Tesla's Model 3 Highland: Latest Rumors and Speculation

A rendering of the Model 3 Highland (right) based on leaks

@CYBRTRK420

All eyes on Tesla have been focused on the bright, shiny, stainless steel object, the Cybertruck. Still, the company is nearing the release of another industry-shaking move, the Model 3 refresh - Highland. As the anticipation builds, we have collated the most recent updates from various trusted sources to bring you the latest on what could be a game-changer for the electric vehicle market.

Appearance:

A tweet from Tesla China Analyst, @teslashanghai, praises the Highland project, noting that the new Model 3's design looks "very attractive," even more so than the Model S. The refreshed version boasts sleek new headlights that have caught the eye of enthusiasts. In another tweet, Chris Zheng quoted a Tesla Chinese employee who confirmed that the actual car looked "very close, with almost no difference" to the expected design.

Production

The Highland project has moved beyond the trial production phase, with production ramp-up and stress testing slated to begin on August 25th. By early September, Tesla aims to reach a daily production capacity of approximately 1,200 units, as shared by @teslashanghai.

Hardware

Contrary to some expectations, a new rumor says Highland will feature HW 3.5, not 4.0, which seems counterintuitive. Tesla now delivers the new Model S, Model X and some Model Ys with hardware 4.0. Given that hardware 3 can't easily be swapped for hardware 4.0 due to physical characteristics, this rumor appears unlikely unless Tesla was under extreme supply constraints.

Pricing

One of the exciting aspects of Project Highland is its potential to reduce manufacturing costs, thanks to single-piece casting, reduced wiring harnesses, and new materials. However, the expected pricing will be approximately 27,000 USD, as estimated by Tesla China Analyst. They aren't clear in their post, but this is assumed to be their estimate of manufacturing costs instead of the price of the vehicle. Even so, this is thousands of dollars cheaper than the current Model 3 manufacturing costs.

The Highland would be welcomed with open arms by the market. Tesla China Analyst went as far as to predict an "explosive increase in orders," given the vehicle's impressive overall package.

Availability

Are these Model 3 Highland vehicles covered up in Shanghai?

@CYBRTRK420

New rumors point to Project Highland being available soon. Sources state that the Model 3 Highland will be displayed in Chinese Tesla stores at the end of August. Mysteriously covered cars parked at Giga-Shanghai might be the new Model 3s, although confirmation is still pending. However, there are several signs that Tesla is about to open the doors for the new Model 3, as detailed in an earlier story.

With the Tesla Model 3 Highland, Tesla continues its innovation and disruptive design tradition. The reported changes, from appearance to hardware, signal a continued push towards affordability without compromising quality. The Tesla Model 3 Highland represents not just a car but a statement, a vision, and possibly, the new standard in electric mobility.

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Tesla Announces New Supercharger Locations Based on Q4 2024 Voting

Not a Tesla App

Another quarter has wrapped up, and with it comes the latest results from Tesla’s Supercharger Voting. This ongoing initiative gives Tesla owners the chance to vote for new Supercharger locations they’d like to see built.

The previous round of voting took place in September, and as Q4 draws to a close, Tesla has revealed the winners of the Q4 2024 contest while also opening up voting for Q1 2025.

Supercharging has been a major focus this year, highlighted by the introduction of 325kW charging for the Cybertruck and the upcoming rollout of V4 Supercharger cabinets capable of 500kW. Tesla has also implemented several quality-of-life improvements for Supercharging, improving the experience for both Tesla and non-Tesla EV owners.

Let’s dive into the winners of the Q4 2024 Supercharger Vote.

North America

🇨🇦 Bathurst, NB

🇨🇦 Lac-Mégantic, QC

🇨🇦 Liverpool, NS

🇨🇦 Newmarket ON

🇨🇦 Ucluelet, BC

🇺🇸 Clermont, FL

🇺🇸 Cody, WY

🇺🇸 Hot Springs, AR

🇺🇸 Johnson City, TN

🇺🇸 Taos, NM

Europe

🇭🇷 Dubrovnik, Croatia

🇨🇿 Liberec, Czech Republic

🇧🇦 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

🇮🇹 Taranto, Italy

🇵🇱 Warsaw South, Poland

Asia/Pacific

🇦🇺 Braidwood, Australia

🇰🇷 Gwacheon, South Korea

🇯🇵 Hakuba Village, Japan

Voting for Q1 2025

You can head over to the Tesla Supercharger voting page to vote for the next quarter. You’ll be prompted to sign in to your Tesla account and you can vote on up to five different locations. You get one vote per location every three months. The most popular Superchargers are displayed on the leaderboard and you can also suggest new locations for the next voting cycle.

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Tesla Expected to Fix Cybertruck Charging and Regen Issue in Update 2025.2

BrianASilver3 / Tesla

Cybertruck owners in northern areas - especially those in Canada, have noticed slower charging rates on some vehicles. These owners are experiencing low charging amperage even when using a 48-amp Wall Connectors.

The 4680 cell - the Cybercell, seems to be sensitive to temperature changes and, as such, loses the ability to charge or discharge rapidly. Tesla accommodates this by warming the battery in advance of driving or while driving. However, there seems to be a software issue preventing the battery pack from warming up properly.

In addition, other users have noted that they don’t have regen braking due to the battery not warming up properly, even after driving. If you drive other Tesla vehicles while they’re cold-soaked, they will eventually warm up to offer you full regen and full performance. The Cybertruck, interestingly, will offer you full performance at cold-soaked temperatures as low as -20C (-4F), but will have regen unavailable in temperatures as warm as -5C (41F). 

Software Fix Confirmed

Brian Silver over on X reached out to Tesla Service with his findings, who confirmed that this is a known software issue that has now been validated. Tesla Service responded by saying that they’re hopeful a fix can be built into the 2025.2 software update. This is the first time we’re hearing about Tesla’s next major software update, which is expected to be released around the second or third week of 2025.

Tesla has also confirmed that this is not a physical issue with the heating system, so no repair is required for this one - it’ll be another OTA fix, just like many others.

We’re glad to see this one getting fixed so quickly. The issue appears to have started with the 2024 Holiday Update, or it could just be a coincidence since Cybertrucks begin to settle into Canada this year, where winters are much harsher and colder on average.

Workaround

We’re hoping to see this fix go out soon, as the current procedure to get around this is annoying. It requires you to set the navigation to a nearby Supercharger so that your vehicle will precondition the battery. You can stop the navigation to the Supercharger after 5-10 minutes, at which point the battery pack will be more than warm enough to charge at the full amperage of your home charger.

This workaround also resolves the issue of limited regenerative braking by warming up the battery pack sufficiently.

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