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Suspicious Tesla Sales Surge Triggers Canadian Government Investigation

98 points by ragu4u 2y ago

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
turnsout 2y ago
They're running scared and trying everything. This stock is going back to $15
thatguy0900 2y ago
Why not go for one last government grift before you get kicked out of the country for spearheading efforts to start a war, I suppose
- snailmailstare 2y ago
  [flagged]
  - Delomomonl 2y ago
    [flagged]
  - thatguy0900 2y ago
    Kidnapping and killing president #2 would certainly be a bold decision. I suppose if they're going to be annexed anyway why not.
- glass_door 2y ago
  [dead]
chgs 2y ago
I’d data analysts is good enough to fire people and close departments it’s good enough to stop payments to an enemy.
- Terr_ 2y ago
  I'm having trouble parsing your comment. The most-charitable formulation I can can come up with is something like: "We know Musk already possesses a personal staff of unscrupulous geeks and likes to illegally stop payments. Therefore it is likely they were engaged in payment fraud here too, where the "enemy" Canadian government is hurt by stolen funds, and "enemy" car-competitors are hurt by the rebate pool being suddenly empty."
  - snailmailstare 2y ago
    If Doge wouldn't pay out then Musk can't complain when Canada doesn't.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
Terr_ 2y ago
[Recycled comment from another submission] Very suspicious. (Dare I say "Concerning"? :p) From another source with a bit more context for those numbers: > Tesla’s Canadian stores are company-owned and directly controlled by the company. [...] 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. > Tesla’s $43.1 million in rebates took up more than half of the cash left allotted for EV subsidies remaining. That meant that by the time some other dealers attempted to get their own subsidies, the money had run out. [...] 226 [non-Tesla] dealerships submitted rebate claims for 2,295 electric vehicles but still haven’t been reimbursed, leaving them collectively out by C$10 million. -- https://www.carscoops.com/2025/03/tesla-accused-of-gaming-ca https://www.carscoops.com/2025/03/tesla-accused-of-gaming-ca...
- somerandomqaguy 2y ago
  We'll have to see. There's ways to pull this off while still operating within the letter of the law. And if they did so, then there's little that can be down to get it back. Worst would happen short of federal tariffs on Tesla products is that if the iZEV resumes, they're taken off the list of illegible vehicles.
  - oglop 2y ago
    Oh I thought the worst would be the brand gets even worse promotion and goes even more in the tank in the public’s eye. Somehow.
- iJohnDoe 2y ago
  Did they just funnel and move cars through the Canada based dealerships that were for sales in other parts of the world? Does Tesla normally sell that many cars in three days?
  - Terr_ 2y ago
    Even then it would likely still be some variety of fraud, since the rebates are limited in scope to "Canadian individuals and businesses", and the business-limit is 10 no matter how many separate ones on paper an owner tries to craft. https://tc.canada.ca/en/road-transportation/innovative-technologies/zero-emission-vehicles/incentives-zero-emission-vehicles/program-overview https://tc.canada.ca/en/road-transportation/innovative-techn...
HarHarVeryFunny 2y ago
> One Tesla location in Toronto reported more than 1,200 sales on January 11 alone, accounting for $4 million in [Canadian government] rebates. Sounds like Musk being a dick - sticking it to Canada to please/amuse his boss.
- throwaway5752 2y ago
  This is a very internet take. Being a dick is personal behavior. Falsifying sales records to receive rebates is criminal fraud, regardless of how nicely you do so.
  - anonfordays 2y ago
    This is not fraud. Tesla does not sell vehicles at their "dealerships." Tesla is 100% online orders, you are not able to place an order at their showrooms with the staff. The showrooms double as delivery centers for entire regions. 30 cars per hour across a 100 mile radius as the EV subsidy is expiring is not thst hard to do. Tesla does not collect the subsidies, the owners do. The "fraud" narrative being pushed about this is because this is fake news.
    - throwaway5752 2y ago
      By all means send me the regulations for rebate and some concrete information, I'm open to being convinced otherwise by facts.
      - anonfordays 2y ago
        YOU make the claim, YOU bring sources. Your claim (or the claim you support): "Falsifying sales records to receive rebates is criminal fraud, regardless of how nicely you do so." You don't have any sources to back it up, so it can be dismissed outright.
        throwaway5752 2y ago
        My source is the original article The Canadian Automobile Dealers Association has urged Transport Canada to investigate, citing potential misuse of the rebate system. Attempts to reach Tesla for comment have gone unanswered. The federal EV rebate program, facilitating over 500,000 electric vehicle purchases since its inception, was paused on January 13, 72 hours after the government signaled its potential suspension. Officials are now reviewing the Tesla sales data to determine if any irregularities occurred during the program’s final days. A simple search yields https://tc.canada.ca/en/road-transportation/innovative-technologies/zero-emission-vehicles/incentives-zero-emission-vehicles/program-overview https://tc.canada.ca/en/road-transportation/innovative-techn... for citations of program overview. - "Individuals are eligible for one incentive" - "Organizations and businesses are eligible for up to 10 incentives. Organizations and businesses that share common ownership, other than common ownership as a result of being a publicly traded company, are considered as one single organization eligible for a combined total of 10" - "The incentive will be applied at the point-of-sale by the dealership once they have confirmed your eligibility" The story is that Tesla sold as many cars, at four dealers in three days, almost as many as they sold in Canada in all of Q1 2024 at a time when their Canadian sales are trending down. There are 1440 minutes in a day, they sold 8600 cars. Assuming a 12 hour dealer workday at 4 dealers. Articles say 2 cars a minute, I get one car per minute. It still they correctly process the incentives at point of sale or delivery? The investigating will find out. The fraud also might be if anyone bought their own vehicles to sell later, or are otherwise violate the 10 rebates per organization limit and attempted to hide this.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]

98 points by ragu4u 2y ago

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

turnsout 2y ago

They're running scared and trying everything. This stock is going back to $15

thatguy0900 2y ago

Why not go for one last government grift before you get kicked out of the country for spearheading efforts to start a war, I suppose

snailmailstare 2y ago
[flagged]
- Delomomonl 2y ago
  [flagged]
- thatguy0900 2y ago
  Kidnapping and killing president #2 would certainly be a bold decision. I suppose if they're going to be annexed anyway why not.
glass_door 2y ago
[dead]

chgs 2y ago

I’d data analysts is good enough to fire people and close departments it’s good enough to stop payments to an enemy.

