Tesla has begun producing in Shanghai a version of the Model Y to be sold in Canada this year, the first time it will ship cars to North America from China, according to a person with direct knowledge of the plan and a production memo seen by Reuters.
The move would connect Tesla’s biggest and most cost-efficient factory in the world to North America, its largest market. The Model Y is the electric vehicle (EV) maker’s best-selling model globally. Over the weekend, Tesla posted on its website that it would offer a new, cheaper version of its Model Y in Canada, a rear-wheel drive variant of the SUV-styled crossover priced C$10,000 ($7,377.90) lower than the long-range version of the vehicle available in that market.
Tesla’s website showed that customers in Canada could take delivery of the new version of the Model Y between May and July, reports Reuters.
The Canadian government’s website was updated on Friday to show that the new version of the Model Y and the more expensive long-range variant both qualify for incentives of C$5,000 on purchase or a four-year lease.
Tesla Shanghai began production of the Canada-bound version of Model Y earlier this month, the person with knowledge of the development said. The production memo reviewed by Reuters showed that vehicles had been designed and tested for export to North America, with a target of producing nearly 9,000 this quarter.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Reuters reported in November that Tesla had considered plans for exporting made-in-China vehicles to North America. After the Reuters report was published, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, in a Twitter post, had said “False,” without elaborating.
Musk told analysts last week that Tesla’s Shanghai plant had the “lowest cost structure” of any of its factories.
