This American country prefers Chinese Teslas!

Canada is once again importing its Tesla Model Y from China rather than the United States due to a significant upcoming change.

This is not the first time we have seen this somewhat puzzling phenomenon. It manifests each time with a change in the ranges of the different versions of the Model Y on the Tesla Canada site. In addition to the models available for order, units of the Model Y from Giga Shanghai are also available in the inventory of vehicles in stock. To recognize them, note that for the base Model Y Propulsion, American models show a range of 394 km compared to 386 km for the Chinese ones. There is also an LED strip on the dashboard and the unattractive faux wood trim is replaced with a much more elegant dark gray material.

Until last year, the Y models made in China were the norm in Canada. A few months ago, Tesla decided to prioritize vehicles manufactured in Fremont, but evidently, and fortunately for the manufacturer if that is the case, production seems insufficient to meet Canadian demand. Or could it have been a clearance operation to free up some space in the congested parking lots?

The blame lies with taxes

Certainly a bit of both, but especially the anticipation of a major change in trade policy from Canada. Following in the footsteps of the United States and Europe, Canada is considering imposing additional customs fees on electric vehicles coming from China, with a preliminary decision scheduled for August 1st. It is therefore not surprising to prioritize low-tax imports and the establishment of a buffer stock from the Middle Kingdom before the taxes make these models less appealing.

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