Tesla's Project Highland will see the Model 3 get revamped
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We're nearing the end of the second quarter, and Tesla is pulling out all the stops to clear out the existing inventory of Model 3s. The buzz is intensifying about the anticipated Project Highland, Tesla's substantial redesign of the Model 3, which is speculated to commence production as early as the third quarter.
What was once a hush-hush project has now become a badly-kept secret, with rumors and piecemeal evidence sparking widespread excitement and curiosity. Here's a compilation of everything we know about the impending changes.
Exterior Overhaul: Function Meets Design
Tesla's upcoming Project Highland stands to redefine the exterior aesthetics of the Model 3, pushing the boundaries of design innovation. The most striking changes, as suggested by leaked images, include reimagining the headlights into a sleeker, more streamlined form, enhancing the car's modern appeal.
Interestingly, there are no apparent fog lights in the new design, sparking curiosity about whether they've been integrated into the headlights or entirely phased out. Further, the front bumper sees a notable transformation, with the absence of ultrasonic sensors hinting at Tesla's continued emphasis on vision-based assistance.
Alterations extend to the side mirrors, appearing slightly slimmer, and the conspicuous lack of the "T" logo on the hood aligns with Tesla's move towards reduced branding. Changes continue to the rear with a redesigned bumper and repositioned reverse lights, both indicative of a refreshed look and potential cost efficiencies.
Introducing a new front bumper camera aimed at improving blind spot visibility, along with potentially additional side cameras, demonstrate Tesla's commitment to enhancing driver safety and convenience.
Interior Innovation: Redefining Luxury and Practicality
Revamping the Model 3's interior, Tesla's Project Highland removes the iconic wood dashboard inlay, swapping it for a more modern aesthetic with the possibility of materials such as alcantara fabric, carbon fiber or brushed metal. A noteworthy addition is the supposed installation of ventilated seats — these enhance the comfort quotient, providing temperature adaptability for varying climates.
An upgraded sound system is also on the horizon, aiming to enhance the auditory experience with a more immersive sound. Improved ambient lighting within the cabin is rumored as well, adding a soothing aura to night-time drives.
Driving Revolution: The Advent of Smart Shift
Shifting gears, both literally and figuratively, in a potentially revolutionary move, Tesla may be ditching the traditional gear stalks in favor of on-screen controls for transitioning between park, reverse, and drive modes. If rumors prove accurate, this 'Smart Shift' technology could signify a paradigm shift in vehicular control interfaces, offering a futuristic and user-friendly experience that could redefine the very act of driving.
As all signs point to a fast-approaching launch, Project Highland is shaping up to be a testament to Tesla's unyielding dedication to pioneering advancements. The proposed significant transformations — an aesthetic reinvention, superior technology integrations, a luxurious and pragmatic interior, and a ground-breaking driving interface — underline Tesla's resolve in pushing the envelope of what's possible in electric mobility. As anticipation continues to mount, it's clear that Project Highland isn't just a worst-kept secret; it's a bold glimpse into the exciting future of Tesla's sustainable transport vision.
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We’ve now uncovered more details on how Tesla achieved such drastic improvements in the vehicle’s power consumption, which Tesla estimated to be a 40% reduction.
Tesla made architectural changes to how it processes and analyzes video — optimizing which components handle which tasks. While the Cybertruck is the first to benefit from these advancements, Tesla plans to extend these upgrades to other vehicles in the future.
Sentry Mode Power Consumption
Tesla vehicles feature two main computers: the MCU (Media Control Unit) computer, which powers the vehicle’s infotainment center, and the FSD computer, which is responsible for Autopilot and FSD. Both of these computers remain on and powered any time the vehicle is awake, consuming about 250-300 watts.
Typically, the vehicle only uses this power while it’s awake or actively driving. It’s not a major concern since the car automatically goes to sleep and shuts down its computers after about 15 minutes of inactivity. However, the larger issue is that these computers also need to remain on when Sentry Mode is active, causing a 250-watt draw whenever Sentry Mode is on.
Interconnected System
Today, the vehicle’s cameras are connected to the FSD computer, which connects to the MCU, which is finally connected to the USB ports. Because of this interconnected setup, everything needs to remain powered. Footage needs to be streamed from the FSD computer into the MCU, where processes like motion detection occur. The data then needs to be compressed before finally being written to the USB drive. That’s a lengthy process, requiring multiple computers to remain on in order to be able to record and save live video.
