Shares of Tesla (TSLA -4.75%) are falling on Wednesday. The electric vehicle maker’s stock lost 3.8% as of 3:30 p.m. ET and was down as much as 5.4% earlier in the day. The steep decline comes as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes lost 0.6% and 1.3%, respectively.
The EV leader is facing new headwinds as international trade tensions escalate into direct action against the company.
Canada freezes Tesla rebates in tariff retaliation
Canada announced it has frozen $43 million in suspicious EV rebates for Tesla vehicles and will investigate each claim to verify their legitimacy. The announcement comes after the EV maker submitted thousands of claims in the days before the rebate program ended, the equivalent of selling two cars every minute, 24 hours a day.
Canadian Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland has directed her ministry to explicitly exclude Tesla vehicles from the country’s zero-emission rebate program for as long as “illegitimate and illegal U.S. tariffs are imposed against Canada.”
The targeted move is one of the first and clearest direct regulatory actions against Tesla resulting from President Trump’s recent tariff policies and Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s prominent position in his administration. This is likely to significantly affect the company’s ability to sell vehicles in Canada.
Tesla woes
This is one more in a series of recent woes for the company that stem in large part from Musk’s actions. The company has seen its sales plummet across key markets from China to the E.U. as Musk inserts himself into the politics of countries around the world. This comes at an already vulnerable time for Tesla as it faces stiffening competition from legacy manufacturers and Chinese EV rivals. Even after the significant drop in price over the past few months, I think Tesla remains overpriced, and I would avoid the stock.
Johnny Rice has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
