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Tesla doesn't like Canada :(
- Thread starter bcsteeve
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- Tesla Inc.
That analogy makes no sense. It costs (proportionally) almost nothing to produce the drugs; drug company money is spent on research, testing, advertising and overhead. With an automaker, however, every vehicle they produce costs them large amounts of money.
There can be various factors that distort vehicle prices between countries, including local manufacture, tarriffs /incentives, small discounts to try to develop new markets, etc. But in general, the cost to make a vehicle is what it is. And exchange rates are what they are.
To bcsteeve: don't complain about your exchange rates in Canada; ours here in Iceland swing around like there's no tomorrow :Þ After our financial crash the value of the króna literally halved relative to the dollar. Your mentioning that its "1.37 is bad enough" that the Canadian dollar is worth 1 US dollar makes it sound like you believe that just because the currency is called "dollar" that means it's supposed to inherently track the US dollar. It's silly. The Canadian dollar could float to 100 US dollars, or 1 cent, and still be called a dollar. The name has no bearing on the exchange rate; fiscal policy and economic performance does. If you want a stronger Canadian dollar, vote for politicians and policies that will improve economic performance in general, and pursue a strong-dollar policy (but be warned that the latter comes at the cost of weakening domestic exporters, and ultimately hurting the economy).
Taken straight from TESLA MOTORS :
"Tesla Motors has informed Transport Canada that Tesla service centers are currently not in a position to support the substantial modifications required to bring U.S. Model S and Model X vehicles into compliance with Canadian requirements."
Umm, no... you didn't understand me then. I'm not an idiot. I've never said anything that made it sound like I was fixated on the term "dollar". I don't care what the currency is called. You totally missed the point (and the math).
The law.. but only because Tesla says so. Teslas are specifically named as vehicles not able to be imported.
That is part of it, although they make it sound like something more than it is.
I had a long conversation with RIV (the authority in charge of vehicle imports to Canada) about Tesla and why they can't be imported. There are two sides to it. First off, RIV / Transport Canada has to accept that the vehicle can be legal in this country. That's obviously not a problem with Teslas because the SAME vehicles are sold in both countries. The other side is the manufacturer, who can object to the importation. Exactly one US company chooses to object to importation... Tesla. The reason? Software licensing. There are no "substantial modifications", as Tesla states on its website. Transport Canada rubber stamps anything the DOT does, with very few exceptions mostly relating to daytime running lights. Tesla needs to maintain control over its software and it is unclear how a US car imported to Canada affects that licensing. So after a few roadsters came in (and were therefore "grandfathered", Tesla took the unusual act of objecting to import and now you'll see that no Tesla other than specific ranges of VINs of roadsters are allowed in.
phigment
Member
One example that comes to mind is the seat belts. Canadian versions have red buttons, US don't. Now this wouldn't be an extensive modification, but this is just one example, there may be more.
Model 3 has red buttons.
And... don't most US cars have red buttons anyway? I realize US Tesla S/X's don't. I'm sure all European/Japanese/Korean/etc do.
In any case, Teslas sold in Canada certainly have red buttons and obviously it wouldn't be that hard to make the swap on import like EVERY OTHER MANUFACTURER does.
It was really Tesla being too... (I was going to say lazy but I'll say...) disinterested to make the effort for a small percentage of an already small market.
And... don't most US cars have red buttons anyway? I realize US Tesla S/X's don't. I'm sure all European/Japanese/Korean/etc do.
In any case, Teslas sold in Canada certainly have red buttons and obviously it wouldn't be that hard to make the swap on import like EVERY OTHER MANUFACTURER does.
It was really Tesla being too... (I was going to say lazy but I'll say...) disinterested to make the effort for a small percentage of an already small market.
