N.S. MLAs hit the brakes on rebates for new Teslas

Nova Scotia MLAs voted unanimously on Friday to scrap the province's electric vehicle rebate for new Tesla products on account of its CEO's connection to U.S. President Donald Trump amid a trade war launched by the Americans.

The provincial rebate for a new electric vehicle is between $2,000 and $3,000, depending on the value of the purchase.

"The owner of Tesla happens to have aligned himself with a man who is waging economic war on our country and this is a small way to take a stand against that," New Democrat MLA Susan LeBlanc said in reference to Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk after introducing the amendment during debate on the Financial Measures Act.

LeBlanc and her caucus colleagues agreed to a sub-amendment from the governing Progressive Conservatives to clarify that the change would apply to the purchase of new products manufactured by Tesla or a corporation associated with Tesla.

"Our auto industry in particular is at threat and the American government very particularly is targeting electric vehicles and climate change," NDP Leader Claudia Chender told reporters.

"So we see no reason to rebate the purchase of cars from Tesla."

Government House leader Brendan Maguire called the amendment "a pretty easy thing to do."

"Why would we support somebody who doesn't support Canada? This is somebody who has made disparaging remarks about Canada and we're not going to support him," he told reporters.

Musk is a high-ranking member of Trump's inner circle and leads the controversial Department of Government Efficiency, which has been criticized for its assessments of various government departments and, in some cases, issuing mass layoffs.

Stock for the automobile company has faced declines in recent weeks in response to his involvement with the U.S. government.

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