Tesla appears to be preparing to ship US-built Model 3 vehicles back into Canada after the affordable Shanghai-made version sold out, a move that could nearly double the price buyers pay.
Tesla Motors (NASDAQ: TSLA) quietly updated the specifications for the Model 3 Premium rear-wheel-drive version on its Canadian website, with range jumping from 463 kilometers to 584 km, the 0-100 km/h sprint shortened from 6.2 seconds to 5.2 seconds, and a curb weight of 1,745 kilograms.
Those figures match exactly the long-range rear-wheel-drive version built at the Fremont factory that Canada sold two years ago, and they also align closely with the Model 3 Premium rear-wheel-drive version listed on the US website, which carries a 363-mile EPA range, or about 584 km, and a 0-100 km/h time of 4.9 seconds. This suggests that after Shanghai-made Model 3 sales were halted due to quota exhaustion, Tesla Motors (NASDAQ: TSLA) may be redirecting US-built Model 3 vehicles to the Canadian market.
In May of this year, Tesla Motors (NASDAQ: TSLA) brought the Shanghai-built Model 3 Premium rear-wheel-drive version into Canada at a price of C$39,490, roughly 190,000 yuan, with 463 km of range and a 0-100 km/h time of 6.2 seconds. The model quickly gained popularity thanks to its low price, but it used up the entire year's import quota in just four months. On October 12, Tesla Motors (NASDAQ: TSLA) suspended orders for the model on its Canadian website, with a page notice saying that if the Canadian government issues more quota, sales are expected to resume in March 2027. As of October 9, the federal quota tracker showed 33,069 permits still unused for the period, but Tesla's share had already been exhausted.
The quota issue stems from Canada's tariff policy on Chinese-made electric vehicles. In October 2024, Canada imposed an additional 100% tariff on Chinese-made EVs, which was later lowered to a 6.1% in-quota tariff rate. The Shanghai-built Tesla Motors (NASDAQ: TSLA) Model 3 enjoyed the lower tariff within the quota, which made the C$39,490 price possible. Once the quota was used up, the Shanghai-made Model 3 could no longer be imported.
If Tesla Motors (NASDAQ: TSLA) chooses to ship Model 3 vehicles back from the Fremont factory, it will face another cost burden. Canada has imposed a 25% retaliatory tariff on US-made vehicles since April 2025, and that measure remains in effect. It was this tariff that forced Tesla to raise the price of the Model 3 long-range all-wheel-drive version by C$11,000 to C$79,990 and to discontinue the C$55,990 long-range rear-wheel-drive version.
In March of this year, Tesla Motors (NASDAQ: TSLA) cleared out its remaining US-made Model 3 inventory in Canada and then switched to Shanghai-made vehicles, which led to the historic low price of C$39,490 in May. Based on a similar markup, the Fremont-built Model 3 Premium rear-wheel-drive version would be priced in Canada at between C$65,000 and C$67,000, or roughly 310,000 to 320,000 yuan, far above the C$50,000 transaction price cap under Canada's new C$5,000 EV affordability program. Although US-made vehicles are eligible under the CUSMA agreement, the price threshold would shut most buyers out of the subsidy.
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