Tesla owner describes rise in anti-Musk sentiment | Hanomansing Tonight - video Dailymotion

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Bob Porter, the president of the Vancouver Electric Vehicle Association, says he supports British Columbia's move to exclude Tesla products from B.C. Hydro rebates because of the damage that has been done to the brand by Elon Musk through his involvement with U.S. President Donald Trump.  »»» Subscribe to CBC News to watch more videos: http://bit.ly/1RreYWS  Connect with CBC News Online:  For breaking news, video, audio and in-depth coverage: http://bit.ly/1Z0m6iX Follow CBC News on TikTok: https://bit.ly/3TnHioe Follow CBC News on Twitter: http://bit.ly/1sA5P9H Find CBC News on Facebook: http://bit.ly/1WjG36m Follow CBC News on Instagram: http://bit.ly/1Z0iE7O Subscribe to CBC News on Snapchat: https://bit.ly/3leaWsr  Download the CBC News app for iOS: http://apple.co/25mpsUz Download the CBC News app for Android: http://bit.ly/1XxuozZ  »»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»» For more than 80 years, CBC News has been the source Canadians turn to, to keep them informed about their communities, their country and their world. Through regional and national programming on multiple platforms, including CBC Television, CBC News Network, CBC Radio, CBCNews.ca, mobile and on-demand, CBC News and its internationally recognized team of award-winning journalists deliver the breaking stories, the issues, the analyses and the personalities that matter to Canadians.

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00:00In the wake of a growing backlash against U.S. products,

00:02British Columbia is targeting one of the President's closest allies.

00:05Starting today, the province is removing Tesla chargers

00:09and some other products from their rebate program.

00:11CBC's Yvette Brand is on this story and joined us now.

00:15So, in British Columbia, the sort of targeted approach to the United States

00:19started with banning liquor from red states, Republican states,

00:23and now it has continued to grow.

00:26So, tell us about this latest development.

00:28Well, today we heard that the rebates will no longer apply to batteries

00:31or to chargers or to inverters.

00:33Really, any Tesla product that you can buy, it didn't apply to cars before

00:38because they were considered too expensive to be part of the program.

00:41But we heard from Premier David Eby and he talked about

00:43why they are making this move in this clip.

00:48Tesla cars are too expensive to qualify for the CleanBC Auto program,

00:54but they also produce a product called Powerwall,

00:57which is like a battery for your home, as well as chargers and accessories.

01:02I think that if British Columbians heard that $10,000 of taxpayer money

01:06was going to Elon Musk, they'd want to throw up.

01:08So, we removed them from the program.

01:12So, he's pretty clear and he's pretty visceral there.

01:14And he said clearly that it's aimed at Elon Musk,

01:17who, as we know, is quite affiliated with President Donald Trump.

01:21And he's been speaking about annexing our country.

01:23So, this is one of those elbows-up moves.

01:25Yeah, I mean, it certainly gets headlines, but to clarify,

01:28these aren't rebates on Tesla automobiles.

01:31They're rebates on the chargers and some other products.

01:34So, how much are we talking about here?

01:36Well, you know, the province has spent over $300 million,

01:38or at least set that aside for rebates over the years.

01:41And we're talking about when you go to buy a battery,

01:44you can have about $350 or half the battery rebated.

01:48If you apply for all of the subsidy programs,

01:51you can get about $700 off a battery.

01:53And this is, you know, the charger that you install on your wall

01:55and then you plug your car into.

01:57We talked to somebody today that explained how it worked.

01:59And, you know, that is an incentive, right?

02:02Yeah. And speaking of talking to people today,

02:04you spoke to some Tesla owners.

02:06We did. And some were upset, right?

02:08This was what gave them solace that they would get a bit of money back

02:12if they installed the battery charger and had a rebate.

02:15But some said, you know, this is good.

02:17You know, even though I own a Tesla, I wouldn't buy one again now,

02:20given what's happened.

02:21And, you know, there's other options now.

