Minnesota' e-bike rebate application website crashed, prompting social media fury
As Minnesotans logged on in hopes of snagging a state rebate for an electric bike, the website quickly crashed. The Minnesota Department of Revenue's website crashed this morning, causing a social media firestorm as eager Minnesotans applied for a new state-funded electric bike rebate. The Department of Enforcement (DOR) was working to rectify the technical issues and postpone the application process. The state legislature allocated $2 million in the 2024 and 2025 budgets to provide instant rebates for people to purchase e-bikes, which would reduce the price by between 50% to 75% depending on an applicant's income. However, the rebate only covers about 1,300 rebates if people use the full $1,500. The bill authorizing the rebates required the DOR commissioner to administer rebates on a first-come, first-served basis.
Yayınlanan : 10 ay önce ile Nick Halter içinde Entertainment Tech
As eager Minnesotans logged on this morning hoping to snag a new state-funded electric bike rebate, the website quickly crashed and prompted a social media firestorm. Why it matters: Whether it's Taylor Swift tickets or St. Paul swimming lessons, few things upset people more than glitches like this.
State of play: After two and a half hours of limbo, the Minnesota Department of Revenue, which is administering the rebates, announced the application process would be postponed and apologized for the inconvenience.
• "We are working with our external technology vendors engaged for this program to understand and fix the technical issues on the site," the DOR said in a news release.
Catch up fast: The Legislature allocated $2 million in both the 2024 and 2025 budgets to provide instant rebates for Minnesotans to purchase e-bikes.
• The discount would reduce the price by between 50% to 75% — capped at $1,500 — depending on an applicant's income.
Yes, but: $2 million only covers about 1,300 rebates if people use the full $1,500.
• One of Minnesota's biggest bike dealers, Erik's, wrote that an estimated 20,000 e-bikes were sold in the state in 2023.
Between the lines: People knew competition would be fierce, and that's why so many were logged on and ready at 11am for the first-come, first-served application.
The intrigue: Social media users erupted in anger, with the most common question being: Why didn't the state opt for a lottery system to avoid a system overload?
• The 2023 bill that authorized the rebates required the DOR commissioner to administer the rebates on a first-come, first-served basis.
What's next: The DOR has directed people to sign up for email updates about when the application process will start again.
Konular: Media, Social Media