Architectural Changes
Tesla is making some architectural changes to address Sentry Mode’s high power consumption by shifting the responsibilities of the vehicle’s computers. By shifting motion detection and possibly the compression activity to the FSD computer, Tesla will now be able to keep the MCU computer asleep. The MCU is still required to push the video to the USB drive, but Tesla can now wake up the system only when it’s needed.
For instance, the FSD computer will still handle the connection to the vehicle’s cameras, but it will now also detect motion. When that Sentry event occurs, it can wake up the MCU to write the data to the USB drive and then have it go back to sleep.
This approach ensures the MCU isn’t continuously powered to analyze and compress video, instead activating it only when data needs to be written.
Processor Isolation & Task Allocation
Tesla’s current architecture separates the Autopilot Unit (APU) from the MCU. This is done for several reasons - but first and foremost is safety. The MCU can be independently restarted even mid-drive without impacting the APU and key safety features.
Additionally, by isolating the APU from the MCU, tasks that are optimized for each unit—processing versus image transcoding—can be offloaded to the processing unit that’s better suited for it. This helps keep both the APU and MCU operating at their optimal power and performance parameters, helping to manage energy consumption more efficiently.
Kernel-Level Power Management
Tesla’s been working on more than just FSD or new vehicle visualization changes and has been putting in the effort to optimize the operating system’s underlying kernel. While not in heavy use, Tesla is underclocking the processors of both the MCU and APU, reducing power usage and heat generation.
Of course, other kernel optimizations and programming tricks, such as the ones Tesla uses to optimize its FSD models, also factor into the increased overall efficiency of the vehicles.
Additional Benefits
Since Tesla vehicles also include a Dashcam that processes video, it’s possible we may also see these additional power savings whenever the vehicle is awake. This could also affect other features, such as Tesla’s Summon Standby feature, which keeps the vehicle awake and processing video to give users almost instant access to the vehicle’s Summon feature.
Roll Out to Other Vehicles
While the Cybertruck was the only vehicle to receive these power improvements to Sentry Mode, we were told that they’re coming to other vehicles too. Tesla is introducing these changes with the Cybertruck first, leveraging its smaller user base for initial testing before expanding the rollout to other vehicles.
USB Port Power Management
To further conserve energy and reduce waste, Tesla now powers down USB ports, even if Sentry Mode is active. This change has impacted many users who rely on 12v sockets or USB ports to remain powered to keep accessories such as small vehicle refrigerators on.
It’s not immediately clear whether these changes to Sentry Mode impact this change or whether power to 12v outlets was removed strictly due to safety concerns.
Tesla has initiated another minor design revision, this time improving the rear camera on the Model 3 and Model Y. This minor revision adds a protective lip around the camera, providing better shielding against rain, dirt, snow, and general road grime.
The design revision began rolling out for Model Y vehicles from Shanghai first, with the initial vehicles spotted with the revision dated as early as late September 2024. Tesla regularly makes minor design revisions on its vehicles in between model years, in an iterative design process that gradually improves as more and more vehicles are built.
Design Revision
The design revision adds a small shield around the rear camera, including a small lip towards the bottom end. The little lip is likely going to make the biggest difference, as it will help prevent kickback and wash from the tires landing on the camera lens, which can obscure it.
For now, nothing indicates a potential revision including a camera washer—similar to the Cybertruck’s front camera washer. However, given we already know the Model Y Juniper is likely arriving with a front camera, it’ll probably also have a front camera washer.
This lip for the rear camera should be a nice addition, but we’ll have to see just how much of an improvement it provides in the upcoming winter season as the messy, slushy mix arrives in much of the United States and Canada.
3D Printed Accessory
If you’re feeling left out without the new rear camera shield, you’ll soon be able to 3D print and install a similar design. Some entrepreneurial 3D modelers have already started working on making a retrofittable shield for both the HW3 and HW4 rear cameras.
In the meantime, we recommend using ceramic coating on the rear camera to help keep that slush and grime moving when it does hit the camera. A good application of ceramic coating can help prevent buildup on the lens.
Model S and X
For now, we haven’t seen this design revision on more recent Model S and Model X vehicles yet. There were previously rumors of a light refresh for both of the more premium vehicles. However, we haven’t seen any indications of these changes actually seeing the light of day.
Once the refreshes for these two vehicles arrive, we could see more drastic changes. Tesla has also indicated it is waiting to use some of its upcoming new battery cell technology in 2026, so we could be waiting for a while before seeing further updates to the Model S and Model X.
We’ll be looking for both vehicles to receive this design revision. If you spot them, let us know on social media or on our forums.
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