The "Federally compliant for incentive" Tesla

[felixculpas]

If battery cell production is a bottleneck preventing sales of more profitable vehicles, then Tesla is short changing themselves a bit by doing this. Perhaps it's just another example of them having gone the extra mile with no ulterior motives and as usual, the marketplace will decide it's viability.

There is some concern that there soon will be some upcoming global shortages of minerals used to make batteries for electric cars, like nickel, copper, and lithium.

https://electrek.co/2019/05/02/tesla-shortage-battery-minerals-nickle-copper-lithium/

 

[Roamer]

Only government could come up with a program that spends tax dollars, but only if you buy an inferior product. If you buy a better product you don't get the tax savings.

In the quest to ensure successful people don't benefit the end result is a program that rewards the purchase of the least capable product.

Maybe it would be better to simply give every citizen exactly the same benefit as long as the EV met a ”minimum” standard.

It seems bizarre to set a maximum performance standard rather than to set a minimum performance standard.

 

[pcons]

What would stop somebody from buying an artificially reduced S and parting it out.

Good point, didn't think about that one.

 

[pcons]

A crazy what if .... say my son buys SR, then (wink wink) sells it to me here (or 'gifts' it to us) in SoCal - after whatever given length of time is necessary to accommodate the law. No use tax here in SoCal for family transfers. Then I upgrade, & sell it / gift it back to him.

.

You cant import/export Teslas to and from Canada, so that wont work. At least a USA Tesla can't be brought to Canada for some reason....

 

[AtlasTracer]

Um, incorrect. THe Kona, Niro, and Soul are all starting the $45K price range, and all have longer range than the new $45K Model 3.

Well - the Kona Preferred (45K version) is not for sale yet. Still listed as "Coming Soon". And has been for months since the Kona Ultimate launched (which you can go and pick up at a dealer no problem).

Neither the Niro EV nor the Soul EV (new one) can be priced out on the website. I've heard that some Niro's are showing up at dealers....but I believe it is also the top-trim only (and they are all pre-sold). Soul EV 2020 hasn't landed yet.

So yes - in theory - these cars are also available at a 45k trim. In practice - A customer can't currently pick one up. I expect that will change soon.

As an aside - it bugs me that Tesla was disqualified from the rebate in initial announcement but Kona was included when you can still only buy the $52k version.

 

[Robert Burnham]

Come on guys, it’s very simple. The $44,999 version is only an artifice for getting around the bogus (IMO) rule.

NOONE should buy it as it is NOT upgradable and both the customer and Tesla will suffer if you do.

Be happy with the $5000 discount now available for the better model!

Cheers

 

[bwalter]

You can order the SR- but don't expect it any time soon and don't expect it to ever be unlockable. Unlike past unlockable models, Tesla doesn't want to sell this one at all, they just have to offer it so the SR+ qualifies for the rebate. It is priced below the US SR which Tesla is already reluctant to sell.

If you do order, expect them to take their sweet time delivering. Perhaps they will even look at reducing the number of battery modules in it. Best case, it will take them unexpectedly long to develop the "special" software. At the end of the day, the SR- should be at least as hard to get as a base Kona EV.

 

[Jack007]

Come on guys, it’s very simple. The $44,999 version is only an artifice for getting around the bogus (IMO) rule.

NOONE should buy it as it is NOT upgradable and both the customer and Tesla will suffer if you do.

Be happy with the $5000 discount now available for the better model!

Cheers

Said it better than I would have, SR- is nonsense, $5000 cheaper SR+ is getting really tempting to replace 2013 Rogue. Will miss AWD though!

 

[pcons]

Said it better than I would have, SR- is nonsense, $5000 cheaper SR+ is getting really tempting to replace 2013 Rogue. Will miss AWD though!

There's a solution for that: AWD model 3 LR

Obviously I realize you want the SR+ for the rebate, just having fun.

 

[Kmartyn]

Said it better than I would have, SR- is nonsense, $5000 cheaper SR+ is getting really tempting to replace 2013 Rogue. Will miss AWD though!

I very recently sold a 2014 Rogue ($15k) , to get money for the M3, I am still waiting for. We are currently sharing the Leaf. The Rogue was decent in the snow, but if you select the dash display mode that shows how much power is going to each set of wheels, it was surprising to see how rarely power to the rear wheels was being used. Could not afford AWD Tesla, so I am expecting the low balanced weight distribution will provide good winter handling, as others have stated. Won’t know for sure until next winter.

 

[hingisfan]

I very recently sold a 2014 Rogue ($15k) , to get money for the M3, I am still waiting for. We are currently sharing the Leaf. The Rogue was decent in the snow, but if you select the dash display mode that shows how much power is going to each set of wheels, it was surprising to see how rarely power to the rear wheels was being used. Could not afford AWD Tesla, so I am expecting the low balanced weight distribution will provide good winter handling, as others have stated. Won’t know for sure until next winter.

Decent winter tires and you'll be fine.

 

[malou]

Agreed, in a cold Canadian winter 150km is really 75km of actual range.

Since the 150 km is software limited and the whole pack is still there, I wonder if they could tweak the software so you still get 150 km in winter, the colder temperature being “absorbed” by the bigger pack?

