Tesla has stopped taking new orders for the Model 3 Premium in Canada. Both the rear-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive Premium trims, which are built in Shanghai, are greyed out on the Canadian configurator. A banner that appeared Monday afternoon, according to Drive Tesla Canada and TeslaNorth, reads: "Model 3 Premium orders paused after high demand exhausted Tesla's import quota. Ordering resumes if Govt of Canada issues more quota, expected March 2027."
The only Model 3 Canadians can still configure is the Performance AWD, which Drive Tesla Canada lists at C$74,990 and which is sourced from the United States. Electrek separately noted financing from about C$936 a month for that trim. The Premium RWD had been priced from C$39,490 since May, a figure Electrek and Drive Tesla Canada both cite as the entry point that pulled the sedan down toward mainstream prices after Canada slapped a 25% counter-tariff on U.S.-built cars.
What Ottawa's numbers actually show
Canada's China EV tariff-rate quota lets 49,000 vehicles a year enter at a 6.1% most-favoured-nation rate instead of the previous 100% surtax. The quota year runs March through February. Global Affairs Canada's utilisation report, updated Oct. 9 and cited by Electrek and Drive Tesla Canada, shows only 15,931 permits used since March 1. That leaves 33,069 of the annual 49,000 still available, about 67% unused.
The second six-month window, which opened Sept. 1, started with 33,397 permits after unused first-window capacity rolled over. Drive Tesla Canada reports that just 328 vehicles entered under that window as of the Oct. 9 update, leaving roughly 99% of the current-period allocation open. Electrek's look at the under-C$35,000 import bucket, the customs band a C$39,490 Model 3 RWD would fall into on import value, shows a sharp swing: hundreds in June, thousands in July and August, then seven in September and zero in early October.
Why Tesla's wording and the tracker disagree
Tesla's banner talks about "Tesla's import quota," which implies a company-specific allotment. Drive Tesla Canada notes that Notice to Importers No. 1168 still describes permits as first-come, first-served for eligible importers, with no published manufacturer caps. Electrek points to language that lets Global Affairs Canada monitor applications for "equitable access" and potentially set aside quota for other OEMs and new entrants. Neither Tesla nor Ottawa has published a Tesla-only allocation, so the gap between the banner and the tracker is not publicly explained.
March 2027 lines up with the next quota year starting March 1. Until then, new Premium orders are closed. TeslaNorth says Tesla has not clarified whether undelivered Premium orders already placed are affected, or whether any Premium inventory remains for sale.
What it means for buyers and for Tesla
For Canadian shoppers, the affordable Shanghai Model 3 lane is shut for now. The Performance trim remains, at roughly double the old Premium RWD sticker. For Tesla, the pause undercuts a volume story that mattered after U.S.-built Model 3 inventory was cleared out of Canada earlier this year. Electrek argues the 49,000 national cap itself is the binding constraint if one popular sedan can fill whatever share Tesla was effectively allowed in a few months of deliveries. Global Affairs Canada had not answered Drive Tesla Canada's request for comment when that outlet published.
We will update this story if Tesla restores Premium ordering or if Ottawa publishes manufacturer-level allocations.