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.
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The massive legislative effort titled the "Big Beautiful Bill" is taking direct aim at what has become one of Tesla’s most critical and profitable revenue streams: the sale of US regulatory credits. The bill could eliminate billions of dollars from Tesla’s bottom line each year and will slow down the transition to electric vehicles in the US.
The financial stakes for Tesla are absolutely immense. In 2024, Tesla generated $2.76 billion from selling these credits. This high-margin revenue was the sole reason Tesla posted a profit in Q1 2025; without the $595 million from regulatory credits, Tesla’s reported $409 million in profit would have been a $189 million loss.
How the ZEV Credit System Works
Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) credits are part of state-level programs, led by California, designed to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles. Each year, automakers are required to hold a certain number of ZEV credits, with the amount based on their total vehicle sales within that state. Under this system, automakers that fail to sell a certain percentage of zero-emission vehicles must either pay a significant fine or purchase credits from a company that exceeds the mandate.
Automakers who fail to sell enough EVs to meet their quota have a deficit and face two choices: pay a hefty fine to the state government for each missing credit (for example, $5,000 per credit in California) or buy credits from a company with a surplus.
As an all-EV company, Tesla generates a massive surplus of these credits. It can then turn around and sell them to legacy automakers at prices cheaper than the fine, creating a win-win scenario: the legacy automaker avoids a larger penalty, and Tesla gains a lucrative, near-pure-profit revenue stream.
This new bill will dismantle this by eliminating the financial penalties for non-compliance, which would effectively make Tesla’s credits worthless. While the ZEV program is a state law, the Big Beautiful Bill will fully eliminate the penalties at a federal level.
A Multi-Billion Dollar Impact
The removal of US ZEGV credits would be a severe blow to Tesla’s financials. One JPMorgan analyst estimated that the move could reduce Tesla’s earnings by over 50%, representing a potential annual loss of $2 billion. While Tesla also earns similar credits in Europe and China, analysts suggest that 80-90% of its credit revenue in Q1 2025 came from US programs.
Why the Program Exists
While the impact on Tesla would be direct and immediate, the credit system has a wider purpose. It creates a strong financial incentive for legacy automakers to develop and accelerate their zero-emission vehicle programs, whether it’s hydrogen, electric, or another alternative.
Eliminating the need for these credits would remove that financial pressure. This could allow traditional automakers to slow their EV transition in the US without the fear of a financial penalty, potentially leading to fewer EV choices for consumers and a slower path to vehicle electrification in the country.
Big, But Not Beautiful
On Sunday Morning TV, Elon Musk was asked his thoughts on the Big Beautiful Bill. They were pretty simple. A bill could be big, or it could be beautiful - I don’t know if it can be both, Musk stated.
Elon Musk in new interview: "I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit and undermines the work the DOGE team is doing. I think a bill could be big, or it could be beautiful—I don't know if it can be both." pic.twitter.com/DnyjHN7xCY
The bill poses a threat to Tesla’s bottom line and to the adoption of EVs in the US market, where automakers will no longer have a financial incentive to transition to cleaner vehicles, a market they’ve regularly struggled in when competing against Tesla.
Tesla will have to work carefully in the future to cut expenses to remain profitable after the elimination of these regulatory credits.
Tesla is rolling out a thoughtful and much-needed update to its in-vehicle Supercharger UI. The update is designed to provide drivers with details about Superchargers and their locations.
The update will add new icons and contextual messages to clarify Supercharger access requirements or restrictions, such as paid parking. There’s nothing worse than navigating to a Supercharger only to find out it's only for customers, requires paid parking, or some other service.
The new details will appear in various locations, including the Supercharger list, Supercharger module, and above the navigation directions when navigating to a Supercharger.
The new Supercharger icons will indicate the following requirements:
Valet-only Parking
Pay to Park
Access Codes
Parking Floor (the floor the Supercharge is on in a parking garage)
These icons are initially displayed when you’re searching for a Supercharger in the list of Superchargers. Additionally, when navigating to a site that includes any of the above, your vehicle will now display specific alerts for access requirements.
Access Codes and Parking Floor information will be provided above the navigation card when you reach the destination.
Solving Common Frustrations
Not a Tesla App
While these may seem like minor tweaks, they are a direct solution to some long-standing and common frustrations for many Tesla owners. Many drivers have likely experienced the scenario of following navigation to an unfamiliar urban Supercharger, only to arrive and discover it’s buried deep within a paid parking garage, with no advance warning of the fees or specific floor location.
This update provides all the critical information upfront so that drivers can make informed decisions on where they would like to charge. No more surprise parking fees, no circling a multi-level garage at 3% battery, desperately searching for the red and white Supercharger signs, and no more getting stuck searching for an access code to charge.
Little Details Matter
These Supercharger updates are the definition of quality-of-life improvements. Little details that make a big difference in usability.
As the Supercharger network continues its massive expansion into more complex and densely populated urban centers, providing this kind of granular, logistical data becomes increasingly important.
Release Date
While Tesla hasn’t announced when these features will be added, they’ll likely be included in the next major Tesla software update, presumably update 2025.24 or 2025.26.
The Tesla app was recently updated to v4.46.5 and added the ability to restrict location visibility for other drivers of the vehicle. Although the app update didn’t include these Supercharger updates, we expect these new Supercharger details to also be added to the Tesla app soon.
