City council is expected to debate a motion at today’s meeting that will propose getting rid of the Tesla subsidy for taxi drivers amid
economic threats from the U.S.
“I will introduce a motion this afternoon that will remove Tesla eligibility for subsidies,” Mayor Olivia Chow told reporters Tuesday morning ahead of the council meeting that will debate the 2025 budget.
“People can still continue to buy electric vehicles,” Chow said. “I see no reason why the city should subsidize the purchase of Teslas.”
Other types of electric vehicles, such as from Ford or Chrysler, will not be affected.
If the motion passes today, it will go into effect March 1.
Chow said the city provides $4.85 million in grants to eligible taxi owners to buy electric vehicles.
“Feel free to buy them, but no reason that we should pay millions in grants,” she said.
When asked if Tesla was being singled out because the company’s owner Elon Musk is part of the Donald Trump administration, which is threatening Canada with punitive tariffs, Chow said: “It’s a very popular brand.”
“You can draw whatever conclusion you want,” she added.
An early draft of the motion seen by the Star proposes to “temporarily remove Tesla vehicles from the eligibility for enrollment in the incentive program for vehicles for hire effect March 1, 2025 and promote all other electric vehicles that continue to qualify for the program, until such time as the U.S. trade action had ended.”
This follows last week’s city council meeting marked by patriotic speeches and members unanimously approving a plan for a “comprehensive, multi-faceted ‘Buy Local, Buy Canadian’ campaign” that would encourage residents and businesses to purchase “locally made Canadian goods and services.”
Both the Tesla motion expected Tuesday and the “buy local” motion are part of measures Chow announced last week that the city would take in response to what she referred to as Trump’s “senseless” trade war.
