Canadian vs. American model Y... why the range difference?

[bcsteeve]

This may have been discussed ad nauseum, I'm just looking now since my 2019 Model 3 was written off and I'm considering a Y to replace it.

Tesla Canada's website reports Model Y long range Dual Motor AWD as having EPA estimated 497km. The same car on the USA site says 330 miles.

330 miles = 531km, not 497km.

Both say EPA est... where did the 34km reduction come from? Is gravity different in Canada? Do we get a different battery than the USA does?

Model 3 is 333 miles in USA vs 534km in Canada (Google tells me 333 miles is 536km, but that can be rounding errors).
Model X says 348mi/560km vs 560km in Canada
Model S says 405mi/652km vs 652km in Canada

So this only appears to be the Model Y.

Does the Model Y LR come with an LFP battery in Canada now??

 

[hydro]

Could be but I am as curious as you are. I just came back from a test drive of both the S LR and the Y long range and I asked the sales rep where was the Y LR built and he said all Y's in Canada are from China but for a few coming from Fremont.

 

[hydro]

Actually, if that is the case, I might not mind it but the price must be lower as LFP's is definitely not the same cost to Tesla and in Québec, if the Y would be 3000$ lower, it would make the Y LR eligible for a 7500$ provincial subsidy in addition to the 5000$ federal subsidy for which it is already eligible now.

 

[hydro]

I must add that my other question to the sales adviser was where to look on Tesla's web site for a detailed view of what is standard on the vehicle and was told that there is no such list available which I deplore highly.

Have you looked at the MYP's conversion from km to miles? Is it the same discrepency as the LR?

 

[father_of_6]

Is gravity different in Canada?

This.

 

[father_of_6]

I must add that my other question to the sales adviser was where to look on Tesla's web site for a detailed view of what is standard on the vehicle and was told that there is no such list available which I deplore highly.

They make changes all the time, so at any given time the website would not be accurate (likely leading to false advertising claims).

You get what you get with Tesla.

 

[Midnightsun]

Those numbers seem to change every now and then. When we purchased our late 2020 it was advertised at 525km. No matter what they say, it will not even be close to real life figures so whats the point I ask. Basically it gives one a very rough and always inflated figure.

 

[E90alex]

I believe they started importing them from China so it has the LG battery with less capacity than the Panasonic pack.

 

[hydro]

Those numbers seem to change every now and then. When we purchased our late 2020 it was advertised at 525km. No matter what they say, it will not even be close to real life figures so whats the point I ask. Basically it gives one a very rough and always inflated figure.

Fair point, I agree with you. However, why would the US be rated 535 km? It would be better for them to rate it 497 km like in Canada would it not just as a customer satisfaction perspective? Customers in the US would be much happier as their real range would be closer to reality.

I believe there is quite a different in cost for them. Also, and not at all related to your comment but for those that consider the claim that Tesla is on a mission to save the planet". how can we reconcile that mission statement with shipping a vehicle from the other side of the world instead of shipping from much closer to the customer (talking about Model Y LR here)?

Sorry for the rant but I think that between a vehicle rared 497 vs 535, most people would buy the one with 38 km more if given a choice.

 

[Midnightsun]

I believe there is quite a different in cost for them. Also, and not at all related to your comment but for those that consider the claim that Tesla is on a mission to save the planet". how can we reconcile that mission statement with shipping a vehicle from the other side of the world instead of shipping from much closer to the customer (talking about Model Y LR here)?

It's obviously cheaper to build and send by boat from China to Canada and/or maybe due to the extreme high demand not that long ago which has now faded away. Not done in the US because of China import tariffs which makes it much cheaper from the US plant. Mine came from the US however about a year ago or less they started coming from China and only black interior was available. Now that white is back I believe Canadian deliveries are coming once again from the US. Don't quote me on that.

 

[father_of_6]

Tesla is on a mission to save the planet

The Tesla mission statement is "to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy."

 

[hydro]

The Tesla mission statement is "to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy."

Indeed, like I said, sorry for the rant.

 

[bcsteeve]

Have you looked at the MYP's conversion from km to miles? Is it the same discrepency as the LR?

