I’d be shocked if Tesla didn’t offer an upgrade path. In the case that they actually don’t and you’re stuck with a 150 km range, it would seem like a terrible buy.
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The "Federally compliant for incentive" Tesla
- Thread starter TrevTremaine
- Start date
I’d be shocked if Tesla didn’t offer an upgrade path. In the case that they actually don’t and you’re stuck with a 150 km range, it would seem like a terrible buy.
Dan43
Member
Agree and thats the initial gamble it seems, and the car would be fairly worthless if re-sale was a consideration down the road, surely upgrades to range, Autopilot, FSD etc would become available, its all income in the end and at a premium as an after sale purchase, still thats what I was told today?
Tesla rep on the phone said that they have an agreement with the government that the range can not be changed and has to stay at 150km.
Tesla is capable of unlocking it but can not due to the agreement with the government
Tesla is capable of unlocking it but can not due to the agreement with the government
Conflicting reports on that topic. Others have been told you will be able to upgrade to SR+ by paying the difference after delivery, but that they do not have the mechanism in place to do it yet.
Personally I don’t see how the government has a say on upgrades you do on a car, after you buy it.
If the question was, can the new Canadian SR be upgraded to the old longer range SR, I can see justification to say no.
I guess we will have to wait until the dust settles a bit.
pcons
M3 AWD+
Yes, I was referring to the old SR. I think that it likely wont qualify, because it isn't on the list and if the order was placed before the rebates were announced effectively the purchaser of the car was 'ok' paying the price they paid when they ordered it. Now, that's just my thoughts on how things would 'logically' go....but that doesn't by any means prove that reality follows logic
If folks who standard SR when it was available do indeed get the rebate (you can't order it anymore apparently in Canada, only SR- and SR+), then that's a bonus for them...however if I was in the government that would be a loophole I would ensure was closed, and you can do that by ensuring that the base price and spec sheet for the SR- matches what is on the approved list. The standard SR is effectively a model that doesn't exist according to the government (at least that my assumption, I completely concede that I may be wrong about this).
This upgrade path would make sense to me, because effectively that would be the same as purchasing an SR+ from the get-go. I expect the upgrade path that will be 'forbidden' will be to upgrade an SR- (150km range) to a standard SR. It makes sense to me that the government would ensure Tesla doesn't allow that to happen (at least initially, 1-2 years down the road who knows...)
So strange. What would the government’s motivation be for putting in this restriction? Isn’t the ultimate goal to incentivize EV uptake? Or is it only to appear “green”, as long as they’re not enabling rich Tesla buyers with a discount or hurting big oil? I guess the emperor has no clothes.
pcons
M3 AWD+
I think its to ensure that Tesla doesn't just use a loophole to get into the program. Tesla will be losing money on the crippled SR- and the government doesn't want to let them recoup that lost revenue by allowing a software upgrade....basically they want to have a 'real' EV at that price point, not a virtual one.
In the extreme, as I mentioned above, Tesla could make a special Canadian Model S at 44,999 that is horribly crippled to 10 km range and a top speed of 50 km/h, and immediately offer an upgrade for whatever the cost delta is to a real Model S. Technically, that would qualify for the rebate program...but that would be a little shady. Admittedly an extreme example, but in my opinion its going to be viewed the same by the general public....and it always comes down to political optics....
Also, there is this statement at the end of the list of eligible vehicles:
So, if Tesla 'did' offer an upgrade from SR- to SR (not SR+) technically the government could remove them from the list, perhaps even negating rebates for cars en route to customers. If however Tesla is up front about 'no upgrade path', then they are complying with the rules. They could likely offer an upgrade to SR+, but it seems risky to offer SR- to SR.
SR- isn't even a 'thing'....its really the Canadian SR version we are talking about since you cant order regular SR here anymore, but you can in the US. I'm just too lazy to write 'Canadian SR' every time
I think its to ensure that Tesla doesn't just use a loophole to get into the program. Tesla will be losing money on the crippled SR- and the government doesn't want to let them recoup that lost revenue by allowing a software upgrade....basically they want to have a 'real' EV at that price point, not a virtual one.
In the extreme, as I mentioned above, Tesla could make a special Canadian Model S at 44,999 that is horribly crippled to 10 km range and a top speed of 50 km/h, and immediately offer an upgrade for whatever the cost delta is to a real Model S. Technically, that would qualify for the rebate program...but that would be a little shady. Admittedly an extreme example, but in my opinion its going to be viewed the same by the general public....and it always comes down to political optics....
Also, there is this statement at the end of the list of eligible vehicles:
View attachment 403406
So, if Tesla 'did' offer an upgrade from SR- to SR (not SR+) technically the government could remove them from the list, perhaps even negating rebates for cars en route to customers. If however Tesla is up front about 'no upgrade path', then they are complying with the rules. They could likely offer an upgrade to SR+, but it seems risky to offer SR- to SR.
