Ontario judge gives Tesla a win for business model
TORONTO — Tesla Inc. has secured a minor legal victory in Ontario in its push for equal treatment as the company looks to defend its direct-to-consumer business model in numerous markets.
The Ontario case comes as Tesla struggles to move ahead with its retail model in the U.S., where it has not used franchised dealerships.
Numerous U.S. states including Michigan, New Jersey and Missouri have passed laws to prevent Tesla from selling vehicles directly to consumers following pressure from automobile dealership associations.
Ontario Superior Court judge Frederick Myers ruled Monday that the provincial government’s decision to exclude Tesla from a grace period for an electric vehicle rebate program was arbitrary and had singled out Tesla. The ruling requires that the government review the program to include Tesla or provides justification for the company’s exclusion.
Tesla launched the case after the province ended the rebate program worth up to $14,000 per vehicle on July 11, but said it would extend rebates to vehicles already sold through dealerships if they were delivered and registered within 60 days.
Myers found the government tried to exclude Tesla from the extension by specifying only vehicles ordered through a dealership would be eligible for the extension. When it learned Tesla did sell through its own dealership network, the province further specified to the company that only franchised dealerships would be eligible.