Gary Zhou 
After Tesla started offering the Model Y Rear-Wheel Drive to Canadian drivers late last week, it has been revealed that the vehicle will come from the company’s factory in Shanghai, China, one report claims.
According to people with knowledge of the plan and a production memo seen by Reuters, Tesla will bring the Shanghai-built Model Y Rear-Wheel Drive to Canada.
Tesla has not confirmed the report, and there are still questions in the air as CEO Elon Musk said reports claiming the company would ship vehicles from China to North America were “false.”
After Tesla started offering the vehicle in Canada late last week, there was speculation over where the configuration of the all-electric crossover would be built.
Tesla builds the Model Y in four locations: Fremont, Austin, Berlin, and Shanghai. However, the Rear-Wheel Drive Model Y that Tesla is offering online to Canadians is a special case, as its low range ratings have kept it “off menu” from other markets as Musk said that it did not meet the company’s “Standard of Excellence.”
Despite this, Tesla is offering the trim, which offers 244 miles of range, in Canada, where cold temperatures are a relative certainty. Cold weather affects EV range, and Tesla has combated this with the heat pump, which it first offered in the Model Y in 2020 when the car was initially produced.
The lower range ratings can be attributed to the lithium-iron phosphate, or LFP batteries that Tesla will use in the vehicle.
Tesla is offering the vehicle for $59,990, but owners can receive an immediate $5,000 discount through the federal iZEV (Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles) program, which helps diminish a portion of the higher upfront purchase costs of a sustainable vehicle.
Delivery estimates are slotted for between May and July 2023.
As previously mentioned, the Model Y is manufactured in several locations, and it was unclear whether Tesla would roll out the Model Y RWD from another market or build it in North America and ship it across the border from the U.S.
Tesla used the LFP battery cells in the Model 3 to combat demand for the Standard Range+ version of the vehicle in mid-2021. While it offers a lower range and is more sensitive to temperatures, LFP cells have a life cycle that is higher than others and can be charged to 100 percent, which is something other cells do not necessarily prefer.
The Tesla Model Y has become the company’s best-selling vehicle and has dominated in several markets. It has cut prices on the vehicle several times this year, with the most substantial discount coming in early January at the mark of $13,000.
