Canada Threatens 45,000 Tesla Sales
Canada has announced a plan that will probably hurt Tesla sales there. The EV maker's problems in Canada are the tip of a very big iceberg.
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Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA | TSLA Price Prediction) sales in Canada have risen steadily for several years and hit 46,000 last year. Sales have plunged this year, and the Canadian government has announced a plan that will probably push them down further.
Tesla sales in Canada dropped 70% between December and January. Tuesday, the government announced that it has frozen the payment of rebates on Tesla vehicles, which will make them much more expensive. “Canada has frozen all rebate payments for Tesla, opened a new tab and banned the electric-vehicle maker from future EV rebate programs, Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland, said,” according to Reuters.
The decision is probably a reaction to 25% tariffs that President Trump said he will put on all imports from Canada, although the government was vague about whether that is the case. Canada also said that Tesla claimed $43 million in “suspicious” rebates a few days before the rebates ended.
The company’s sales in Canada may only be a small percentage of the 1.8 million cars it sold worldwide last year. However, the Canadian drop added to severe falloffs in its most important regions.
In the European Union, its sales declined 47% in February to 11,743, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association. Although it cannot be proven, there is some evidence that Elon Musk’s relationship with President Trump is partly to blame. Trump has threatened tariffs on goods from Europe, including automobiles.
Tesla’s February sales in China were 11.2% lower than in the same month last year. Its unit sales for the month were 26,777. China is the world’s largest EV market by far, and the company already faces competition from local manufacturers.
Tesla has become the target of Americans who are opposed to his relationship with President Trump. In some cases, its dealers and cars have been vandalized. Tesla trade-ins also hit a record level in February.
Tesla’s problems in Canada are the tip of a very big iceberg.
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