Tesla has made a significant change to its Model Y lineup in Canada, ending sales of the entry-level Rear-Wheel Drive (RWD) variant, and replacing it with a new Long Range (LR) RWD model. The change is likely due to Tesla switching to importing the Model Y from the United States into Canada, after ending exports from China due to the new 100% tariffs on Chinese-made EVs.
Tesla has also added a new Model 3 LR RWD. You can read more about that here.
According to an update to the Design Studio on Friday, a new Model Y LR RWD has been added to the lineup, with the price starting at $59,990. The Model Y LR RWD is eligible for the $5,000 federal iZEV rebate, according to Tesla, although Transport Canada’s list of eligible vehicles has not yet been updated with the new variant.
For this price you get 525km of EPA estimated range on a full charge, a top speed of 217km/h, and a 0-100km/h time of 6.9 seconds.
This compares to the LR All-Wheel Drive (AWD), which is $4,000 more expensive, and comes with less range at 496km, the same top speed, but a much faster 5.0s 0-100km/h time.
Absent from the lineup is the Model Y RWD, which had been on sale in Canada since April 2023 when Tesla switched to importing cars from China into Canada. The Model Y RWD, equipped with a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery was priced at $53,990, but it came with only 394km of range, and the same other stats as the new LR RWD.
This means buyers of the entry-level Model Y are now getting 131km of additional range for $6,000 more.
According to Tesla’s online Design Studio, the first deliveries of the Model Y LR RWD are expected to begin in November or December.
The addition of the Model Y LR RWD in Canada comes on the same day Tesla added it to the online configurator in the UK.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article stated there was a $4,000 difference between the old RWD and new LR RWD. This has been corrected. We apologize for any confusion.
