Vancouver Auto Show Broke Attendance Records After Banning Tesla

NCDA / Hide Matsui

Tesla has a target on its back thanks to Elon Musk’s dealings in the U.S. government, which have sparked protest in America. The relationship between Musk and Trump is also hitting the company overseas, and the removal of Tesla from an auto show in Canada was followed by record attendance at the Vancouver event.

The Vancouver Auto Show announced that it was banning Tesla from participating in the event “on safety grounds” in the buildup to the show, reports CTV News in Canada. The move was met by backlash among Tesla fans, who called for a boycott of the event.

That didn’t materialize, however, and the show instead drew in its largest attendance on record, CTV News adds. Over the course of the five-day motor event, more than 138,000 people attended it at Vancouver’s Convention Centre.

Visitor numbers up

NCDA / Hide Matsui

The number of visitors was up by almost 10,000 over the five days when compared with last year’s Auto Show, reports Automotive News. The event also set a new single-day record on March 22, when 42,761 people passed through its doors, Blair Qualey, President and CEO of the New Car Dealers Association of BC (NCDA), told the site:

“Not only did we break another attendance record, but we also witnessed incredible interest in the shift towards sustainability and electrification in the automotive sector … This year’s event truly reflected the future of transportation, and we couldn’t be more excited to have shared that vision with the community.”

At the event, attendees had the chance to find out more about the electric vehicles on offer in Canada, new tech coming to the market and incentives available for EV purchasers north of the border. That was, of course, with the exception of everything Tesla could offer.

Tesla’s backlash in Canada

Katherine Ky Cheng/Getty Images

The decision to cut Musk’s EV brand came following widespread backlash against Tesla as a symbol of the billionaire’s meddling in U.S. politics and his increasingly right-wing views. In the U.S., opponents of Musk’s have taken to protesting Tesla dealerships and, in extreme circumstances, have set fire to Tesla cars.

Sales of the automaker’s models have also plummeted in America and around the world, with sales in Europe reported to have dropped by more than 40% this year. Canada’s response to the automaker’s ties to Trump’s trade war with some of America’s closest allies was to cut support for the American brand.

Provinces in Canada slashed support for EV owners looking to install Tesla chargers in their home and, earlier this week, governments removed Tesla cars from the rebates available for new EV buyers. Tesla now joins many Chinese automakers in not qualifying for the support, which can be worth up to $4,000 (U.S.) on the purchase of a new electric car.