Terr_ 2y ago
I'm having trouble parsing your comment. The most-charitable formulation I can can come up with is something like: "We know Musk already possesses a personal staff of unscrupulous geeks and likes to illegally stop payments. Therefore it is likely they were engaged in payment fraud here too, where the "enemy" Canadian government is hurt by stolen funds, and "enemy" car-competitors are hurt by the rebate pool being suddenly empty."
- snailmailstare 2y ago
  If Doge wouldn't pay out then Musk can't complain when Canada doesn't.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]

Terr_ 2y ago

[Recycled comment from another submission] Very suspicious. (Dare I say "Concerning"? :p) From another source with a bit more context for those numbers: > Tesla’s Canadian stores are company-owned and directly controlled by the company. [...] 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. > Tesla’s $43.1 million in rebates took up more than half of the cash left allotted for EV subsidies remaining. That meant that by the time some other dealers attempted to get their own subsidies, the money had run out. [...] 226 [non-Tesla] dealerships submitted rebate claims for 2,295 electric vehicles but still haven’t been reimbursed, leaving them collectively out by C$10 million. -- https://www.carscoops.com/2025/03/tesla-accused-of-gaming-ca https://www.carscoops.com/2025/03/tesla-accused-of-gaming-ca...

somerandomqaguy 2y ago
We'll have to see. There's ways to pull this off while still operating within the letter of the law. And if they did so, then there's little that can be down to get it back. Worst would happen short of federal tariffs on Tesla products is that if the iZEV resumes, they're taken off the list of illegible vehicles.
- oglop 2y ago
  Oh I thought the worst would be the brand gets even worse promotion and goes even more in the tank in the public’s eye. Somehow.
iJohnDoe 2y ago
Did they just funnel and move cars through the Canada based dealerships that were for sales in other parts of the world? Does Tesla normally sell that many cars in three days?
- Terr_ 2y ago
  Even then it would likely still be some variety of fraud, since the rebates are limited in scope to "Canadian individuals and businesses", and the business-limit is 10 no matter how many separate ones on paper an owner tries to craft. https://tc.canada.ca/en/road-transportation/innovative-technologies/zero-emission-vehicles/incentives-zero-emission-vehicles/program-overview https://tc.canada.ca/en/road-transportation/innovative-techn...

HarHarVeryFunny 2y ago

> One Tesla location in Toronto reported more than 1,200 sales on January 11 alone, accounting for $4 million in [Canadian government] rebates. Sounds like Musk being a dick - sticking it to Canada to please/amuse his boss.

throwaway5752 2y ago
This is a very internet take. Being a dick is personal behavior. Falsifying sales records to receive rebates is criminal fraud, regardless of how nicely you do so.
- anonfordays 2y ago
  This is not fraud. Tesla does not sell vehicles at their "dealerships." Tesla is 100% online orders, you are not able to place an order at their showrooms with the staff. The showrooms double as delivery centers for entire regions. 30 cars per hour across a 100 mile radius as the EV subsidy is expiring is not thst hard to do. Tesla does not collect the subsidies, the owners do. The "fraud" narrative being pushed about this is because this is fake news.
  - throwaway5752 2y ago
    By all means send me the regulations for rebate and some concrete information, I'm open to being convinced otherwise by facts.
    - anonfordays 2y ago
      YOU make the claim, YOU bring sources. Your claim (or the claim you support): "Falsifying sales records to receive rebates is criminal fraud, regardless of how nicely you do so." You don't have any sources to back it up, so it can be dismissed outright.
      - throwaway5752 2y ago
        My source is the original article The Canadian Automobile Dealers Association has urged Transport Canada to investigate, citing potential misuse of the rebate system. Attempts to reach Tesla for comment have gone unanswered. The federal EV rebate program, facilitating over 500,000 electric vehicle purchases since its inception, was paused on January 13, 72 hours after the government signaled its potential suspension. Officials are now reviewing the Tesla sales data to determine if any irregularities occurred during the program’s final days. A simple search yields https://tc.canada.ca/en/road-transportation/innovative-technologies/zero-emission-vehicles/incentives-zero-emission-vehicles/program-overview https://tc.canada.ca/en/road-transportation/innovative-techn... for citations of program overview. - "Individuals are eligible for one incentive" - "Organizations and businesses are eligible for up to 10 incentives. Organizations and businesses that share common ownership, other than common ownership as a result of being a publicly traded company, are considered as one single organization eligible for a combined total of 10" - "The incentive will be applied at the point-of-sale by the dealership once they have confirmed your eligibility" The story is that Tesla sold as many cars, at four dealers in three days, almost as many as they sold in Canada in all of Q1 2024 at a time when their Canadian sales are trending down. There are 1440 minutes in a day, they sold 8600 cars. Assuming a 12 hour dealer workday at 4 dealers. Articles say 2 cars a minute, I get one car per minute. It still they correctly process the incentives at point of sale or delivery? The investigating will find out. The fraud also might be if anyone bought their own vehicles to sell later, or are otherwise violate the 10 rebates per organization limit and attempted to hide this.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]