Just one day after Manitoba announced it would exclude Tesla from its electric vehicle (EV) rebate program, Nova Scotia has followed suit. On Friday, Nova Scotia MLAs voted unanimously to remove new Tesla vehicles from the province’s Electrify Nova Scotia Rebate Program, first launched in 2021.
Under the amended Financial Measures Act, new Teslas will no longer qualify for provincial incentives, which previously offered rebates between $2,000 and $3,000 depending on the purchase price.
New Democrat MLA Susan LeBlanc introduced the amendment, saying, “The owner of Tesla happens to have aligned himself with a man who is waging economic war on our country, and this is a small way to take a stand against that.” (via CBC)
LeBlanc’s remarks were echoed by other MLAs, who cited Musk’s ties to Trump and his role as head of the controversial U.S. Department of Government Efficiency as reasons behind the move to exclude Tesla.
Progressive Conservative MLAs proposed a clarifying sub-amendment to ensure the ban applies not only to Tesla but also to any corporation associated with the company. The entire legislature backed the motion without opposition.
Unlike Manitoba’s broader exclusion of both new and used Tesla and Chinese-made EVs from rebates, Nova Scotia’s only targets new Teslas. Used Tesla will still be eligible for rebates. Like Manitoba, other U.S.-based automakers are unaffected.
Tesla has not been eligible for the federal iZEV rebate program since raising prices in January. A few weeks later the iZEV rebate program was paused indefinitely after running out of money.
British Columbia has also targeted Tesla, removing the company from its CleanBC rebate program that offered incentives for EV charger and Powerwall installations. Despite BC Hydro, who administers the program, saying U.S-based companies were being excluded “where practicable, “Premier David Eby was more blunt, saying at a press conference the exclusion “was just for Tesla and its because of Elon Musk.”
