A leaked photo shows off the refresh Model 3, known internally as Project Highland
ffiarpg/Reddit
The Tesla Model 3 has become an icon in the electric vehicle market, so any changes to its design are sure to generate buzz. A recently leaked image on Reddit confirms a significant redesign of the Model 3's headlights, showcasing a daring new look that will capture attention.
This bold change to such a popular vehicle signals Tesla's commitment to innovation and continuous improvement. Alongside the new headlights, the picture gives away a few other details. The Model 3 refresh, codenamed Highland, will see many other updates. Here's a summary of the significant changes expected.
Striking Headlight Redesign
The Reddit image offers a clear view of the updated Model 3's striking new headlights. This leaked image matches up with the details we received and reported on in our article, Project Highland Exposed. It also matches up with incognito Model 3s that have covered headlights, further validating the leaked image's authenticity.
The image also shows that the foglights are gone. It's unclear if they've been moved inside the new headlight or removed altogether. It's also worth noting that the front bumper shows no sign of ultra sonic sensors and Tesla will continue to rely vision for park assist. The Model 3 refresh is expected to have a camera in the lower-center of the front bumper, but unfortunately we're not able to see that from this photo as well.
The side mirror also appears slightly narrower than the current mirrors. Additionally, there is no "T" logo on the hood. Chief designer Franz von Holzhausen has talked about having less branding on future Teslas.
Additional Updates Expected for Model 3 Highland
We put together a story of all the changes that are part of the Highland and released it a few weeks ago. Here is a summary of that story, detailing the other new elements the leaked image didn't show.
Bumper Camera: A redesigned front bumper will house a single camera in the center area of the lower-vent area, addressing concerns about detecting objects in camera blind spots.
Rear Bumper: While the reason remains unclear, the rear bumper is also being redesigned.
Additional Cameras: The Highland will feature three new cameras — one in the front bumper and two on the sides of the vehicle, possibly aimed at improving visibility at certain intersections.
Sensors: The exterior temperature sensor will be removed and replaced with a GPS-based system. Additionally, Tesla is working on improving the GPS module for more accurate location detection.
Interior: Inside, the wood trim will be replaced with a fabric finish, and the dash will receive a facelift, though details are scarce.
With a bold new headlight design leading the way, the Model 3 Highland updates show Tesla's dedication to evolving its vehicles and staying ahead of the competition. The mix of cost-cutting measures and significant improvements, such as the addition of new cameras and updated hardware, will likely generate excitement among customers. Production is expected to begin in the third quarter, with Model Y's Project Juniper set to follow.
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As of January 13th, Tesla has added even more manufacturers that will soon be able to charge at its Superchargers. Six manufacturers already have access to Tesla’s Superchargers in North America, and a handful more are on the way.
Today, Ford, Rivian, General Motors (GM), Volvo, Polestar, and Nissan have access to Tesla’s Superchargers through the third-party vehicle access option in the Tesla App. To do so, vehicle owners select a stall in the app and tap the “Release Magic Dock” button.
Coming Soon
Tesla has added seven new manufacturers to its Coming Soon section for Supercharger Access. While not everyone loves Tesla, everyone loves the reliability and speed of Tesla’s Superchargers. Many owners are undoubtedly looking forward to accessing these select Superchargers. Since these locations include Magic Docks, which include a NACS to CCS adapter, the driver doesn’t need to have their own adapter.
These are the seven manufacturers that will soon receive access, according to Tesla.
BMW
Genesis
Hyundai
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR)
Kia
Lucid
Mercedes-Benz
That will bring Tesla’s list of associated manufacturers with Supercharger Access in North America to 13 - bringing most of the major vehicle manufacturers online.
The last few remaining stalwarts are Honda, Toyota, and Volkswagen - of whom Volkswagen is in a rather interesting position. Volkswagen runs Electrify America and Electrify Canada - and the Electrify charging brand has built a reputation for EVs being unable to charge, or being inefficient or difficult to work with.
On the flip side, they’ve partnered with Rivian to build their future electric vehicles - and they could potentially bring the Volkswagen brands, including Scout - to Superchargers sometime in the future. Let’s hope that the last few standouts take the leap to adopting NACS and joining the Supercharger network. After all, a better charging experience is better for EV ownership and adoption, thereby accelerating Tesla’s mission of electrifying the planet.
Let’s take a peek at the new update and all the new features.
Navigation Improvements
One of the new features is the ability to choose how your vehicle chooses a route. If you have “online routing” enabled, then your vehicle’s routing is determined remotely, which lets it take more things into account. However, we now have alternate routes; the driver has limited control over how the route is chosen.
This update introduces new options on how the route is determined, giving the user more control.
Fastest Time - This option appears to be the current default, likely similar to how the vehicle picks a route today.
Least Congestion - This option appears to select routes that have minimal traffic congestion, thereby making your drive that much easier and safer - even if it's a longer route. It's a good use of Tesla’s integration with live traffic data.
Lowest Tolls - This is an interesting option. It doesn’t avoid tolls like the pre-existing option but finds the route that’s the fastest and has the lowest tolls. That’ll be an interesting option for people where toll routes have a big impact on travel times.
While it doesn’t appear that this brings the long-awaited avoid highways feature, it does give users a lot more control over the route the vehicle takes. While Teslas in China use Baidu maps with exciting features, these changes are to Tesla’s backend, so we expect these features to arrive in other regions as well.
Service Area Functions
As part of navigation improvements, approaching a highway service area in China will now automatically open an on-screen prompt, directing you to restaurants, convenience stores, and charging facilities within the service area. It’ll even point out big-name restaurants.
We’d love to see something similar to this in Europe and North America, especially as you pull up to a Supercharger at a rest area.
For those who prefer a little less in-your-face advertising of local businesses, this option can be disabled in Vehicle Options > Navigation > Service Areas.
It’s not clear whether this option will be available outside of China in the future.
The Service Area pop-up from Tesla China.
Not a Tesla App
Other Features
This is the big holiday update for China to celebrate the Chinese New Year. While the update includes some additional new features that we haven’t seen, the rest of it looks to be China-exclusive games, apps and other holiday update features we’ve already received.
The three exclusive games are from Tencent - Happy Landlord, Happy Mahjong, and Throw Eggs, and will be region-restricted to Chinese vehicles.
This update also adds Actually Smart Summon for vehicles equipped with EAP or FSD.
The final one is a bit interesting - Supercharger Bollards. Certain Superchargers in China have ground posts or bollards that automatically raise or lower. These locks prevent non-charging vehicles from parking in the Supercharger spots. Unfortunately for users, it meant you had to open the Tesla app to lower a specific bollard before being able to park to charge your vehicle. However, with this update you can now unlock the bollard from inside the vehicle - the button to unlock the bollard will pop up automatically as you’re navigating to the Supercharger.
We’re hoping the Service Area functions and Navigation improvements make their way to other markets in some capacity, so keep your fingers crossed for a North American or European version of this update soon.
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