Are Canadian Teslas coming from China?

American Teslas produced in China and sold in Canada. Welcome to the new automotive world.

Today, all Teslas sold in Canada come from the Californian factory in Fremont. However, this has not always been the case, and it will not be in the very near future. Initially, it was the only option since… Tesla only owned this factory in Fremont. But as part of its rapid expansion, Tesla opened two new production units, Giga Shanghai in China and, a little later, Giga Texas. Recently, it established itself in Berlin, Europe. Despite this, the manufacturer continued to draw from Fremont’s production to supply Canada.

Tesla with one foot in China, the other in California

But everything changed last April when Tesla introduced its Model Y Propulsion imported from China to the Canadian market. The change was not limited to this model; shortly after, the Model 3 made in China followed. The latter was replaced in October by the new “Highland” model year. Since this version was not offered in North America at launch, Fremont was resupplied with the old model to supply Canada. Are you following?

If there is an obvious industrial logic behind this back and forth, it is important to keep in mind that the Canadian border is 1,600 km from Fremont by road, whereas Giga Shanghai is separated from Canada by 9,000 km and an ocean! Do you know what the carbon footprint of transportation is?

The Tesla Model 3 “Highland” is now being sold in Canada and will come from China. Tesla Canada confirmed that an initial shipment left the port of Shanghai on February 7 and will arrive in Vancouver on the 27th, before being distributed across the country. Only the Model Y will continue to arrive from California.

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