Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) has begun taking orders for Shanghai-built Model 3 sedans in Canada at a starting price of C$39,490 (c. $28,800 USD) — the lowest the model has ever been listed in the country — after a trade deal between Prime Minister Mark Carney and Beijing cut the effective duty on Chinese-made electric vehicles from 100% to 6.1%. The new entry-level trim, the Model 3 Premium Rear-Wheel Drive, is built at Tesla's Giga Shanghai factory. It delivers 463 km (288 miles) of range and a 0–100 km/h time of 4.2 seconds. Tesla Model 3 Premium (Tesla Canada) The C$39,490 price tag represents a steep cut from recent levels. Canada's 25% counter-tariffs on US-made vehicles, imposed in early 2025 in response to Washington's steel and aluminium duties, had pushed the cheapest available Model 3 — the Long Range AWD, built at Tesla's Fremont, California plant — to C$79,990 (c. $58,300 USD). The new Shanghai-sourced replacement costs C$40,000 less. In US dollar terms, the C$39,490 Model 3 Premium RWD works out to approximately $28,800 — around $8,200 below the equivalent base Model 3 available in the United States, where the starting price remains $37,000. The difference reflects a direct inversion of tariff regimes: Canada now charges just 6.1% on Chinese-built EVs while levying 25% on American-made ones. The lower rate followed a trade agreement Carney's government finalised with Beijing in January 2026. Under the terms, Ottawa reduced the 100% surtax it had applied to Chinese EVs since October 2024 to the standard most-favoured-nation rate of 6.1%, under an annual quota of 49,000 vehicles. The quota is set to grow to 70,000 units per year by 2030. In exchange, China agreed to cut tariffs on Canadian canola seed from roughly 85% to 15% and lift restrictions on Canadian lobster and crab exports. Tesla moved quickly to capitalise on the new framework. The automaker cleared its remaining US-built Canadian Model 3 inventory back to the United States to make room for Shanghai-built replacements, announcing the revised Canadian lineup on May 1, 2026. First deliveries are expected in May or June 2026. Two Model 3 variants are now on offer. The China-built Premium RWD starts at C$39,490. The Model 3 Performance, still assembled at Fremont, remains in the lineup at a revised price of C$74,990 (c. $54,600 USD) — down 17% from C$89,990 — delivering 478 km (297 miles) of range and a 3.1-second 0–100 km/h sprint. One significant limitation applies to the Shanghai-built car: it does not qualify for Canada's federal $5,000 Electric Vehicle Availability Program rebate, which restricts eligibility to vehicles manufactured in countries with which Canada holds a free-trade agreement. Buyers of the China-sourced Model 3 pay the full sticker price with no federal offset. The 49,000-unit annual quota is shared across all Chinese-origin automakers exporting to Canada. Tesla now competes for allocation alongside BYD (HKG: 1211), SAIC, and others that have been building Canadian market presence since the tariff framework was announced — making the sustainability of these prices at least partly dependent on how quickly the quota fills through the rest of 2026. Conversion rate: 1 USD = 1.3726 CAD as of May 7, 2026
Liked by William Hill, Nathan Wright
Liked by William Hill, Nathan Wright
Liked by William Hill, Nathan Wright