Toronto, Ontario — The federal government announces an investment into interconnected autonomous vehicle (AV) network testing in Ottawa, British Columbia reports a drop in electric vehicle (EV) rebate claims and a new organization begins investigating allegations against Tesla for false advertising. This is the latest in electric and autonomous vehicles.
Cash Injection
The government of Canada is expanding investment into Invest Ottawa’s Area X.O, a company specializing in connecting AVs, unmanned aerial vehicles and other systems to a national 5G network.
According to a government press release, Invest Ottawa will receive a financial injection of nearly $5.4 million to support 140 new companies, create and maintain 745 jobs and commercialize 40 new products and services at Area X.O.
“Today’s announcement for Area X.O will boost growth in important emergency sectors while strengthening our regional economy and increasing the participation of underrepresented Canadians,” said Yasir Naqvi, Minister of Emergency Preparedness.
Electric Burns
Long wait times, price hikes and changing provincial policies have resulted in a drop of EV rebate claims in British Columbia, according to the New Car Dealers Association of B.C.
Data provided by the association to the Vancouver Sun indicates 9,963 rebates for sold EVs in 2022, compared to 18,533 rebates in 2021. There were 8,622 rebates in 2020.
The federal and B.C. provincial governments are currently planning for 100 percent of new vehicles sales to be zero emissions, despite slow EV adoption rates for financial and infrastructural reasons.
Advertising Hiccups
The U.S. Department of Justice has begun investigating Tesla’s driving assistance features, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reported by Drive Tesla Canada.
This follows an ongoing National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation into false advertising by Tesla, following a series of crashes involving Teslas with autopilot systems.
In Tesla’s filing, the OEM claims that no government agency has found it guilty of any wrongdoing.
