Tesla has added a new low-range option for the Model 3 specifically for buyers in Canada. Canada has offered a $5,000 incentive for the purchase of electric vehicles starting under Canadian $45,000. These vehicles should also cost less than Canadian $55,000 with options. According to that, no Tesla vehicle qualified for the incentive. Model 3 Standard Range Plus started at $46,389 earlier. But then, in order to give buyers access to this incentive, they have now offered a local version at $44,990.
The catch is, however, that they have software-locked the battery to give only 93 miles (151 km). They have also removed the Autopilot from this version. Interestingly enough, Tesla hadn’t listed this model on their website till today. It was an “off-the-menu” item and customers needed to know about it beforehand if they wanted to avail of it.
Is a Tesla with 150-Km Range Attractive Enough for a $5K Discount?
The Standard Range Plus Model 3 normally has a range of 263 miles and it costs around Canadian $47,000. So a Model 3 worth $40,000 (including the incentive) may have attracted customers if there was a slight range reduction. However, the new battery pack restriction means that if you want to avail of this incentive, you’ll get a range that is just 35% of the actual Model 3 SR+. That seems extremely inadequate. Tesla normally provides a really good range at an affordable price compared to other electric vehicles. But this just seems weird. 93 miles (151 km) is a figure that was seen at the beginning of the electric vehicle revolution. And there is a reason why electric vehicles were not appealing at that time.
It is unknown yet why Tesla has finally displayed this option on its website. Some sources say that the government probably forced them to make the change. The company has decided not to include an extra variant in the list. Instead, they have a check box in the Standard Range variant, that says “Limit to 151 km range”. You can check this box to get this incentivized option.
Our Opinion
The abnormally short range has meant that very few of these vehicles have been sold by Tesla. However, now that they have put the option on the website, some people may be enticed to buy it. The Standard Range variant is a popular option for Canadian buyers, which may have prompted Tesla to take this step. And who knows, if many people buy this option, Tesla might even increase the range further on. Currently, the plan is to exploit the incentive.