 

[Doctor X]

I very recently sold a 2014 Rogue ($15k) , to get money for the M3, I am still waiting for. We are currently sharing the Leaf. The Rogue was decent in the snow, but if you select the dash display mode that shows how much power is going to each set of wheels, it was surprising to see how rarely power to the rear wheels was being used. Could not afford AWD Tesla, so I am expecting the low balanced weight distribution will provide good winter handling, as others have stated. Won’t know for sure until next winter.

We drove our LR-RWD Model 3 all of last winter with 4 winter tires and it was absolutely fine. No issues whatsoever.

 

[pcons]

Since the 150 km is software limited and the whole pack is still there, I wonder if they could tweak the software so you still get 150 km in winter, the colder temperature being “absorbed” by the bigger pack?

Doubtful. Too many variables at play there. If you make multiple short trips and blast the heat it is possible to get the full LR battery to only give you 150 km of range in the dead of winter....it wouldn't be easy to be that inefficient, but it's certainly possible that you would need to open up the useable capacity in the winter by 100km or so, thus you'll have essentially a 250km+ 'warm weather' tesla...not going to happen.

My wife's bolt gets well over 400km in the summer but in the winter her range estimate can drop to the low 200's since she typically drives to the go train and parks for the day. All that energy that went into heating the cabin is then wasted while the car sits, only to be repeated at night.

One of the nice things about ICE cars is you get heat for free since they are horribly inefficient

 

[TrevTremaine]

One of the nice things about ICE cars is you get heat for free since they are horribly inefficient

"Free" - only at the cost of fuel and the long term effects of the environment.

 

[pcons]

"Free" - only at the cost of fuel and the long term effects of the environment.

Agreed

 

[Munka]

To have this much unlocked potential/money sitting there, software limited is just trouble waiting to happen

I agree with your point 100%, remember the days of lawsuits against jail braking an Iphone or Playstation? I know in Australia and USA it was eventually ruled that once it is your property you can do what you like with it. What is Canada's view on that? How far do you go to prevent jail breaking, and if their is a genuine manufacturer defect are Tesla still obligated to warrant a jailbroken car?

Also on the point about what if the scheme ends, why wouldn't Tesla then change tack and offer unlocking for a fee? It is a new revenue stream with minimal cost to them. Governments have extremely short memories so the implications would be short lived.

 

[MD-2000]

I drove a BMW 328 with RWD (year 2000) for 11 years in prairie weather and saw no traction problems. The BMW 3-series and the Model 3 are about comparable weight - for the Tesla, better distributed weight. Perhaps smaller, lighter vehicles benefit from AWD/FWD more than heavier cars.

Driving the Model 3 (LR-AWD) in -25C weather - I found that generally with stop-and-go city traffic slow commute, cabin heat and some seat heat I would use about 3km range for each 1km travelled. By about -5C to 0C it was 2x. The longer and faster the commute, the less this number, since cabin heat is related to time, not distance; and once up to heat, keep the cabin warm is less power. On the plus side, heat is immediate - no waiting for the engine to warm up.

What I find (amIdoin'itrite?) is with scheduled charging, if I preheat the cabin after charging is complete, even when plugged in, it uses battery. A good feature would be "cabin heat and seat heat run off mains power when plugged in".

I suppose again, one of the questions would be how they manage the SR- batteries? Is the full physical pack kept healthy? Is your "range" varying between 70% and 20% of actual battery capacity? Or does the battery never charge above 50% of physical capacity? When you hit 0km is the battery actually fully depleted?

I agree - the SR1 model is specifically designed to be so bad that nobody would possibly order it when for a (net) few thousand more you get a huge range increase. I wonder if the conditions of the rebate rules preclude the ability to turn the base model into a better model later?

 

[pcons]

I wonder if the conditions of the rebate rules preclude the ability to turn the base model into a better model later?

Tesla has stated that there is no upgrade path for the SR-, though there is some speculation that they might allow an upgrade to SR+ which would be the same (or possibly slightly more expensive) than just buying SR+ from the get go. But going from SR- to standard SR is pretty much confirmed not possible.

 

[Terry S]

If it is 150 true km even in winter that was guaranteed, and didn't suffer from battery degradation until the pack actually couldn't provide the 150km range, that would be acceptable.
Though, having said that, you should be able to upgrade any car upgrade anything if you want after purchase.Would they stop you from putting a 5000 stereo in after purchase??
There is a difference between a subsidy and incentive. An electric car will end up saving a not rich person money in the long run especially in BC (1.70/liter)
But they are typically more expensive than non EVs so they may not have the cash upfront to get the model 3. This will help with that, so it is in everyone's best interest they get a product that gets them what they need.
But an incentive, which is what this is, is designed to encourage a behavior change in everybody, especilly the rich, as in the case that if they were not totally sold on electric, the will just buy a gas car , as gas prices are less of a concern to them. So since that richer person will now gat a similar or higher priced gas car that is not typically fuel efficency, it will now actually be worse for the environment than a not so well off person buying a cheap efficient car.
This incentive may just tip the balance, and make them feel like they are doing a good thing for society.
Perks ALWAYS help, because everybody likes free stuff!!!!