Kelowna’s new Tesla dealership is ready to go despite tanking stock

Kelowna’s long-awaited Tesla dealership and service centre is ready for customers despite the controversy surrounding the car company's CEO Elon Musk and the fact that the company’s stock has taken a 30 per cent nosedive in the last month. The Kelowna Tesla dealership is the only Tesla dealer between the Lower Mainland and Calgary and it’s right next to the Kelowna International Airport at 3425 Circuit Road. The 30,250 square foot dealership was announced back in 2023 and opened for business this week. Tesla is also putting in a 16-stall supercharging station at Orchard Park Mall, according to Drive Tesla Canada.   Even the biggest electric vehicle fans know the elephant in the room is Musk’s role as president Donald Trump’s hatchet man. Musk’s political actions have made him unpopular with a lot of Canadians https://infotel.ca/newsitem/tesla-owners-backlash/cp259261993 and some Tesla owners are putting bumper stickers on their car to distance themselves from the brand. Some bumper stickers available for purchase online say things like "I bought this before we knew Elon was crazy", "anti Elon Tesla club" and "bought used no $ to Musk". BC Hydro and the provincial government removed Tesla products from the electric vehicle rebate program including chargers, batteries and inverters on March 12. BC Hydro's rebate program covers up to 50 per cent of the purchase cost and installation of a home charger, up to a maximum of $350. In the midst of the trade war with the U.S., NDP leader Jagmeet Singh has suggested putting a 100 per cent tariff on Tesla vehicles. Tesla’s stock has dropped by 30 per cent since Trump took office and Musk started leading the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE. Tesla does not release sales figures for Canada but rebate data from Transport Canada’s zero-emission vehicle program suggests about 33,000 Teslas received rebates for new purchases in the nine months to Dec. 31. On a per-month basis, that is down about 15 per cent compared to the approximately 50,000 Teslas that received the rebates in the 2023-24 fiscal year. — With files from Canadian Press. To contact a reporter for this story, email Jesse Tomas mailto:jtomas@infonews.ca  or call 250-488-3065 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tips@infonews.ca  and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. Find our Journalism Ethics policy here. https://infotel.ca/newsitem/code-of-ethics/it106782 We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here https://infotel.ca/newsletter .