Photo: @klwtts via Twitter | Edited
We've been talking about Project Highland for the past four months and have seen some prototypes. New insider information spills the beans on the changes that will come with the refreshed Tesla Model 3, and some of them are unexpected.
Unless you've been under a rock or don't care about Tesla, you must have heard about Project Highland. The mysterious project refers to a refreshed Tesla Model 3 expected to launch later this year. Wilder connections have also been rumored between the project's name and Highland Park, where Ford's manufacturing revolution began. Tesla is indeed working on a revolutionary manufacturing process, but it may not yet change how Model 3 is produced.
The camouflaged Model 3 prototypes we've seen so far suggest that Tesla might change the front and rear design, which is expected for a refreshed model. As usual with Tesla, design changes are subtle, and we don't expect the Model 3 to stray too far from the path. An insider report confirms that the updated Model 3 will have a modified front and rear bumper, but there's much more to this change than initially thought.
Based on the report shared on social media, the upcoming Model 3 will have redesigned headlights. As before, they are LED-matrix headlights, although it's unclear whether Tesla will launch the Model 3 with them enabled through software. The U.S. legislation only recently allowed adaptive headlights, although they are common in Europe and other markets. The redesigned headlights are a good reason why they were covered on the Model 3 prototypes we spotted earlier.
Of course, a new bumper design is also due with the updated headlights. In the case of the refreshed Model 3, there's another reason for that. According to the latest information, the Model 3 will gain an additional camera in the front bumper. Like the Cybertruck prototype shown at Investor Day, the camera will be positioned in the center of the lower-vent area. This is major news, considering that previous information claimed no new cameras would be installed in the Model 3. The new camera in the front bumper will eliminate the blind spot directly in front of the car.
The report also claims the updated Model 3 will have two additional side cameras integrated into the fender camera housing. The new cameras could be oriented to cover the lateral-front area, allowing better visibility at certain intersections. The closer to the front they are, the better the view, without the car needing to creep forward that much when buildings or bushes obscure lateral visibility. We've seen a modified repeater camera housing on a Model 3 prototype, but it didn't appear to have more cameras, so take this with a grain of salt.
As revealed before, the new report confirms information about the tri-band GPS module that also comes with the HW4 Model S and Model X. On the bad news front, the updated Model 3 will ditch the temperature sensor, as rumored before, as part of the cost-cutting measures Tesla wants to implement. The same strategy will affect the interior, as Tesla will replace the wood trims with a cheaper fabric finish. The production of the refreshed Tesla Model 3 is expected to start in the third quarter.
The camouflaged Model 3 prototypes we've seen so far suggest that Tesla might change the front and rear design, which is expected for a refreshed model. As usual with Tesla, design changes are subtle, and we don't expect the Model 3 to stray too far from the path. An insider report confirms that the updated Model 3 will have a modified front and rear bumper, but there's much more to this change than initially thought.
Based on the report shared on social media, the upcoming Model 3 will have redesigned headlights. As before, they are LED-matrix headlights, although it's unclear whether Tesla will launch the Model 3 with them enabled through software. The U.S. legislation only recently allowed adaptive headlights, although they are common in Europe and other markets. The redesigned headlights are a good reason why they were covered on the Model 3 prototypes we spotted earlier.
Of course, a new bumper design is also due with the updated headlights. In the case of the refreshed Model 3, there's another reason for that. According to the latest information, the Model 3 will gain an additional camera in the front bumper. Like the Cybertruck prototype shown at Investor Day, the camera will be positioned in the center of the lower-vent area. This is major news, considering that previous information claimed no new cameras would be installed in the Model 3. The new camera in the front bumper will eliminate the blind spot directly in front of the car.
The report also claims the updated Model 3 will have two additional side cameras integrated into the fender camera housing. The new cameras could be oriented to cover the lateral-front area, allowing better visibility at certain intersections. The closer to the front they are, the better the view, without the car needing to creep forward that much when buildings or bushes obscure lateral visibility. We've seen a modified repeater camera housing on a Model 3 prototype, but it didn't appear to have more cameras, so take this with a grain of salt.
As revealed before, the new report confirms information about the tri-band GPS module that also comes with the HW4 Model S and Model X. On the bad news front, the updated Model 3 will ditch the temperature sensor, as rumored before, as part of the cost-cutting measures Tesla wants to implement. The same strategy will affect the interior, as Tesla will replace the wood trims with a cheaper fabric finish. The production of the refreshed Tesla Model 3 is expected to start in the third quarter.
Tesla’s Model 3, Project Highland Exposed: What’s changing pic.twitter.com/po9zzvD7Le
— John Ndue (@h0d10n) March 21, 2023
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