We crunched the numbers—Quebecers really hate Tesla

In 2016, J.-F., one of the first Quebecers to take delivery of a new Tesla Model X, was making headlines in Montreal for being something of an early EV adopter. Almost a decade later, things have changed dramatically. For one thing, where he was once proud to be affiliated with the automaker in print, he now asks for anonymity before agreeing to speak with us. More importantly, he’s reluctantly just sold his “Tessie,” as his three daughters had named the Model X. “My daughters, now young adults, grew up with this battery-powered SUV,” he says. “They were very attached to it—much more than I ever realized!”

But you’ve likely been following the news: since the beginning of this year, a rash of anti-Elon-Musk protests have sprung up around the world, and particularly in Canada. As a result, many Tesla owners no longer want to be associated with the brand or its CEO, while others fear their EV will be vandalized. Simon-Pierre Rioux, spokesperson for the EV-advocacy group Association des Véhicules Électriques du Québec (AVEQ), has personally witnessed some seriously “key-scratched” Teslas. “People are afraid their car will get damaged, so to avoid that stress, they choose not to use it any more, or simply to get rid of it,” he told Driving.

As noted above, J.-F. recently did the latter, even though he had never been disappointed with his Tesla. In fact, he had planned to keep it for at least 20 years. “I liked its autonomous driving, its charging network, and its automatic ‘over-the-air’ upgrades,” he told Driving. “Trading it in for another electric car meant making so many compromises. After all, the car hadn’t done anything wrong! I hesitated for a long time before making the move, but in the end, I didn’t want to be associated with the Tesla brand any more.”

Quebec one of the most anti-Elon-Musk provinces in Canada

Which of Elon Musk’s actions has bothered people like J.-F. the most? Was it his friendship with President Trump? Or the brutal government layoffs he ordered in an effort to pare back American bureaucracy? Was it his support for far-right groups, which culminated in a Seig-Heil-like salute at the presidential inauguration in January, sparking acts of vandalism against Tesla cars and Tesla dealerships seemingly overnight?

For many Canadian Tesla owners, it was likely his shocking post on X (he’s since taken it down) where, in response to a national petition to strip him of his Canadian citizenship, he proclaimed Canada “wasn’t a real country.” Therein lies perhaps the ultimate irony of this about-turn: who would have thought that among all Canadians, Quebecers would be the most offended by such a statement?

In early March, Angus Reid conducted a survey that found 79% of Canadian respondents expressed having an overall unfavourable view of Elon Musk. That sentiment climbed to 84% among Quebec respondents, and 85% among those in the Atlantic provinces, representing the highest “hate” rates in the country. (Saskatchewan survey respondents were least likely to harbour Musk negativity, with just 65% giving him a thumbs down.)

Is Tesla in free fall in Quebec?

Since Tesla doesn’t disclose its sales figures region-by-region, it’s difficult to determine to what extent Quebec’s impacted the automaker’s recent sales slump in this country. One thing is certain, though: the downturn at least appears worse in La Belle Province than elsewhere in Canada, despite the indisputable popularity of electric vehicles among its automobilistes (last year, Quebec bought more than half the EVs sold across the country).

Quebec is the only jurisdiction in Canada that still offers government rebates on Tesla’s electric vehicles. However, since the beginning of this year, only 12% of buyers of eligible EVs have applied the Quebec credit (now $4,000) against a new Tesla purchase. According to the most recently updated statistics from the Roulez vert incentive program, that’s three times less than in 2020, when Teslas accounted for 34% of all rebates claimed.

Indeed, for the months of January, April, and May of this year (the provincial rebate program was suspended for February and March) the Tesla Model X, despite being the most popular electric SUV in Quebec in 2024, accounted for just 8% of all provincial rebates claimed. The Tesla Model 3 alone used to pocket a third of all Quebec EV rebates, but the electric sedan’s sales are now a shadow of their former selves; since the start of the year, it accounted for just 3% of all provincial rebates.

Instead, Tesla’s two EVs have largely been outdone by the new Chevrolet Equinox EV, which accounted for 21% of all Quebec incentive claims; and to a lesser extent, the Hyundai Ioniq 5, which accounted for 13%.

Share of provincial EV rebates claimed in Quebec by model

Source: Quebec’s Roulez vert program—incentives for new EVs (excluding PHEV, hybrids and used EVs)

Is the downturn related to competition—or Twitter/X?

As shown in the table above, Tesla’s decline in Quebec is nothing new. In 2023 and 2024, Tesla vehicles eligible for the Roulez vert program accounted for only one in five provincial subsidies.

Stephane Pascalon, president of Club Tesla Québec, explained to Driving that Quebec is, along with British Columbia, the only province with its own ZEV mandate, and that therefore manufacturers are concentrating their electrified efforts in La Belle Province, resulting in a wider selection of EV models. “Some manufacturers are not even commercialising their EV in other provinces, so when buyers outside Quebec are looking for an EV, they naturally go for a Tesla.”

While that certainly plays a role, the downturn in Quebec may also be related to Elon Musk’s purchase, in October 2022, of the social network Twitter, now known as X. Indeed, our interviewee J.-F. confides that, “for me, this was the turning point.”

“Elon Musk’s rhetoric became more toxic, and no longer had anything to do with developing the automotive industry or advancing technology,” he says. “In fact, I quickly left the platform.”

And now he’s done the same with Musk’s automotive brand, the political argument having won over the technological one.

More than anywhere else, Quebecers want to get rid of their Teslas

When our Montreal électromobiliste, like an unquantifiable number of his peers, wanted to sell his Tesla on a classified-ad Internet site earlier this year, he was hit by a big problem: nobody wanted his Tesla. “I was asking $49,000 for the three-row Tesla SUV that I paid $130,000 for, and that was still benefiting from unlimited free Supercharger recharges, while still delivering 390 kilometers of range,” says J.-F. “But in two months, and although AutoHebdo reported more than 600 hits on my ad, no buyer came forward, even though I lowered my price several times.”

Indeed, when it comes to used Teslas, the outlook is bleaker in La Belle Province than anywhere else in the country. The latest monthly statistics shared by AutoTrader show that Quebecers, more than the national average, are trying to sell their Teslas. The company reported increases in used Teslas listings of 80% in May, compared to the same month in 2024; while the national average for number of listings went up by 48%.

And, perhaps as a result of this glut, the cars’ values are falling. Indeed, used Teslas saw their prices drop 20% last May compared with the same month last year, says AutoTrader. That’s more than twice the national price drop recorded across all used EVs (9%).

Source: AutoTrader

Ultimately, J.-F. exchanged his Tesla Model X for a new Cadillac Optiq. The dealership gave him a minuscule $34,000 trade-in, marking a three-quarter value loss for the electric SUV with just 115,000 kilometers on the odometer. To add insult to injury, the first few weeks driving the American electric vehicle were far from ideal: “Admittedly, the Cadillac’s suspension is superior — the vehicle literally floats above the road – but the buying process, the recharging experience, and the autonomous driving technology all fall far short of what my old ‘Tessie’ could offer.”

In short, J.-F. has regrets, but remains hopeful. “I’m very sorry I had to trade in my Tessie. Does that mean I’ll never buy another Tesla? That depends,” he says. “You know, we’ve already seen administration boards fire company directors for less than [what Musk’s done].”