Tesla opens Model 3 configurator to more reservation holders in Canada

This week, Tesla sent a second important batch of configuration invites to Model 3 reservation holders in Canada as deliveries are about to start in the country and the situation with the federal tax credit in the US is still unknown.

Dozens of Model 3 reservation holders across Canada have reported to Electrek that they have been invited to configure their vehicle by Tesla this week.

It follows a first massive batch of invites in the country, which is officially the second market in which the Model 3 is launching, after Tesla sent the first few invitations out almost 5 weeks ago.

The first deliveries to customers are expected to start soon as several Model 3 vehicles have been spotted at Tesla stores around the country.

The second batch of invites comes after Tesla paused the Model 3 production for a week in order to upgrade the production line and increase the production rate to get to 5,000 units per week by the end of the quarter.

Tesla could potentially change its delivery strategy over the next months to focus more on Canadian deliveries and push U.S. deliveries to the next quarter in order to deliver its 200,000th car in the US in Q3 and extend the phase-out of the $7,500 federal tax credit for its customers.

It’s unlikely to happen in the next few weeks since Tesla just sent out another batch of invites in the U.S. earlier this week.

Unfortunately, Tesla is not commenting on the situation. Electrek estimates that Tesla would hit the 200,000th U.S. delivery mark in Q2 if deliveries are not optimized for the federal tax credit extension.

But a focus on Canadian deliveries to avoid that could also help some Canadian buyers avoid losing their own government incentives.

As we reported a few weeks ago, the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec have added the Model 3 to the lists of eligible electric vehicles for their incentive programs.

Ontario has one of the most generous EV incentives with a discount of $14,000 at the purchase, but some Model 3 reservation holders were afraid that it could go away after this summer’s provincial election. Doug Ford, the new leader of the Progressive Conservative party which has a chance to win the next election, has been known to want to cut the program.

Interestingly, it results in Tesla potentially having to concentrate deliveries in Canada for the next few months for the interest of both U.S. and Canadian (especially Ontarian) buyers.