Whisky
Member
The assumpt
A great example of a company that takes the market seriously and prices based on exchange rates is Apple. iPhone’s in Canada are priced at around the exchange rate. Consumer electronics, in general, are priced at the exchange rate. There are plenty of reasons why this doesn’t apply to cars, as mentioned by others, but I’ll add one more thing:
I bought a BMW when the Canadian dollar was at par with the US dollar, and I noticed this car was priced at about 1.2 of the American list price. BMW said ‘yes, but the base Canadian BMW comes with all these features that the base US car doesn’t come with.’ With the exchange rate now different, the list price of the base BMW is about the same, but with the same features as previously it’ll cost 5%+ more.
You have examples like Bolt, etc.. that are identically packaged and priced at a lower rate. Bolt, and losses with the exchange rate, won’t affect GM’s bottom line. They’re being price competitive. I don’t think it’s a fair comparison.
A great example of a company that takes the market seriously and prices based on exchange rates is Apple. iPhone’s in Canada are priced at around the exchange rate. Consumer electronics, in general, are priced at the exchange rate. There are plenty of reasons why this doesn’t apply to cars, as mentioned by others, but I’ll add one more thing:
I bought a BMW when the Canadian dollar was at par with the US dollar, and I noticed this car was priced at about 1.2 of the American list price. BMW said ‘yes, but the base Canadian BMW comes with all these features that the base US car doesn’t come with.’ With the exchange rate now different, the list price of the base BMW is about the same, but with the same features as previously it’ll cost 5%+ more.
You have examples like Bolt, etc.. that are identically packaged and priced at a lower rate. Bolt, and losses with the exchange rate, won’t affect GM’s bottom line. They’re being price competitive. I don’t think it’s a fair comparison.
What is not a fair comparison? Chevy to Tesla? Why not?
Apple can do what it wants because it is the dominant player. But now let's say (for whatever reason) Apple decided to sell its phone in Canada for $200 CAD... do you think Samsung could continue to sell its phones in Canada based on USD?
My point stands. Other (all other) car manufacturers selling in Canada (or any major market) price relative to competition without regard to what their own car costs in a different country. Just because Tesla wants to maintain its profit margins across the board doesn't mean anything to what the consumer does. As I said, short term... nobody's going to care. There will be enough demand to pay whatever the price happens to be. But long term, that won't be true. And if rates continue to be unfavorable and Tesla continues to price in competition with itself in irrelevant markets rather than against its actual competition... well, they won't sell many. If you compare a $35k Tesla Model 3 to a $37,500 Bolt or a $32,000 Leaf... the choice is OBVIOUS, right? But now pretend that due to some other country's currency its all of the sudden a $35k Tesla vs a $28k Bolt and a $22k Leaf and its no longer such an obvious choice. Especially if the vaunted Supercharger network was cut down by 90%. We have to remember that the supercharger network is a HUGE advantage for Tesla owners... but not so much in Canada where there are only a handful.
Please, don't get me wrong. I'm SUPER excited to get my Model 3. I *totally* appreciate how many superchargers there ARE. I really don't have any interest in a Bolt or (unless they really surprise) Leaf. But I'm not happy with the way Tesla has chosen to price here. Its not really taking the Canadian market seriously. It really isn't even taking free market economies seriously. Supply and demand is not "well, it costs us this much so we price it at that much". Nobody cares if the baker's flour costs go up or down 20%... they care that their bread is an attractive price relative to other options, excuses be damned. And certainly nobody in one country cares about how much bread costs in another country (other than those extreme few that can cross border shop at a whim).
Apple can do what it wants because it is the dominant player. But now let's say (for whatever reason) Apple decided to sell its phone in Canada for $200 CAD... do you think Samsung could continue to sell its phones in Canada based on USD?
