Canadian Import Restriction - USA into Canada of Model S

I don't know, although I'd like to know what the hardware difference is.

It's not the spec difference that is the problem, the car needs to be added to the Vehicle Import Compatibility list by Transport Canada. They'll only add it if Tesla petitions them to do so, and so far Tesla hasn't been interested in opening the border. Tesla added the Roadster last year, after it was out of production.

As far as I can tell from the manual, the differences are tire/loading and certification labels and that the daytime running lights can not be turned off in certain jurisdictions in Canada as required by law. For DRL, that would be a simple software change or it may even be location aware, so that's certainly not the reason. There must be another reason and it's quite possibly that hardware difference.

big differences between Canadian spec vehicles and American spec vehicles (in general, not Tesla specific)
- bumper requirements
- Child seat anchors
- Daytime running lights
- immobilizer requirements (length of time to arm once vehicle is shut off)

That said, djp is correct. This is entirely Tesla blocking the import of the vehicles. The government asks the manufacturers which vehicles should be eligible, and Tesla has told them that the S isn't. As long as Tesla refuses to allow the import, there's not much that can be done.

You have to remember that Tesla is still a tiny car company, and in Canada, really tiny. Importation would just increase their service costs (Canadian SC would have to stock US unique parts and be trained on US cars) for no particular benefit.

The point is that from a service stand point there is no difference between a us and a canada car, there's no different parts to stock, and no different training needed.

The fact that they only allowed imports of the roadster after discontinuing it speaks volumes to their reasoning. They're trying to protect their sales, same as every other car manufacturer.

green1 said:

big differences between Canadian spec vehicles and American spec vehicles (in general, not Tesla specific)
- bumper requirements
- Child seat anchors
- Daytime running lights
- immobilizer requirements (length of time to arm once vehicle is shut off)

That said, djp is correct. This is entirely Tesla blocking the import of the vehicles. The government asks the manufacturers which vehicles should be eligible, and Tesla has told them that the S isn't. As long as Tesla refuses to allow the import, there's not much that can be done.

Click to expand...

- bumper height the same
- child anchors easy retrofit aftermarket, if already not universal
- daytime running - software
- immobilizer, software

in addition you have to support metric...

When I moved from USA to Canada, I brought my BMW 740 up, and you had to put stickers on the dash for Km/h! (no software switch then), but seriously it is very common for people to relocate between the countries, so I had expected to be able to just move between, but I was also told that you cannot bring any US car to Canada by Tesla.

Bumper height isn't the issue, it's the speed rating. Many american vehicles have different bumpers in Canada. That said, worst case you have to shell out for new bumpers.
Child anchors are an easy retrofit, and you should be allowed to.
And you're right that the rest is software, so Tesla should just be able to push you the Canadian firmware version.

Unfortunately our import rules, although claiming to be about safety, are not, they are purely protectionist measures allowing automakers to charge a lot more in Canada for the same vehicles they sell in the US. Luckily Tesla doesn't really charge "more" (they do, but only based on legitimate costs) But that isn't stopping them from taking full advantage of their ability to prevent us from buying cheap used cars in the US.

Another weird thing I heard is that the Canadian seat belt receptacles (the part the buckle plugs in to) has to be red in Canada.

My understanding is that the red buckle rule was adopted by Tesla for all their vehicles after a certain point? I also believe that this would not be one of the "safety" items you'd need to retrofit.

Problem is, the rules around importing have NOTHING to do with safety, if they did they'd simply mandate that cars have to meet certain safety rules. Instead the rules are purely protectionist in that they allow the manufacturer to decide which vehicles they want to allow in.

Anyone think they'd likely get any traction with a letter writing campaign to Tesla?

It looks like Model S is on the list to me.

TESLA MOTORS

TomE said:

It looks like Model S is on the list to me.

TESLA MOTORS

Click to expand...

That's new - it must have been added on the last modification to the list (July 4). Great to see the border is now open for used cars - thanks Tesla!

Doug_G said:

...assuming Tesla is willing to help you with the necessary modifications, of course.

Click to expand...

True, but it should be easier than the Roadsters. Most of the modifications are firmware only on the Model S.

I wonder when that was changed? Because it wasn't that long ago that I checked it!

Good on Tesla for doing the right thing here!

I don't suppose anyone has contacted Tesla yet to find out what they would charge for the compliance?

I see some nice cars for sale in the US for $10k-$15k less than similar cars in Canada... (admitedly that's the same price difference as the cars are new, but I'm all for saving that cash!)

Between the low dollar and import duties not much savings especially if Tesla charges to make the car valid for Canada.

Zero import duties for vehicles made in the USA per NAFTA, 5% GST, plus a few hundred in other fees, and the prices I was talking about already took the exchange rate in to account.
Compliance SHOULD just be a software update and a recall clearance letter, the cost from Tesla should be minimal.

Potential to still save $5,000-$10,000 easily, that makes cross border shopping quite appealing. And that doesn't even get in to the selection of used cars available (Only 3 in Canada right now near as I can tell)

green1 said:

Zero import duties for vehicles made in the USA per NAFTA

Click to expand...

Model S doesn't qualify - the Panasonic batteries put it under the North American content requirements. You're still looking at at $5,000 - $10,000 in import duty.