Tesla has been scrapped from the list of exhibitors for this week's Vancouver International Auto Show on security grounds, as confirmed to this website Tuesday by Eric Nicholl, event executive director.
The statement reads - "The American electric car maker was requested to withdraw on the ground of 'primary concern' for the safety of workers, attendees and exhibitors."
Nicholl said Tesla received "multiple opportunities to voluntarily withdraw." The 2025 edition of the Vancouver International Motor Show is held between March 19 and 25 at the Vancouver Convention Centre.
Tesla caught in circle of fire
Removal of Tesla from the motoring exhibition came after a thunderstorm of anti-Tesla protests across North America the weekend before the date of the exhibition, with demonstrations in Ottawa and Vancouver. The protest movement is generally known as the "Tesla Takedown" and includes cities like Ottawa, Vancouver, and Surrey.
The shouts would condemn Tesla CEO Elon Musk for his advice to U.S. President Donald Trump, which has outraged Canadians because of remarks saying Canada may be the 51st state of the U.S.
On Sunday, about two dozen demonstrators gathered outside a Tesla dealership in Surrey, British Columbia, a day after a similar protest in Vancouver. They carried signs that read, "elbows up," "Elon be-gone," and "democracy dies in apathy."
"I think the fact that they have pulled them out of the auto show is a good decision," said Pat McCutcheon, who participated in the Surrey protest. "Elon Musk is using his immense wealth to manipulate democracy for his own interests, and citizens in the U.S., Canada, and around the world need to push back," McCutcheon stated from an interview on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, British Columbia Hydro has just de-qualified products of Tesla under its electric vehicle rebate program, which essentially followed the province government's priority for Canadian goods and foreclosed, wherever warranted, the US ones from rebates in the continuing trade dispute between Canada and the U.S.
US-Canada Trade War
Since coming to power in January, Trump has brought America to war on a global level. Last month, his administration placed an extra 25% tariff on all imports from Canada. Canada retaliated with a similar 25% tariff on $21 billion (CA$30 billion) worth of U.S. goods, causing further tension to an already taut U.S.-Canada relationship.
The damage caused by these mindless acts runs into colossal amounts of money that prompted Trump to take a hard stand and openly support the electric car manufacturer. Last week added a Tesla Model S to his fleet, boasting that his staff would use it. But even now, violent attacks on Tesla properties continue unabated.
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