My point stands. Other (all other) car manufacturers selling in Canada (or any major market) price relative to competition without regard to what their own car costs in a different country. Just because Tesla wants to maintain its profit margins across the board doesn't mean anything to what the consumer does. As I said, short term... nobody's going to care. There will be enough demand to pay whatever the price happens to be. But long term, that won't be true. And if rates continue to be unfavorable and Tesla continues to price in competition with itself in irrelevant markets rather than against its actual competition... well, they won't sell many. If you compare a $35k Tesla Model 3 to a $37,500 Bolt or a $32,000 Leaf... the choice is OBVIOUS, right? But now pretend that due to some other country's currency its all of the sudden a $35k Tesla vs a $28k Bolt and a $22k Leaf and its no longer such an obvious choice. Especially if the vaunted Supercharger network was cut down by 90%. We have to remember that the supercharger network is a HUGE advantage for Tesla owners... but not so much in Canada where there are only a handful.
Please, don't get me wrong. I'm SUPER excited to get my Model 3. I *totally* appreciate how many superchargers there ARE. I really don't have any interest in a Bolt or (unless they really surprise) Leaf. But I'm not happy with the way Tesla has chosen to price here. Its not really taking the Canadian market seriously. It really isn't even taking free market economies seriously. Supply and demand is not "well, it costs us this much so we price it at that much". Nobody cares if the baker's flour costs go up or down 20%... they care that their bread is an attractive price relative to other options, excuses be damned. And certainly nobody in one country cares about how much bread costs in another country (other than those extreme few that can cross border shop at a whim).
Summon can't possibly be any different, can it? That must be either your phone or something that plagues everyone.
DRL works how it should, by your description.
What do you mean by "wrong speed limit display"?
DRL works how it should, by your description.
What do you mean by "wrong speed limit display"?
Many recent cars in Canada shows the wrong speed limit on the dash. Including my as soon as it was born. Canadian speed limit signs
In Canada, summon must be done on the app and not the key fob. So there is a lot of lag and often it fails to connect to the car quickly.
The DRL in the us turns on the eyebrow and I believe you can turn it off if you want to. Here it turns on the main light and you have no control. It is better to have the control, even if you don't end up using it.
The Model 3 shouldn't have the 6.1% tariff due to the batteries being made at the Gigafactory. However, I do agree with the OP that Tesla seems to treat Canada with scarcely concealed contempt. Take a look at the Supercharger map, and the lack of interest in building any Superchargers outside of a couple of provinces. Heck, Musk's relatives are from Saskatchewan. 0 Superchargers.
Somebody stated that Canada has the fewest number of Superchargers per capita of anywhere they sell.
Somebody stated that Canada has the fewest number of Superchargers per capita of anywhere they sell.
the summon thing is probably CRTC's fault, not Tesla. The DRL is done correctly. Your desire for control doesn't trump others' safety. The speedo glitch is the same for US Teslas when in Canada ( that really needs to get fixed!)
But yeah, I get your point. They need to show Canada a little more love.
mknox
Well-Known Member
You might be able to do that if you are moving to Canada, but generally the US cars can't be imported into Canada because they do not meet all of the Canadian motor vehicle requirements (just small stuff) and Tesla has not shown an interest in making the necessary retrofits available. Conversely, Canadian cars can be freely moved to the US because they meet all US regulations.
Isn't "freely" oversimplifying it a bit? I'm sure there's some hoops to jump through and fees to pay, no?
EV-lutioin
Active Member
Ouch.... such harsh nationalistic sarcasm being dealt to our friends in the North. Clean air knows no boundaries.
I think it's because Canada gives apology money to terrorists. Sorry, couldn't resist the low jab. 
RedP85+
Member
Actually Tesla is doing what is most fair and it is the other car companies that basically manipulate their prices not on what something is worth but on how much they can squeeze out of you. A Canadian Tesla is not the same as a US Tesla. They are so different that you cannot import a US Tesla Model S into Canada.
TESLA MOTORS
So just taking the US price and dividing it by the Canadian price is not accurate. Trying doing that with identical items on Amazon.
The real problem is our government and their extra regulations as well as our market is small and spread out.
Tesla does the fair thing that any company should do which is determine the price based on a fair margin and charge everyone worldwide accordingly. That is what you see with most companies. Auto manufacturers however price much more based on what they think they can get away with.
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