Tesla, the electric car giant led by Elon Musk, is encouraging Canadian customers to purchase vehicles at pre-tariff rates before prices are set to increase in response to President Trump’s trade war. The company’s Canadian website displayed a banner message urging customers to explore pre-tariff priced inventory “while supplies last.” This move comes as a response to the 25% tariffs imposed by President Trump on imported cars and car parts, which remains in effect despite a temporary pause on most tariffs.
According to a Tesla sales representative at a dealership in the Toronto area, the pre-tariff prices apply to all models of vehicles that were imported to Canada before the tariff hikes came into effect. Once these cars are sold out, customers will have to pay higher prices, with some models seeing price increases of up to 22%. For example, the all-wheel-drive edition of the Cybertruck now costs C$139,990 ($101,250 in US dollars), up by C$25,000 ($18,000) compared to its previous price.
The price hikes affect other models as well, with the long-range Model 3 sedan seeing a 16% increase to C$79,990 ($57,855) and the long-range Model Y SUV becoming 21% more expensive at C$84,990 ($61,471). These increases come at a challenging time for Tesla, as the company is currently facing a sales slump. Vehicle deliveries dropped by 13% in the first quarter, and net profit decreased by 71% over the same period.
Analysts attribute Tesla’s struggles to a PR crisis stemming from Musk’s involvement with the Trump administration, an aging car lineup, and tough competition from rivals like Chinese firm BYD. The company has also faced protests and arson attacks at its dealerships since the beginning of the year. Musk recently announced that he would be allocating more of his time to Tesla, signaling a shift away from other projects.
While Tesla is somewhat insulated from the impact of Trump’s tariffs on its US-sold vehicles, the company still relies on imported parts from countries like China. Reuters reported that Tesla would be halting shipments of parts needed for its upcoming Cybercab and Semi electric truck from China due to the tariffs. Despite these challenges, Tesla’s stock rallied following Musk’s announcement about focusing more on the company.
