The Tesla Model 3 is over five years old. The world’s best-selling electric sedan received a refresh in October 2020 and is likely to get another nip and tuck in 2023. Twitter user omg_tesla has posted spy pictures of what looks like a test mule of a new 2024 Tesla Model 3. According to a Reuters report dated November 28, 2022, Tesla is developing a new Model 3 codenamed ‘Highland,’ and that’s probably the model seen in these photographs.
The purported 2024 Model 3 test mule has covered front and rear sections, where most of its visual changes could lie. It’s possible that the once-again-updated Model 3 features new bumpers, updated light clusters, and a revised driver assistance sensor setup. Some viewers are speculating the new tiny circle on the upper edge of the headlamps is a camera module, but we’ll have to wait and see. Tesla has reduced reliance on sensors and is increasingly taking data from cameras aided by AI for driver assistance functions, a move many have criticized.
On January 16, 2023, Reddit user u/the_frog_said uploaded a photo of a smartly-camouflaged Model 3 with California license plates. Like in the earlier spy shots, this test mule also has its front and back sections blanketed in disguise.
As for the interior, the Model 3 could download some goodies from the Model S. If a deep update is planned, Tesla could redesign the car’s dashboard, install a new instrument cluster, a steering yoke, and a new, rotating touchscreen infotainment system, and improve the quality of materials.
Specifications
There’s no word on the technical updates in the 2024 Tesla Model 3 except for Reuters claiming that some powertrain changes are in order. The current Model 3 comes in three variants in the U.S.: Standard Range RWD, Long Range AWD, and Performance AWD. These have a 0-60 mph acceleration time of 5.8 seconds, 4.2 seconds, and 3.1 seconds, and can attain a top speed of 140 mph, 145 mph, and 162 mph, respectively. Their EPA-est. range is 267 – 272 miles, 334 – 358 miles, and 315 miles, respectively.
Tesla could be targeting a maximum EPA-est. range of 375 miles in the 2024 Model 3 Long Range AWD variant. The company has put new orders for the Model 3 Long Range AWD on pause, saying it will reopen the books in 2023.
