For a few months, Tesla has been working on renewing the Model 3. Although the sedan has given way to the Model Y in terms of leadership in sales, it continues to be one of the pillars and an important source of registrations and income for the brand. For this reason, after just over six years on the market, the Americans are preparing for its renewal.
At the moment this is being carried out in total secrecy from the official point of view. And it is that Tesla does not usually make progress or show renders until the car is ready. A strategy that makes all the sense in the world since otherwise it can cause an Osborne effect and slow down the sales of the current generation.
In this case, the indiscreet cameras have captured one of the development units of the new Model 3 at the Fremont, California, factory, where a heavily camouflaged unit has been seen, but where we have been able to peek slightly inside the vehicle.
The first thing that catches your attention is that to start the car, the driver seems to swipe the screen instead of pulling up on the left handle behind the wheel as in the current model. Something that could indicate that Tesla would have followed the example of the new Model S, dispensing with the rear shooters and focusing everything on the screen and the buttons on the steering wheel.
Without a doubt, this will be a rather controversial aspect, since opinions on this alternative are strongly divided between those who are in favor of minimalism, which translates into fewer plastic parts for the production of the car and, therefore, less environmental impact, and those who, what do you think? the system is much less comfortable than the shooters.
Another interesting detail is that the steering wheel also seems to receive some design changes. A look very similar to what Tesla has installed in its electric truck, the Semi.
It remains to be seen what will happen behind the wheel. In the images we can see how that area is covered by a canvas that covers its appearance. This has given rise to many rumors that the Model 3 could receive a steering wheel information system.
An aspect that seems to have few possibilities precisely because of the good reception by users of the current configuration that centers all the information on the central screen, and also because of the idea of reducing components and simplifying design and construction.
On the other hand, in favor of this alternative would be the question of differentiation with the future economic model. A way of giving added value to the saloon compared to the compact that, as we remember, should hit the market next year.
Regarding the exterior, we have previously seen an alleged image of a unit without camouflage, which has not yet been officially confirmed, where we observed the presence of some new optical groups much finer and that adopt forms similar to those seen in the Roadster 2.0, also approaching the language of the more expensive Model S and Model X.
This movement could again respond to an attempt by the company to distance itself from its future compact access, bringing the aesthetics of the Model 3 closer to the high end of its range. The bumpers for their part are more sober, while the alloy wheels look like new.
Rumors also indicate that another of the main novelties will be the inclusion of three new cameras (one on the front bumper and two on the forward-facing front wings) to take advantage of Autopilot Hardware 4.0. They will be 5 megapixels and have an anti-glare coating, a notable improvement over the 1.2 megapixels used in Hardware 3.0.
A new Tesla Model 3 being developed under the code name Project Highland, which should start manufacturing in China in September 2023so its deliveries will begin to be made at the end of this year.