SR- isn't even a 'thing'....its really the Canadian SR version we are talking about since you cant order regular SR here anymore, but you can in the US. I'm just too lazy to write 'Canadian SR' every time
Creating an un-buyable trim level to meet the $45k requirement so that a more expensive version will qualify sure sounds like a giant loophole to me...
pcons
M3 AWD+
I 100% agree with you, that's why I'm kind of surprised this worked at all...but there has to be a limit, so I dont think they are going to push it any more than this.
Like I said, I could be wrong, but Tesla doesn't want people to buy the SR-, they want you to buy the SR+ since its basically the same car, but now 8700 more revenue for them per car. So, in this regard they want people to just buy the SR+ instead of thinking they can upgrade the SR- to SR.
5_+JqckQttqck
Active Member
Not really. It's like FSD... it's a post trim level "option". Flick a switch and voila, more Kms. Gives the consumer more options. For a city driver - 150km is more than enough. Maybe even have LR's out there that get the range unlocked on a per usage basis for a high mark up.
Heck, I could make it work as my daily commute is ~120kms. Bundle up and hyper mile
Heck, I could make it work as my daily commute is ~120kms. Bundle up and hyper mile
Dan43
Member
Not really. It's like FSD... it's a post trim level "option". Flick a switch and voila, more Kms. Gives the consumer more options. For a city driver - 150km is more than enough. Maybe even have LR's out there that get the range unlocked on a per usage basis for a high mark up.
Heck, I could make it work as my daily commute is ~120kms. Bundle up and hyper mile
This what I am thinking, might be worth the punt, I am downtown Vancouver so 150km is plenty for me, and gets me a Model 3 at a pretty low in price, then see if say in 1 year the upgrades get made available, or just have a car that has lower range.
Think the base car would be $41,685 after TAX/Delivery costs and BC/Federal incentives, but no AP and 150km range, hmmmm...
Owned an S75 for 2 years so no issues charging for me regularly. Be keen to see what the local sales team have to say when I phone later on.
150 km in the winter....hmmmm.....even in Vancouver....I won't try it. I would stay away from such a car.This what I am thinking, might be worth the punt, I am downtown Vancouver so 150km is plenty for me, and gets me a Model 3 at a pretty low in price, then see if say in 1 year the upgrades get made available, or just have a car that has lower range.
Think the base car would be $41,685 after TAX/Delivery costs and BC/Federal incentives, but no AP and 150km range, hmmmm...
Owned an S75 for 2 years so no issues charging for me regularly. Be keen to see what the local sales team have to say when I phone later on.
Dan43
Member
I hear ya, I'm just weighing up the options like anyone would, but I dunno, I'm mighty tempted to take a plunge. I have spent a year on Car2Go so having a car is something, but maybe once I chat to the sales team I'll make a different decision.
This what I am thinking, might be worth the punt, I am downtown Vancouver so 150km is plenty for me, and gets me a Model 3 at a pretty low in price, then see if say in 1 year the upgrades get made available, or just have a car that has lower range.
Think the base car would be $41,685 after TAX/Delivery costs and BC/Federal incentives, but no AP and 150km range, hmmmm...
Owned an S75 for 2 years so no issues charging for me regularly. Be keen to see what the local sales team have to say when I phone later on.
So if you are willing to settle for 150km of range, have you considered getting a non-Tesla EV instead?
Dan43
Member
Yes I've looked at them all over an over again, I'm still not sure what to settle for. Maybe just wait. I found S used to be still quite high price wise, probably just go for the SR+ in the end, but no harm checking options.
I'm fully aware that 150km is not what 99.9% of people here want, but it doesn't really concern me at this stage, to have a 3 at that price might be worth it as I like Tesla, as mentioned I had an S75 for 2 years.
True, there is also the option of a non Tesla with a range 400 km at less than 45k.
What obligation does Tesla have to keep it at 150km if the Gov't changes and the program is ended shortly thereafter - which I think there's a very real possibility of? Or would it be like what happened in Germany and owners would be forced to pay back the 5k? What if your car is totaled but the battery is OK. Can you salvage / sell it for a handsome profit? To have this much unlocked potential/money sitting there, software limited is just trouble waiting to happen
Maybe I’m missing something but it all makes sense to me. When the government excluded Tesla the masses screamed for them to fight back with a plan. They did. We all know they don’t want to sell the base model. This was true before the rebate with the SR. They cannot afford to sell cars at a loss!!! So they make that car as unappealing as possible, and still help customers by getting a model on the approved list that they can make some money on too.
Last week it was SWFA for Tesla’s. This week you can get a pretty good trim and get the rebate. Tesla honouring their end of it by not unlocking range and keeping it an actual base model instead of cheating the deal they made with the government is admirable given the cheating they’ve endured at the hands of the government. Federally and provincially in Ontario. Taking the high road, making some money, and giving Canadians better access to their product seems pretty reasonable to me. Don’t stoop to their level doctrine.
Last week it was SWFA for Tesla’s. This week you can get a pretty good trim and get the rebate. Tesla honouring their end of it by not unlocking range and keeping it an actual base model instead of cheating the deal they made with the government is admirable given the cheating they’ve endured at the hands of the government. Federally and provincially in Ontario. Taking the high road, making some money, and giving Canadians better access to their product seems pretty reasonable to me. Don’t stoop to their level doctrine.
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