8,600 Teslas were registered in a single weekend ahead of the country’s iZEV subsidy program being paused
March 22, 2025 at 16:00
- Disused parking lots in Canada are filled with rows of brand new Tesla EVs.
- The cars appeared after 8,600 were registered in four locations one weekend.
- The unusual spike occurred just before Canada put a hold on iZEV subsidies.
Tesla was accused by the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association (CADA) of cheating legitimate car dealers and buyers in Canada out of iZEV subsidies earlier this month. Critics have now grown even more suspicious after footage emerged of hundreds of new Tesla EVs left in disused parking lots.
Canadian media discovered huge fleets of brand new Model 3s and Model Ys languishing in the lot of an old strip mall in Toronto, conveniently located across the street from a Tesla dealership. Hundreds of miles away in Laval, Quebec, reporters founds scores more Teslas jammed into parking bays in another lot.
Related: Tesla Accused Of Gaming Canada’s EV Rebate Program After 4 Stores Sold 2 Cars Per Minute Wiping Out $43M In Grants
A staggering 8,600 cars were registered in just three days at four Tesla retail outlets in Canada, which breaks down as one car every minute, 24 hours a day for three straight days, even when the stores were closed. That kind of activity is highly unusual, but what really raised eyebrows was the timing of the sales flurry.
The sales came during a period when demand for Teslas in Canada had tanked, in part due to CEO Elon Musk’s association with President Trump, who has threatened to impose significant import tariffs and repeatedly suggested that Canada could become the USA’s 51st state. But the sales also occurred right before the country paused its iZEV electric vehicle subsidy program, leading some to suggests Tesla had gamed the system.
Tesla filed for C$43.1 million (US$30M) in rebates, which represented more than half of the remaining C$71.8 million (US$50M) allocated for EV rebates, and has left many Canadian car dealers out of pocket. They had fronted the discount themselves for each car they’d sold on the understanding that they’d be able to recoup the money from the Canadian government, but that might not now happen.
One dealer CTV News spoke to said he was C$400k ($279k) down because Tesla’s sales rush meant he hadn’t had chance to claim before the program was shut down.
More: Over 80 Tesla Cars Vandalized At Canadian Dealership In Possibly The Largest Attack Yet
Tesla better hope the vandals behind recent attacks on its cars and showrooms don’t watch the news, because hundreds of Model 3s and Model Ys parked up together sounds like a dream come true for protestors. We’ve asked Tesla—who famously disbanded its press team in the US—about the lots full of cars, but so far, we haven’t received a response.
