Following a recent change to tariff rates on Chinese imports, including EV components like batteries and raw materials, Tesla has discontinued sales of the Model 3 Standard Range Rear-Wheel Drive in the U.S.
The SR RWD model is no longer available for custom orders, although some units are still listed on Tesla’s inventory page. The vehicles listed on the inventory page are those that have already been imported into the U.S. and thus remain available for sale.
Tax Credit
The US Federal EV Tax Rebate doesn’t count towards the Model 3 Standard Range – which ships with an LFP battery that is primarily produced and manufactured in China at CATL.
While the Standard Range Rear Wheel Drive variant was the cheapest Tesla on offer at $38,990, the Long-Range RWD was cheaper at $42,490 if you include the $7,500 Tax Rebate – which is offered at the point of sale. After the discount, the Long Range RWD is only $34,990.
That means that offering this the Standard Range model – for the vast majority of Americans who are eligible for the Tax Rebate – didn’t make a lot of sense. There wasn’t a particular reason to purchase the Standard Range variant over the Long-Range Variant – unless you were one of the few not eligible for the Tax Rebate.
Those not eligible were also those more likely to buy a Model 3 Performance or Model S instead – as their income likely places them far above the tax brackets that the EV Rebate applies for, or otherwise completely unable to afford the purchase of a new vehicle.
Canadian Tariffs
Canada has followed the lead of the US on tariffs on Chinese goods, which includes EVs. Canada is imposing a 100% tariff and also eliminating the federal EV rebate of $5,000 CAD on EVs built in China. Tesla did warn initially that price increases could be coming to the Canadian market.
Instead, as we expected, Tesla has begun to source its vehicles from the United States for the Canadian market instead, which are still applicable for the EV rebate, and do not have the tariff applied to them. Now, both Fremont and Giga Texas will begin sourcing vehicles for Canada for the first time since late 2022 – when the last few vehicles from Fremont made the trip to Canada.
Interestingly, the regular Standard Range RWD model is still available in Canada – not the Long Range. We’re expecting Tesla to make a change to this within the next few days – changes to the Canadian site usually follow the American site.
This morning, Tesla shared its production and delivery figures for the third quarter of 2024, showing continued growth in vehicle production and energy storage deployments.
For Q3, Tesla produced a total of 469,796 vehicles, with 462,890 vehicles delivered to customers. The Model 3 and Model Y accounted for 443,668 vehicles produced and 439,975 delivered. Tesla's other models — which Tesla doesn’t break out, include the Model S, Model X, Cybertruck, and Semi, which made up the remaining 26,128 vehicles produced and 22,915 delivered.
The energy storage business also saw strong growth, with 6.9 GWh of storage products deployed during the quarter. This is down from 9.4 GWh last quarter, which was a quarterly record for Tesla.
Q3 2024 Production & Deliveries Breakdown
Model
Production
Deliveries
Model 3/Y
443,668
439,975
Other Models
26,128
22,915
Total
469,796
462,890
The delivery numbers met Wall Street expectations, which forecasted about 463,000 units. Tesla’s numbers mark a 6% increase year-over-year and a 4% growth over the previous quarter.
Tesla’s Q3 Financial Results Announcement
Tesla plans to release its complete financial results for the third quarter after market close on Wednesday, October 23, 2024. Following the results, Tesla management will hold a live Q&A webcast to discuss the company’s financial performance and outlook.
When: Wednesday, October 23, 2024
Time: 4:30 p.m. Central Time / 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Tesla will also have an archived version of the webcast will be available on Tesla’s website approximately two hours after the session concludes.
Financial Performance
Tesla emphasized that vehicle deliveries and energy deployments are just two of the many metrics that reflect the company’s overall financial performance. The company’s quarterly financial results will be influenced by factors such as average selling price, cost of sales, and foreign exchange movements. The full financial results will be shared in the 10-Q filing, covering the period ended September 30, 2024.
As the company prepares for its third-quarter earnings call later this month, industry watchers will be looking closely for updates on its ongoing projects, including the Cybertruck ramp-up, energy division growth, and developments in new markets.
Tesla has made changes to its Premium Connectivity offerings in Europe, Australia, and North America. The company will no longer include ad-free music streaming through the “Streaming” app, now called LiveOne. Similarly, in Europe, Tesla used to offer a free Spotify Premium account in the vehicle, but now this account will be limited as well. We initially covered this rumor last week, thanks to an insider’s tip.
These changes will be made as of December 1st, 2024, and users who previously used Tesla’s Premium Connectivity to avail themselves of either Slacker (Now LiveOne) or Spotify Premium will now be relegated to the free versions of those services.
North America – Streaming/LiveOne/Slacker
In North America, Tesla offered a free Premium subscription to LiveOne (previously known as Slacker) Radio through the “Streaming” app with the orange icon. This subscription wasn’t cheap—$10 USD a month. It offered unlimited song skipping and improved audio quality.
This feature has now been removed, and users will be prompted to sign into LiveOne when they open the Streaming/LiveOne app in their Teslas. Users can either continue to use a free version of LiveOne or sign up for LiveOne Premium to continue using it.
LiveOne Premium will cost $3 USD a month (a discounted price) for Tesla-specific use going forward.
Europe – Spotify Premium
In Europe and Australia, Tesla offered a free Premium subscription to Spotify instead, as part of its Premium Connectivity package. This subscription was actually fairly expensive in comparison to the North American equivalent - $10 USD a month and offered unlimited song skipping and improved audio quality as well.
Just like in North America, this has been removed. Users will have to sign into a Spotify account to continue using Spotify, or they can now use the basic tier of Spotify, which includes ads, limited skips, and some other limitations. A Premium account will be required to use the Premium functionality.
Not a Tesla App
Lifetime Premium Connectivity
However, these changes do not affect everyone. Tesla used to offer lifetime Premium Connectivity for free with every Tesla purchase before Premium Connectivity was introduced in July 2018. Tesla also offers a lifetime subscription to Cybertruck Foundation owners. These owners will still receive the benefits of either LiveOne or Spotify Premium in their respective regions. These Lifetime plans are guaranteed until the vehicle changes hands – at which point Tesla will also wash its hands of the ongoing cost of paying for that vehicle’s Premium Connectivity.
This set of changes is somewhat disappointing, as it has been a core part of Tesla’s Premium Connectivity for many years. The good news is that users will be able to continue using the same service but with some limited functionality and ads. We’re not sure if Tesla will be bringing a new set of features to make up for this gap or if they’ll be reducing the price of Premium Connectivity to match the reduction in service, but in all likelihood, Tesla just wanted to reduce costs.
There are plenty of competing apps that people use, especially with Tesla recently introducing YouTube Music, Apple Music, and Amazon Music in recent updates. Amazon Prime subscribers can enjoy Amazon Music for free since it’s included with their membership.
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