On today’s episode Tesla has officially released the Project Highland redesign of its Model 3 sedan and we’ll learn all about the new features, whether the rumors turned out to be true, and what the Model 3 Highland means for the future of Tesla vehicles.
Model 3 Highland Redesign
Officially Here After months of leaked teases and sightings in the wild, Tesla finally unveiled the updated design for its popular four-door sedan during the company’s 10-year anniversary party in Norway on August 31. The premiere of the updated vehicle was held.
Presented in front of guests and journalists from around the world alongside Julian Bello, Tesla’s creative manager for design, the Model 3’s Highland design refresh has been one of the few projects that shows even a small amount of Tesla’s upcoming focus on the Cybertruck release. And it includes a number of new features, including an entirely new design language for the exterior, which reportedly makes the vehicle more aerodynamic, increases the car’s range and supports Tesla’s Post and Norway program.
We have a clear idea about all the new features, so let’s do a recap. First, Tesla claims the new Model 3 has an updated suspension and a stronger body, reducing the amount of parts used throughout the vehicle. Tesla presenters mentioned this was a key goal at the Investor Day event on March 1 and it seems to have worked, along with suspension fixes, updated exterior paneling that’s sharper and more aerodynamic and reportedly a reduction in interior noise.
By some estimates the range has grown by around 12% compared to previous versions, the new exterior comes with two new paint jobs, Ultra Red and Stealth Grey, newly designed 18-in Photon rims are also seen at some places. There is a new feature with the choice of wheels, a new tire structure has also been introduced for the Tesla Highland Model 3, this reduces the available maximum speed of the vehicle, but increases ride comfort at all speeds, but this is not the actual The standout is the large number of new features released for the vehicle’s interior.
Tesla has previously said that the interior was a big point of focus for the Model 3’s redesign efforts and we can see this by looking at the interior doors as it added LED lighting in subtle strips along the dash, center console, and doors. All of these can be adjusted as per user preferences, the new infotainment screen is larger with smaller bezels on the outside making it more user friendly which is good as the gear selector has been moved here in the same way. The screen is on the right, as in the Model S, closest to the driver.
But not to fear, Tesla has included a manual option in case of display failure right above the driver’s head and this is not the only change in driver controls as the new steering wheel comes with all the functions used. What used to be controlled by stock attached to the steering column would be the turn signals and windshield wiper controls, these are now controlled by capacitive touch buttons that essentially turn the steering wheel into a touchscreen but it’s not just the steering wheel and dashboard. The entire vehicle has been improved with some new electronics.
Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity is seen as a big feature, as well as an updated sound system with 17 speakers, up from 14 on the previous version. Finally, the seating has been upgraded with ventilated front seats and a more comfortable rear. The seats feature the same perforated material swap, plus rear passengers also get their own small 8-inch infotainment screen in the center console between the front seats so your passengers or kids have access to their own environmental controls and entertainment. Now it may seem a little strange that the first Highland event was not held in America.
Much of the company’s attention has been focused there recently, but Tesla is having difficulty keeping the Model 3 within the strict parameters of the new inflation. Reduction Act Waiver System So it makes sense that we won’t see the new Model 3 state side until they file their details with US regulators except in China, the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Australia, New Zealand, and most of the United Kingdom. In Europe, there is access to the refreshed Model 3 design.
Model 3 Highland Rumors
Like any Tesla project, there were a lot of rumors flying around for the Highlands release project, we covered some of the more potential rumors ourselves, many of which were confirmed, with a surprising amount of internal details right before Tesla’s big reveal. Perforated and ventilated seats and changes ranging from physical toggles and gear shifting to buttons on the steering wheel and infotainment display, though the jury is still out on how well users will accept the change.
It hasn’t been fully confirmed whether the FSD hardware is rumored to be upgraded to 4, but the promotional material and order page show both HWD 4 cameras and even what looks like a camera in the front bumper, so we’re quite satisfied. That this room lives up to the promise of the new high definition radar. The units included in the new vehicles, unfortunately, we don’t have confirmation of yet and probably won’t until the next Monero Live tear-down video, but it was clear from Tesla’s FCC filing in December that they intended to add them and it seems That’s how it should have been.
The HWD450 involves receiving a new battery with a different chemical composition, specifically the iron manganese phosphate composition. Although it has been teased by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, we don’t have any concrete evidence of it being a reality yet, but there are some indications that the Highlander has an upgraded battery, the slightly higher range could be explained by the new more aerodynamic exterior. Or better suspension wheels and frame, but that doesn’t explain why the Highlander hasn’t been launched in the US.