Good question. I went a little deeper, and here's what we see (All figures converted to Canadian dollars, before incentives, and km:

Model Y RWD is 4.49% cheaper in Canada and gets 5.74% less range

Canada: $57,990 | 394km
USA: $60,717 | 418km

Model Y LR AWD is 0.56% more expensive in Canada and gets 6.40% less range

Canada: $67,990 | 497km
USA: $67,615 | 531km

Model Y Performance is 2.52% more expensive in Canada and gets 5.94% less range

Canada: $74,290 | 459km
USA: $72,460 | 488km

Model 3 RWD is 0.31% more expensive in Canada and gets exactly the same range

Canada: $53,990 | 438km
USA: $53,823| 438km

Model 3 LR AWD is 0.79% more expensive in Canada and gets 0.37% less range (probably rounding error)

Canada: $63,990 | 534km
USA: $63,490| 536km

Model 3 Performance is 4.19% more expensive in Canada and gets exactly the same range

Canada: $73,290 | 507km
USA: $70,340| 507km

Model S is 0.60% more expensive in Canada and gets exactly the same range
Canada: $99,990 | 652km
USA: $99,392 | 652km

Model S Plaid is 5.16% more expensive in Canada and gets exactly the same range
Canada: $124,990 | 637km
USA: $118,859 | 637km

Model X is 16.15% more expensive in Canada (yikes!) and gets exactly the same range
Canada: $109,990 | 560km
USA: $94,699 | 560km

Model X Plaid is 4.13% more expensive in Canada and gets exactly the same range
Canada: $130,990 | 536km
USA: $125,791 | 536km


So we get REALLY screwed on the Model X, for some reason, and also all models of the Y in terms of range.

 

[bcsteeve]

In summary, the non-Plaid Model S is the best "deal" in Canada

Followed by the RWD Model 3 and LR AWD Model 3. Stay away from X! Y is... well, it depends because if that is LFP then I suppose there are pros and cons. But from my brief research it isn't LFP, its just LG vs Panasonic. I have no idea if there are any benefits to LG over Panasonic.

 

[SageBrush]

The EPA gives the manufacturer a choice whether to use its 2 cycle or 5 cycle test protocol. I'll guess that the difference you see is a result of Canada using the 2-cycle protocol results while Tesla publishes values in the US according to the 5-cycle test.

 

[bcsteeve]

I did a bit more searching around the ol' Interweb, and I'm pretty sure the difference is that USA gets their Model Y's from USA factories using Panasonic cells, while Canada is currently getting theirs from China using LG cells. I've seen some references to 82kWh vs 79kWh. This is a relatively informative article: Tesla Cancels US-Made Model Y Long Range Orders In Canada: Report

I can't say I'm happy with the situation. It feels like we (Canadians) are getting a bit of a short end of a stick here. But in my case, the insurance company is driving this decision so I'm not sure I have a lot of choice in the matter. I can take a cash-out and get whatever I want, but them I'm walking away from at least $11k in value.

 

[Webeevdrivers]

The EPA gives the manufacturer a choice whether to use its 2 cycle or 5 cycle test protocol. I'll guess that the difference you see is a result of Canada using the 2-cycle protocol results while Tesla publishes values in the US according to the 5-cycle test.

No. Canadian model Y comes from China. It’s a smaller battery. That simple.

 

[bcsteeve]

Further info found on the Canadian Government's webpages for both. Here's the USA version and here's the China version. Here's a summary of the differences comparing Chinese vs USA:

City kWh/100 km: 17.4 vs 16.5 (Chinese is 5.17% worse)
Hwy kWh/100km: 18.2 vs 17.9 (1.65% worse)
Combined: 17.8 vs 17.2 (3.37% worse)
Range: 497km vs 531km (6.40% worse)
Annual fuel cost: $534 vs $516 (3.69% worse)

By my read of the two sources (this post and my previous), the Chinese/LG pack is smaller and also less efficient.

Yay.

There is anecdotal evidence that suggests the LG packs also charge slower but degrade less. In my 4 years of Panasonic cells I had next to none, so that's not much of a benefit in my view. There's also some that suggest the cold weather performance is better with the LG, but others say it is worse (though I think they may be confusing them with LFP).

Who knows. Hopefully real-world doesn't make much of a difference. I'm coming from a Model 3 that had 499km range, so I shouldn't really care about 2km anyway and I'll be getting a larger vehicle with far more usable cargo space. And a warranty again.

 

[Lumens]

Just in case this hasn't been mentioned, the smaller capacity batteries coming from Shanghai are able to be charged to 100% daily as opposed to the Freemont batteries taking an 80% daily charge (as recommended by Tesla). I guess you would feel the difference during long road trips but the day-to-day range is actually more convenient on the Shanghai batteries since you get the extra 20%.

I have a Model 3 I purchased in the US and my buddy has one from Canada. We both went into Tesla and they gave us the above info-

 

[E90alex]

Just in case this hasn't been mentioned, the smaller capacity batteries coming from Shanghai are able to be charged to 100% daily as opposed to the Freemont batteries taking an 80% daily charge (as recommended by Tesla). I guess you would feel the difference during long road trips but the day-to-day range is actually more convenient on the Shanghai batteries since you get the extra 20%.

I have a Model 3 I purchased in the US and my buddy has one from Canada. We both went into Tesla and they gave us the above info-

This is not true unless it’s a base RWD model. LR models do not have LFP batteries anywhere in the world no matter the country of origin or sale.