Tesla’s Cheapest Model 3 Yet Is on Sale in Canada. No, the U.S. Can’t Have It

With gas prices rising and interest in electric vehicles rising right along with them, people are hunting for the cheapest EVs they can buy. And although a Tesla Model 3 RWD starting at $38,630 sounds tempting here in the U.S., that’s still a decent chunk of change to pay for a new car. As it turns out, there’s an even cheaper version of the Model 3 on sale for around $31,000, according to Automotive News. The catch? You’ve got to live north of the border.

Thanks to Canada’s friendlier relationship with China, Tesla appears to be taking advantage by importing its Shanghai-built Model 3 RWD Premium into the country. It had reason to: Canada slapped a 25 percent tariff on imports of U.S.-made products, including automobiles. That pushed the relatively affordable Tesla Model 3 Long Range to nearly $80,000 Canadian, or about $60,000 in American freedom bucks.

Even with Canada’s 6.1 percent tariff on Chinese vehicles, the new Tesla EV sedan starts at $39,490 Canadian. That works out to slightly less than $31,000 at current exchange rates including delivery, provided you stick with Stealth Gray. Pearl White and Deep Blue Metallic add $955, Diamond Black costs $1,469 extra, and Ultra Red and Quicksilver tack on another $1,910. Buyers can also spring for 19-inch Nova Wheels for $1,469 and a black-and-white interior for $955. Tesla’s Full Self Driving system is available in the Great White North as a $73-per-month subscription, and it comes with a 30-day free trial.

There’s a catch beyond geography, though. Because it’s imported from China, the Model 3 RWD Premium doesn’t qualify for Canada’s $5,000 EV rebate. China lacks a free-trade agreement with Canada, and that’s one of the program’s key requirements.

Compared with the American-made Model 3 RWD, the Chinese-built Premium also gives up a bit on performance. Range drops to 288 miles on a charge, down from 321 miles in the U.S.-market car. Charging takes a slight hit, too: Tesla says it can add up to 160 miles in 15 minutes on a 250-kW Supercharger, which is 10 miles shy of the U.S. version, despite that car’s lower 225-kW charging rate. The difference comes down to battery chemistry. The Chinese-built car uses lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, while the American-made version gets nickel cobalt manganese (NMC) cells.

This also isn’t Tesla’s first time shipping Model 3s from China to Canadian buyers. The automaker previously brought over Shanghai-built Model 3s and Model Ys but stopped after Canada imposed a 100 percent tariff on Chinese-made EVs in 2024 to match that of America. That changed in January, when the tariff dropped to 6.1 percent as part of a strategic trade deal negotiated between Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The lower tariff applies to 49,000 Chinese-made EVs, PHEVs, and range-extended EVs per year, with plans to raise that cap to 70,000 within five years.