Currently the Inflation Reduction Act states that for a vehicle to qualify for the program’s rebates its batteries must be at least 50% manufactured in the US, so if the Highlander uses a new battery, that would be Catal , is manufactured by a Chinese company, so Tesla can do it. ‘Haven’t risked updating the Model 3 in the US yet, otherwise they’ll lose their rebates now, this isn’t true confirmation, but there’s definitely something going on here and we finally addressed those rumors. The new Model 3 may get a facelift. The new steer by wire system, a new technology that allows.
Steering device to connect remotely to the vehicle steering assembly without a physical mechanical link While we said it seemed a little risky to experiment with the Model 3, it is a bestselling car and if anything with this setup If something goes wrong, it happens. The prestige of Tesla’s sedan would be a strange move, given that they have other less popular vehicles with which they could test it. Again, there is no direct confirmation, but Tesla’s announcement did not mention any steering setup of this type. Not to mention, we can be pretty sure they didn’t include it in SE By Wire.
This is one of those new features you’ll want to brag about for a long time, these rumors were all we had to go on, so it makes sense that some of them would be more reliable than others but buy into the hype. It’s always beneficial to look at other examples, most of the biggest rumored features that turned out to be true were things we were seeing on other Tesla vehicles like the hardware for the setup. It’s nice to be surprised by more than just the features. Instead of getting excited about details that don’t exist.
Model 3 Highland Reveal
Of course it is very interesting who doesn’t like adding new features to the car, but regarding the direction of the company these new features really capture our imagination as there are a lot of new technologies coming to Cyber True. The Model 3 is a better indicator of Tesla’s future because let’s face it the Cybertruck is an oddity and that’s intentional.
Tesla could have produced a pickup truck much earlier if that were their only goal but they wanted an extraordinary product so we can’t really be sure if the Cybertruck will mean anything to the future of Tesla vehicles Model 3 however it is their The main line is one of their best-selling cars, the big changes to this sedan are big signals for broader changes at the company and Tesla even said so during this time. The biggest flags we can see when looking at new offerings are their Investor Day event in March and the Model 3 Highlander.
Those are updated design language and production changes, definitely some little things that come up as the areas are used as well. Yoke-like steering wheel with haptic touchscreen buttons in place of the traditional control stick on the steering column It’s important to note that this is a risky change that will definitely have to be iterated on according to customer feedback, but it also means That Tesla may back out of this. Like other vehicle options until fully tested, but let’s get back to the big changes in the Highlander that point to some future changes in the Tesla fleet.
As a company with a previously updated design language, Tesla hasn’t strayed too far from its original form. The Cybertruck of their cars definitely stands out, whether it is the model xs3 or the one that adds sharpness and shrinks the size. With lighting matching the new shape language of the whole look, this new Model 3 has taken on a certain edge that wasn’t there before and it’s hard to imagine that the rest of Tesla’s product line hasn’t been updated to match.
The interior is equally sharp, with less rounded edges and more definition to draw the user’s eyes to the large infotainment screen. These aren’t huge changes, but a simpler and more aggressive visual design helps keep costs down. While Tesla has been refreshing the look as of late, the entire production philosophy for the Model 3 has also changed similarly, as one of the oldest vehicles in the Tesla lineup, the Model 3 is produced in a specific order like most modern vehicles. Have been put together. It took a lot of effort to prepare the many small parts that go into it, but as he mentioned at the investor day event.
Tesla wants to streamline that process. The company learned a lot from using the Giga Press with the Model The look has carried over to this new Model 3 even more so considering that this is a big flag that Tesla is waving, they are prioritizing their vehicle assembly process over saving money and production.
More cars are faster and to do so they will have to update their models in the same way as they did with the Highlander, there is real evidence that these changes will be used on Juniper models in the Horizon 2 project in the future. While the Y redesign was discovered shortly after word of the Highland project, we know from an interview with Tesla chief designer friend von Holzhausen that at least the Model S is also being actively worked on and will definitely There’s a new unnamed model from Tesla that was teased at Tesla’s Investor Day event. This new vehicle will not only be more affordable than the Model 3.
Rather, it seems Tesla wants to use its new facility in Mexico to extensively test some of the production changes introduced with Project Highland. The new vehicle as a guinea pig, these next two or three years are going to be big for Tesla as they basically overhaul their entire company to take advantage of the new technology that they’re developing, should they Must stick the landing.
We should see a design refresh across their entire range of vehicles, as well as at least one new entry and some pretty cool automated production lines, Project Highland is starting to impress, if you liked it check it out today. Like the video, which is very important to achieve. Our content reaches more people, if you enjoy the content you will probably also enjoy our weekly newsletter.