02:23When they first came out, you really couldn't go with anything else.

02:26Now you can.

02:27All right. Yvette, thank you very much.

02:30All right, let's talk to one of those Tesla owners now.

02:33Bob Porter is president of the Vancouver Electric Vehicle Association,

02:37also a Tesla owner.

02:39How do you feel about all of this?

02:41It's very upsetting for most people,

02:44but the stop in the $350 rebate on the chargers

02:48or even on the rebates that are on power walls,

02:52I totally understand it.

02:53It's just one more little thing that we can do

02:56to push back at our big dragon next door.

03:01But you own a Tesla. You drive it around.

03:03Yep.

03:04And how do you feel about your car suddenly becoming a political target?

03:10It's really unfortunate because I bought it long before

03:13Elon got really involved in politics.

03:16Just like most other owners.

03:17I mean, there's a couple million Teslas running around on the roads

03:20around the world.

03:21Nobody thought this was ever going to happen.

03:23So, you know, it is what it is.

03:26And taking the rebate off, it doesn't affect everybody.

03:29If you really wanted a Tesla charger,

03:32then, okay, you'll have to accept the fact you won't get a $350 rebate.

03:36But the fact is there's many other chargers.

03:38You can buy ones that are made in Canada

03:39if you really want to be patriotic.

03:41Get the $350 rebate and just enjoy the car.

03:49So, you know, there was a time not long ago

03:51when Teslas were seen as a virtuous purchase, right?

03:54And there are a lot of them on the streets of Vancouver.

03:58And then, you know, the politics shift.

04:00And I know particularly the cyber truck is something

04:02which has become a target of derision on the part of a lot of people.

04:07Do you get any pushback at all?

04:09You don't have a truck. You have a car.

04:11But do you get any kind of pushback at all or negative comments

04:14or dirty looks when you drive your Tesla around town?

04:18I haven't had anything happen yet.

04:20Most people I know have not had the issue, but there is a concern.

04:24And we know south of the border, there's a lot stronger pushback.

04:27People have gotten very emotional.

04:29And if they think about it logically,

04:31probably most Tesla owners, if you ask,

04:33did you vote for Donald Trump, they'll probably tell you no.

04:36And they'd rather see Elon go back and work on cars

04:39and not get involved in politics,

04:41something that's not his background or his forte.

04:43You're carrying a sticker that I think you have a version of this on your car.

04:46Yes, I do. And I've given a few of those away.

04:50I bought this car before Elon went crazy.

04:52And you actually have that on your Tesla?

04:54Yes, I do.

04:56And I'm kind of hoping that it'll lighten things up a little bit.

05:00I mean, the tension and anger they've got towards Tesla and because of Elon,

05:05it makes sense that if people see this, at least they'll get a giggle.

05:08I've had people taking pictures of it.

05:09I had somebody laughing at it today when they saw it.

05:12So, put a little bit of humor into the situation,

05:15as difficult as the situation is.

05:18One last thing quickly.

05:20When you bought your Tesla, there weren't a lot of options

05:23if you wanted an electric vehicle.

05:25If you were to buy a new electric vehicle,

05:27what direction do you think you'd go in?

05:29Well, right now, there's about 60 products on the market,

05:32more coming next year.

05:34So, there's plenty of options that are good.

05:37And they're not small, they don't have short range,

05:40there's enough long range cars that will compete

05:43with what the Tesla's range is.

05:44At a good price, a little bit less than most of the Teslas.

05:48So, you know, Hyundai, Kia, Ford, GM,

05:52they've all got products out there.

05:53More coming online.

05:55So, you don't have to go to a Tesla if you really don't want to

05:57and you're worried about the optics.

06:00Go out and then try one and enjoy it.

06:03All right. Okay, Bob, thank you very much for coming in.

06:05Thank you for having me.

06:06Bob Porter is president

06:07of the Vancouver Electric Vehicle Association.

Tesla owner describes rise in anti-Musk sentiment | Hanomansing Tonight

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