Tesla's Canadian Model 3 Premium RWD Just Showed Fremont Specs — US-Built Return?

Tesla Canada's website now lists the Model 3 Premium Rear-Wheel Drive at 584 km of range and a 0-100 km/h time of 5.2 seconds — the exact specifications of the Fremont-built Long Range RWD that Tesla sold in Canada in 2024. The Shanghai-built car Canadians have been ordering since last year is rated at 463 km and 6.2 seconds. A Canadian owner spotted the change on X, and the numbers point to a different car from a different factory.

The specs match Fremont, not Shanghai

In October 2024, Tesla Canada listed the Model 3 Long Range RWD at 584 km and 5.2 seconds, starting at $54,990 CAD and eligible for the federal ZEV rebate. It came from Fremont. The new figures also line up with the Model 3 Premium RWD Tesla sells in the US today — 363 miles of EPA range (584 km) with 0-60 mph in 4.9 seconds, from $42,490 USD.

Giga Shanghai does build a Model 3 Long Range RWD for the Chinese market (78.4 kWh pack, 830 km CLTC), but it runs into the same import-quota problem that paused Canadian Model 3 orders in early October. Tesla's own website says orders will resume "if Govt of Canada issues more quota, expected March 2027." The federal tracker still showed 33,069 unused permits as of October 9 — so if Tesla wants a long-range Model 3 in Canada before March, it has to come from Fremont.

The tariff problem hasn't gone away

Canada's 25% counter-tariffs on US-made vehicles, in place since April 2025, still apply. The Department of Finance's counter-tariff page, updated October 9, says the measures against US autos "continue to apply." Those tariffs are what pushed Tesla out of US-built Model 3s in the first place: when they hit, Tesla raised the Model 3 Long Range AWD by $11,000 to $79,990 and dropped the $55,990 RWD entirely. In March, it shipped its remaining US-built inventory out of Canada ahead of the switch to Shanghai.

If Tesla applies a similar markup to a Fremont-built Premium RWD, it would land around $65,000–$67,000 CAD — well above the $50,000 transaction cap of Canada's $5,000 EV Affordability Program, even though US-built cars otherwise qualify through CUSMA (Chinese-built ones don't).

What it likely means

Tesla hasn't announced anything, and the configurator hasn't changed — the comparison page still lists the Model 3 Premium RWD at 463 km and $39,490. But Tesla doesn't usually rewrite a spec sheet for a car it isn't planning to sell. The most logical read: a stopgap. The $39,490 China-built Model 3 was a real hit, Tesla ran through its quota in about four months, and it's now stuck selling a $74,990 Performance until March. A Fremont-built Premium RWD would give buyers a long-range Model 3 at something less painful — at a price that still undercuts the Performance and keeps the long-range option on the table while the quota question plays out.

One caveat for buyers: watch the price, not just the spec sheet. A 584 km sticker that quietly lands above the $50,000 EVAP cap loses the federal rebate entirely — the same trap that made the US-built cars uncompetitive in 2025.

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