OK, I’ve been thinking about this a bit. Tesla won’t have any success negotiating with Ford. Why? Because Ford hates them and Tesla drivers. If your local MPP is NDP or Liberal then they will likely also have no success changing Ford’s mind. Why? He hates them too. Our only hope is to petition PC MPPs and try to impress upon them just how unfair the MANNER of the wind down is to their constituents. With that in mind, I’ve crafted this email and I would recommend we all send it out to all the PC MPPs out there. If we can have Ford’s MPPs pushing him to loosen up a bit then we might have a chance…
Dear Mr./Ms. MPP,
Recently Premier Ford announced the cancellation of cap-and-trade, along with the green initiatives tied to it. Although I believe in climate change I understand that there are many ways to tackle this problem and Ontario’s Cap and Trade solution may not be the best of them. As such, my email today is not in protest to the cancellation of Cap and Trade and its associated green initiatives. Rather, it is in protest to the MANNER in which it is being cancelled, specifically in regards to the EVHIP program.
On July 11th, Premier Ford’s team announced the immediate cancellation of the program. The only way to still qualify for the rebate would be if one satisfied one of the following two conditions:
- Eligible vehicles that have been delivered to consumers, registered, and plated on or before July 11 will receive the incentive.
- Inventory that dealers have on lots or orders made by dealerships with manufacturers on or before July 11, will also be honoured for the incentive provided that the vehicle is delivered to consumers, registered, and plated by September 10.
Although this gives dealers a ‘wind-down’ period, it offers no such consideration to consumers. I believe this was done specifically to target Tesla buyers as they buy directly from the manufacturer, especially as Premier Ford has referred to Tesla owners as ‘downtown liberals’ and ‘millionaires’. This is simply not true. The only Tesla that is currently on the list of approved vehicles (i.e. the Model 3) is aimed at middle class Ontarians. After the rebate, gas savings, and savings on maintenance, the pricing of the Model 3 is in-line with non-luxury brands, such as Honda, Toyota, and GM. For most of us, the rebate is the difference between affordability and non-affordability. Many of us have ordered this car in good faith, placing a $4,200 non-refundable deposit. We now face a no-win scenario; either cancel our orders and lose $4,200, or commit to buying a car that we can no longer afford.
All I am asking is that Premier Ford extend to us, his constituents, the same consideration he is offering to businesses (i.e. the dealers); honour those orders that were placed prior to July 11th providing the vehicle is delivered, registered, and plated by September 10th. As it stands, it seems as though Premier Ford is intentionally targeting Tesla, but is really only hurting his people. We voted-in Premier Ford in good faith, so please don’t break faith with us now – wind down this program in an equitable manner.
Sincerely,
NAME
Take this, change it, make it your own, and then send it to ALL the PC MPPs. A complete listing of their emails can be found here:
Current MPPs | Legislative Assembly of Ontario. It's time we stopped whining about how unfair this is and do what we can to fight it.
