Two weeks ago it was revealed that Tesla was suing the Ontario government over what it called an unfair and unlawful end to the province's Electric and Hydrogen Vehicle Incentive Program. Now a judge has weighed in on the case and ruled in favour of the electric automaker.
The lawsuit stemmed from how the EHVIP was to wrap up. Vehicles ordered from a franchised dealer prior to the end of the program would qualify, as long as they delivered the cars before September 10th. For vehicles ordered from a non-franchised dealer, like Tesla's stores, the program ended immediately. Vehicles in-transit wouldn't qualify for the program.
"The Minister of Transportation's decision suddenly left hundreds of Tesla Canada's Ontario customers in the unfair position of no longer being eligible for the rebate they had expected to receive when they ordered their vehicles," the lawsuit stated, "while purchasers of other brands and from other dealers will still receive the rebate during the transition period."
The court agreed with Tesla.
"The [Government of Ontario's] asserted rationale for limiting the transition program to franchised dealerships is laden with factual assumptions that were susceptible to being proved or disproved with evidence," Global News reports Justice Frederick L. Myers wrote in the court's decision.
"If the government wants to transition out of the electric car subsidy program, the [minister of transportation] must exercise his operational discretion in a lawful manner. He has yet to do so. I therefore quash and set aside the minister’s unlawful exercises of discretion to implement the transition program announced."
The ruling also called the decision to restrict transition to franchised dealers "arbitrary."
Tesla told Global through a statement that the company was "pleased" with the result. A spokesperson for the Attorney General said that that provincial officials are reviewing the decision and that the government "will make a decision on how to proceed in the coming days."
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