Even as Tesla buyers struggle with the tax credit phase-out in the United States, countries like Canada and Germany appear to be doing their best to kill green energy initiatives where Tesla is involved.
In Canada, Premier Doug Ford’s government is being sued by Tesla Motors Canada after it canceled EV rebates by a maximum of $14,000. Tesla says its sales are being affected, and the perception now among potential Canadian buyers is that Tesla may be “singled out for future arbitrary treatment under the law.”
According to reddit user marsallro399
No rebate exists for up to $16,000. A $14,000 rebate existed for EVs that had a large enough battery and could seat a certain amount of people… the Model 3 (and only the Model 3, and Nissan Leaf and Chevy Bolt) qualified for this rebate.
I don’t think millionaires are the ones buying the Model 3. I think they’re buying the Model S and X (~$150,000 CAD).
Rebate only existed for cars under $75,000 before taxes
In Germany, a similar problem has forced Tesla to sue the government over a $4,000 Euro environmental bonus that EV buyers purchasing cars priced under 60,000 euro were eligible for.
These problems could seriously affect Tesla’s sales, and in the United States, even General Motors is feeling the pinch as it approaches the 200,000 sales mark for its EVs. This is when the tax credit phase-out kicks in.
It appears that these governments are against green energy when you look at what’s happening in just these three countries. These aren’t minor markets for Tesla or any other EV maker looking to break into the ICE-dominated automobile landscape. The sales potential is massive, which is probably why automakers transitioning en-masse to electric vehicles are going to be hit badly when credits are cut.
The whole purpose of tax credits and other green bonuses is to encourage buyers to switch their decision in favor of electric vehicles, but these governments are behaving in a counter-intuitive manner. If we dig further, it even looks like Tesla alone is being targeted because of the success it’s having, and the obvious suspect in each of these cases is the ICE lobby putting pressure on politicians.
Is this ever going to stop? Perhaps, but only when most of the world’s current auto giants are ready with their EV fleets, and that’s going to take at least another five years, if not longer.
Nevertheless, the EV juggernaut is already on the move, and nothing that these governments do can curtain the growth of EV sales in these markets.
Here’s what it looks like in Europe:
Here’s the scenario in North America:
And this is the chart for the United States:
Moreover, U.S. sales typically reflects what you see elsewhere, and in every case, Tesla leads the field:
So, is it any surprise that governments around the world – led by the Trump administration’s moves – are putting downward pressure on a company that’s already upending the age-old automobile industry?
These reports will keep coming out in the future, and there’s nothing Tesla can do to stop it. The best it can manage is to lodge a formal complaint and officially bring to bear a lawsuit in each of these cases. But when the dust settles, Tesla will walk away with the trophy and leave these political puppets dangling from limp strings attached to ICE lobbies that no longer have the power to stop the EV revolution.
God, now I sound like Bob Marley!
