Announced today comes some surprising news from Ontario; Tesla wins against the Ontario Government over electric vehicle rebates.

Tesla Wins: What’s Going On?

I’m not too convinced that many people felt Tesla would win this one, but let’s look at what’s going on.

Back in June, a new Ontario government axed a scheme that gave consumers rebates up to $14,000 CAD on the purchase of an electric vehicle. The scheme was called the Electric and Hydrogen Vehicle Incentive Program and was initially created to encourage buyers to opt for more environmentally friendly auto’s.

Details of the Scheme are the Issue

Scrapping the scheme wasn’t entirely what Tesla had a problem with, but rather, its problem was with a governmental decision that alienated the company from the competition. Ontario’s Government decided to honor the EV rebates up until September 10th, but only for those who bought an electric vehicle through a dealership.

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Anyone who knows Tesla also knows that Tesla doesn’t sell its cars via a traditional ‘dealership.’ It sells directly to consumers and so the company claimed this decision “unjustly targeted” Tesla Canada. The end result was that competitor brands were still able to offer the rebates program, while Tesla was not, leaving the latter with a lot of canceled orders and missed sales.

The Lawsuit

More information about the lawsuit is expected in the coming days, but what we know at the moment is the following statement from Justice Frederick L Myers who said:

“The [Government of Ontario’s] asserted rationale for limiting the transition program to franchised dealerships is laden with factual assumptions that were susceptible to being proved or disproved with evidence.”

Deeming the plan unfair and unlawful, the ruling has been in favor of Tesla, however, the Ontario Government will be reviewing it and will make a decision on proceedings over the coming week.