Ontario government asking court to toss application from Tesla over electric vehicle rebates

TORONTO – Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government is asking the province’s Superior Court to throw out an application for judicial review from Tesla Motors Canada.

In a document filed Tuesday, the provincial attorney general says there is “no merit” to the electric car maker’s application, “and it should be dismissed outright.”

Tesla claims it has been treated unfairly in the cancellation of a program providing rebates to Ontario residents who bought electric vehicles.

In its application, the company says the decision by Premier Doug Ford‘s government to halt the program in July left hundreds of its customers no longer eligible for rebates they expected to get when they ordered their vehicles.

It claims Tesla was also left out of a program that allows purchasers of other brands to still get rebates during a transition period.

But in its response, the government says the decision to revoke the rebate program was made for “valid public reasons,” and Tesla’s application should be dismissed.