When did you reserve? I reserved March 31st in store and all it says is "Late 2018" as well. I can't believe it will be over 2.5 years of sitting on that reservation. I suspect not being a previous Tesla owner and a Canadian, it will be the very end of 2018 at the earliest. I wanted it sooner, but I think it's for the best - production glitches should be fixed, and who knows, there might be minor hardware fixes/advances put into place that the current cars aren't getting. And we should have FM radio by then
The 9k USD may only give you "100 more miles" but it's more than that. It gives you a quicker 0-60, it gives you faster charging, it gives you more range. That 215 miles in a winter snow storm means you're stopping at Canmore, Golden and Revelstoke. A long range Model 3 means you can skip Canmore.
I use this example often as it's a trip I make over a dozen times a year, mostly in the winter.
In a Model 3 standard range, that is 38 minutes charging, 4:05 driving. (4:43 total)
In a Model 3 long range, that is 10 minutes charging, 3:55 driving. (4:05 total)
Of any options over and above the base $35k USD pricetag, the larger battery is the only one I am 100% getting. It's not an option.
After 8 years of battery degradation, your effective "winter" rated miles gets pretty low, and something that could really affect resale.