Toronto dumps Tesla from grants program as Canadians react to White House trade war

The Canadian city of Toronto has announced it will exclude Tesla electric vehicles from its zero emissions grant program for taxi and limousine owners, in direct retaliation against Elon Musk for what the city describes as the “senseless” attacks against Canada from the new Trump administration.

A motion put forward by Toronto mayor Olivia Chow was passed by the council last week that excludes Tesla EVs involved in the city’s vehicle-for-hire sector from subsidising their permits and licenses.

Musk has emerged as a polarising figure, in the US, Canada and across the world, due to his role in slashing employee numbers, seeking to eliminate certain departments and agencies, and for amplifying Trump’s tariff threats and far right political agendas on his X platform.

Doug Ford, the conservative governor of Ontario, of which Toronto is the capital, earlier this month threatened to cancel a $C100 million contract with Musk’s Starlink in response to the tariffs threat, saying he “won’t do business with anyone hell bent on destroying” the Canadian economy.

Tesla EV sales plunged in January in many countries, falling by more than 60 per cent across Europe – more than 75 per cent in Spain -m and by 33 per cent in Australia. Musk supporters insist it is because customers are waiting for the new Model Y, others say it is because of a consumer backlash against Musk himself.

However, Wired reports that prominent members of Tesla fan and merchandise clubs in Europe have ditched their Tesla EVs and swapped them for another vehicle. See: Elon Musk’s toxicity could spell disaster for Tesla. The Driven understands that some in Australia are considering doing the same.

The Toronto grant program is designed to incentivise taxi and limousine owners to purchase zero-emission vehicles before 2030, and offers a reduction in both licensing and renewal fees until the end of 2029.

The larger goal of the Program is to support the vehicle-for-hire sector to meet the city council requirement that all such vehicles are to be zero-emission beginning in 2030.

The motion to exclude Tesla passed with a vote of 20 to 4, although some on the council queried why other American EV manufacturers were allowed to remain in the grant program.

According to various local media outlets, Chow specifically described the motion as a way to target Elon Musk and his influence within the Trump administration and Donald Trump’s “senseless” attacks over trade with Canada.

It will be largely symbolic however, as there are only nine Tesla EVs registered in the program. But such an action would have unimaginable just a few years ago when Tesla was seen as the darling of the EV market, and the favoured option for buyers, particularly in north America and Australia, where it has dominated sales.

“For now, the best we can do is send a message to the White House,” Chow said, according to various local media reports.

Toronto’s deputy mayor, Mike Colle, also announced that he plans to push for the closure of a local Tesla store, describing Musk as “the second most powerful man in the Trump administration who is hell-bent on destroying the Canadian economy.”