehicles but still haven’t been reimbursed, leaving them collectively out by C$10 million. Additionally, in regions like Quebec, many dealerships are closed on weekends, effectively locking them out of this “sales rush”.
Dealers Left Holding the Bag
Terry Budd, who owns eight dealerships in Canada, was understandably shocked by the news. He told The Star that he hadn’t received any formal notice about the iZEV program’s end, only a warning from CADA that the funds were running low. Budd estimates he’s out $150,000 for rebates he submitted, with another $25,000 for those that were never processed.
“The deal’s done, and we’re shy that money,” Budd said. “Nobody can tell us whether we’re going to be paid or not.” When told that a single Tesla store in Quebec had reportedly sold 4,000 cars over the weekend, Budd couldn’t believe it. “There’s no way they delivered or sold that many cars in a weekend,” he said. “They cleared everyone else out.”
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Huw Williams, a spokesperson for CADA, added, “These dealers, in good faith, gave customers the money for a program that is always refunded. They shouldn’t be left making a payment on behalf of the Government of Canada.”
Unlike most other dealerships, Tesla’s Canadian stores are company-owned and directly controlled. This gives Tesla an advantage in navigating rebate claims and the sales process, unlike independent dealerships that run their own operations.
Canadian officials, however, are questioning how Tesla managed to achieve such a feat.
“Tesla had a run on the bank,” said Williams. “Somehow, Tesla gamed the system. What we can’t figure out is how this could have happened without setting off alarm bells.” He even went on to say that it defies logic that Tesla could sell that many cars and that “the registration gaming of this may be inappropriate.”
A Gray Area?
Notably, Transport Canada has stated that there’s no rule against Tesla submitting rebate paperwork in bulk after sold cars are delivered. This could be what happened, but there’s still a lot of uncertainty about the exact details. Maybe more will unfold in the coming weeks—perhaps a few more alarm bells will go off.
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