For years, Canadian Tesla lessees have had to face a harsh reality: at the end of your term, you must hand the car back, no matter what. Back in November 2024, Tesla changed that for the United States, enabling lease buyouts for its entire lineup in its home market.
Thanks to a small update in the terms on Tesla’s Canadian support website, it seems that the situation for Canadians is finally changing, and offering a new path for customers to actually purchase their vehicles when their lease expires.
Tesla hasn’t formally announced the change, but the updated language is a clear change from Canada’s historically strict leasing policies.
The End of the Blanket Ban
Previously, Tesla Canada’s lease terms were incredibly restrictive. Unless you leased a Model S or Model X prior to April 15, 2022, you were out of luck.
More importantly, leases for Tesla’s two most popular vehicles explicitly stated that they were not eligible for lease buyout regardless of the delivery date of the vehicle. Tesla also strictly prohibited third-party dealerships, as well as lease-transfer buyouts. Back then, the reasoning was largely tied to Tesla’s ambitions to reclaim leased vehicles for its future Robotaxi fleet. With the Cybercab about to begin volume production, this is growing more and more unlikely.
The strict exclusionary language on Tesla’s website on lease offerings has now changed. Instead of a full-on blanket ban, the revised support page now advises customers to review their lease agreement for purchase eligibility and states: "Contact us at the end of your lease to see what options are available to you.”
Importantly for many customers, the outright ban on third-party dealership buyouts has also been removed.
Case-by-Case Reality
This, however, does not mean that a buyout is guaranteed. According to Canadian Tesla owners, buyouts are actively happening, but they are being handled on a case-by-case basis. Because of this, customers interested in a lease buyout must reach out to Tesla, either at their local service center or through the Tesla App, to request a buyout.
Several users have noted that they have successfully conducted lease buyouts, while several others have reported that some vehicles are not eligible for lease buyouts due to contract terms or vehicle condition. The decision seems to depend on Tesla’s internal used vehicle inventory and the exact leasing policy that was signed.
Buyers who have conducted a lease buyout noted that there is a $350 buyout fee - exactly the same as in the United States.
While Canadian lessees don’t have the exact blanket guarantee that is currently available in the United States, it looks like going forward, lease buyouts may become the norm for the Model 3, Model Y, and Cybertruck in Canada as well.
