Tesla Model 3 is expanding to Canada sooner than originally planned

In a positive repercussion of Tesla updating Model 3 delivery window for reservation holders and pushing the standard battery pack to ‘late 2018’, it looks like Tesla is planning to bring the vehicle to Canadian reservation holders sooner than originally planned.

Now the change has resulted in delays for most reservation holders and especially those who are waiting for the standard battery pack before ordering.

But for Canadian reservation holders who want the Model 3 with the current configuration or with dual motor all-wheel drive, it looks like we gained a few months.

I say we because my timeline as a first-day reservation holder and current Tesla owner was also updated from ‘Late 2018’ to ‘Mid 2018’ for the ‘first production’ configuration and all-wheel-drive:

As for the ‘standard battery’ configuration, it was pushed to ‘Early 2019’ from ‘Late 2018’.

We received several similar reports from Canadian reservation holders, which leads us to believe that Tesla is advancing the timeline to bring the vehicle to Canada.

Electrek’s Take

It seems to be a direct impact of pushing the standard battery pack configuration for all reservation holders – whether in the US, the only market where Tesla is currently delivering, or not.

Since Tesla will be limited to deliveries of the Long Range battery pack to the US until ‘Late 2018’, according to its own estimate, it will have to find a market for them once they reach a production rate of 5,000 units per week.

Most Model 3 buyers are expected to be more interested in the less expensive standard battery pack, which enables 220 miles (354 km) of range.

Therefore, Tesla might need to expand to other markets in order to find buyers for the Long Range version until the cheaper configuration is available despite having a giant backlog.

Historically, Canada has been Tesla’s second market to expand new vehicle delivery due to its proximity to the US and similar regulations.

It’s our understanding that Model 3 reservations are quite strong in Canada and the country could make a difference in terms of total deliveries despite having a much smaller market in terms of population.

The dual motor all-wheel-drive configuration is also likely to be more popular due to harsher winters in several regions of Canada.

I am myself considering going with the Long Range Dual Motor version depending on the Canadian price, which has yet to be announced. If they are aiming for deliveries in “mid 2018” then I would expect that they will open the online design studio for configuration in the next 2 to 4 months.

Featured Image: Tesla has now 2 Model 3 test vehicles up in Montreal