It's not the first time we've reported on the new dashboard and wheels of the Tesla Model 3 refresh, known as 'Project Highland,' but now we have our first close-up photos of the new dashboard. We also have our first high-quality photo of the new wheels, expected to arrive with the Model 3 Highland. The latest leaks are evidence that this vehicle is inching closer to streets near you.
Images of what was claimed to be the dashboard for the Highland Model 3 surfaced online by @xiaoteshushu in China, who stated the pictures were received anonymously. The post on X.com was then deleted, with the author saying they were asked to delete the photos by the supplier. This brings additional credibility to the claim that this is indeed the new dash for Project Highland. We believe that this leak is credible, but without knowing the age of the images or the parts in them, it's not clear whether these are the final versions that will ship with Highland. The dash itself appears to match details we've been given in the past.
Dashboard Details
While the tweet may be removed, it will live forever online. A closer inspection of the image courtesy of the former president of Munro & Associates, Cory Steuben states: "Refreshed IP (instrument panel) top cover. Larger area of A-surface is integrated into one piece. Model 3 highland?"
This observation opens up several possibilities of potential new features, such as a second driver display, although this is highly speculative. We do know that the vehicle will use an on-screen shifter, known as Smart Shift.
We already knew the vehicle's dash would receive a facelift, but it was believed to be a way to simplify the manufacturing process instead of offering something new and improved. Remember, the wood trim is being removed and replaced with another material. Based on these new leaked images, the new material appears to be metal or a metal-like finish. The trim is not a part of the central dash piece, so it's possible Tesla may offer different colors or types of trim, such as carbon fiber or a fabric finish that could be based on the vehicle's color or trim level.
New Wheels
A close up look at the new wheels that may come with the Model 3 refresh
teslashanghai/Twitter
As for the new image of the rim, it backs up a previous story that speculated on wheel changes after the caped Model 3 was seen a few times on roads and highways around California.
In February, we spotted the new design offering 14 points of contact with the outer edges instead of the current 10-spoke rims. The spokes are slightly off-center to give a swirl effect, another difference from the straight lines the current rims offer. A large circle in the middle where the center cap will go. That circle will replace the five-star piece on the existing wheels. These wheels offer more coverage, possibly cutting down on wind resistance and giving you a half mile more in range. As we know, Tesla always looks for ways to improve range, which cuts down on costs by being able to provide a smaller battery.
So, with Halloween all squared away, the next big holiday coming up is Christmas. Each year, Tesla releases a big Holiday update packed with features. Last year’s update included some awesome features, including alternate routes, the Vision upgrade for Park Assist, Speed Cameras and Traffic Light icons, and the Automatic Blind Spot indicator, among others.
We already know that update 2024.44 - the Holiday Update Branch - is coming with Blind Spot Monitoring while Parked, Supercharger Improvements, and more. But, we’ve got a ton of good ideas that we hope will make the list, so put down your pumpkin spice, and grab your egg nog. It’s the holidays, and it’ll be Cybertruck’s first Christmas, so let’s celebrate!
Apple Watch App
First up—the Apple Watch app. This has been a highly requested feature over the past couple of years, and it looks like Tesla is listening. Tesla has apparently already begun development to support the Apple Watch in app update 4.38, so we’re expecting this to arrive as part of the big Holiday update. We’d love to see an equivalent app for Android-based watches, too.
Phone Left on Charger Alert
It’s easy to forget your phone inside of the vehicle, especially if it’s on the phone dock. A simple app alert that a phone has been left in the vehicle would be really useful. Tesla could potentially even tell the difference between a driver’s phone and a passenger’s phone, depending on the vehicle’s profile being used or which doors were open and closed.
Either way, just receiving an app notification if a phone is left in the car would be really useful, especially since your phone is your car key.
Live Activities
Not a Tesla App
iOS introduced support for Live Activities with iOS 16.1 in October 2022. Live Activities are auto-updating, persistent notifications that can provide real-time information about a certain task. Live Activities are used to provide real-time information about your Uber arrival or the status of a flight. In Tesla’s case, they can be used for instances where up-to-date information may be important, such as when Supercharging or when Sentry Mode is active.
