Ontario government concedes to court decision that expands rebates for Tesla buyers

The Ontario government will not appeal a Superior Court decision in favor of Tesla Motors Canada over the cancellation of electric vehicle rebates.

“The Ministry [of Transportation] will abide by the court’s decision,” Transportation Minister John Yakabuski said in a statement.

Tesla won its case against the Ontario government over a lawsuit that came after a decision by Premier Doug Ford to scrap the province’s Electric and Hydrogen Vehicle Incentive Program (EHVIP) launched by the previous Liberal government.

The program offered rebates of up to $14,000 on qualifying vehicles.

Now that Ontario’s Superior Court Judge Frederick Myers has ruled that the provincial government’s decision to exclude Tesla from a grace period for electric vehicle rebates was arbitrary and had singled out Tesla for harm, the government will have to review the program so that it includes Tesla or provides adequate justification for its exclusion.

This change affects about 600 new Tesla owners and means all buyers of electric vehicles costing less than $75,000 will qualify for rebates as long as their vehicles are delivered and registered by Sept. 10.