Tesla plans to debut the Cybertruck in Canada following Transport Canada's special allowance for steer-by-wire technology.

Tesla has officially announced plans to launch the Cybertruck in Canada later this year. Transport Canada recently granted Tesla and the Cybertruck a special exemption, permitting the use of steer-by-wire technology (h/t Sawyer Merritt).

Steer-By-Wire Exemption

We previously reported that the Cybertruck was facing delays due to a steer-by-wire regulatory issue with Transport Canada. On Friday, July 19th, Transport Canada issued a message stating that they would exempt the Cybertruck, for all its models, from part of Canada’s Motor Vehicle Safety Act, which currently doesn’t permit the usage of steer-by-wire systems.

The exemption period is set to commence immediately on July 19th, 2024, and will continue until July 18th, 2029, after which regulatory standards are expected to replace the exemption. During this period, Tesla will submit semi-annual incident reports starting from January 18th, 2025, detailing steering system malfunctions or failures, along with corrective actions taken and customer complaints.

Additionally, Transport Canada must be notified whenever an OTA update is issued for the Cybertruck's steering software, potentially causing delays in updates within Canada.

Canadian Cybertruck Soon?

Based on all this information, it seems Tesla is gearing up to launch the Cybertruck for Canadian customers fairly soon, aiming for the end of the year as they've indicated. There's a strong likelihood they'll start converting pre-orders into orders once Tesla finalizes their plans. While Tesla hasn't specified which model will be available in Canada, it wouldn't be surprising if initially it's limited to the Foundation series.

We could anticipate the first customer-owned Cybertrucks on Canadian roads within a couple of months, barring those already imported by Roshel Defence and a few private importers.