Arrival State of Charge
A popular request among Tesla owners is the ability to set a desired battery charge percentage upon arriving at a destination. This past year, Tesla has added several features to the app’s Trip Planner, including waypoints. Although the app lets you choose a starting charge percentage, it does not let you pick the state of charge at your destination.
If you’re traveling somewhere without a nearby charger, this becomes an issue. It’d be nice if the Tesla app let users pick their desired state of charge at arrival, and the route planner would automatically recommend charging stops and durations to reach that target.
Not a Tesla App
Light Show Support
Tesla Lightshows are great, but they could be made even better with Tesla app support. At the very least, it’d be great to be able to start/schedule or stop a light show from the app.
To really make light shows shine, Tesla could add the ability to create a light show directly from the app. Right now creating a light show involves using the open-source app xLights on a computer, so a simplified version of it running in the app would make it accessible to a lot more users.
Perform a synchronized light show with multiple Tesla vehicles…and a new song 🎶
Similar to an in-vehicle preconditioning button for 3rd party chargers, the Tesla App should also have a button to precondition the battery. This will make it easy for users, especially those who don’t have home charging – to get their vehicles ready for DC Fast Charging before departing.
Garage Door Controls
Tesla owners with HomeLink can control their garage doors directly from the vehicle. However, the Tesla app currently only allows users to open the first programmed garage door and doesn’t give the user access to any of the other programmed doors. Adding the option to choose which garage door to open via the HomeLink button would be a valuable addition—especially useful when paired with Actually Smart Summon.
Drive Stats
While Tesla already records and displays charging sessions in the app’s Charge Stats section, it’d be really helpful if Tesla also added the ability to record drives. That way, you could easily track how much your vehicle was driven on a particular day, week, or over the course of the year.
If you have any other suggestions, let us know in our forums. Who knows, some Tesla product managers may even be listening.
Tesla has added payment plan options to its shop items for the first time. They’ve partnered with Klarna, a deferred payment provider, to spread the cost of items across multiple payments. For now, this appears to be limited to the Tesla Shop in the United States—no support for other regions quite yet.
Payment Options
Klarna’s primary payment option allows buyers to get 0% APR for 6 weeks, with 4 payments. The payment schedule is essentially one payment every two weeks for whichever product you buy - enabling you to buy now, and pay later with 0% financing.
For example, the payment schedule for the $420 Wall Connector is evenly divided into four portions. Of course, you’d also have to pay for shipping and taxes, both of which will be included in your first payment.
Payment 1
Payment 2
Payment 3
Payment 4
Amount
$105
$105
$105
$105
Payment Due
Day of Purchase
Week 2
Week 4
Week 6
For some of Tesla’s more expensive Shop options - like the Cybertent, this could be a fantastic means for some owners to pick up something more expensive without having to worry about interest charges on their credit card.
Klarna also offers some other payment schedules, which do have interest. While these are far more expensive and are more like credit cards, they still provide buyers a means to buy now and pay over time. These are all open loans as well, so you can pay them down at a faster rate, thereby reducing the overall interest.
Payment Schedule
Payment Rate
Interest Rate
6 Weeks
Biweekly
0%
6 Months
Monthly
7.99% to 33.99%
12 Months
Monthly
7.99% to 33.99%
FSD Payment Options?
We’d love to see an equivalent payment option available for Tesla’s FSD purchase, which is currently $8,000, even if it's bought after the vehicle purchase. The high upfront cost is likely one reason why Tesla’s FSD subscription is so popular.
It’s likely that purchasing FSD is much more popular at the time of vehicle purchase, as owners can roll the cost of FSD into their financing rather than paying the full $8,000 later on.
IPO Filing
Interestingly enough, along with today’s news that Klarna is working with Tesla, Klarna has also filed for an IPO in the United States. It is one of the first financial tech (FinTech) companies to file for an IPO in 2025 and, interestingly, one of the first European companies to conduct an IPO in the United States.
For those who trade in the financial sector, this will be one to watch—Klarna was valued at around $46 billion in 2021 and is now valued at approximately $15 billion. Partnering with a large and well-known brand like Tesla could uplift Klarna, but that’s all financial speculation.
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