It looks like Tesla has a bit more up their sleeves when it comes to the new Model 3 refresh, as well as some changes coming for the Model Y.
With the news last night of the release of the Full Self-Driving beta at the top of everyone’s mind, it’s easy to forget the long list of changes announced on Tesla’s website for the Model 3 was only last week.
The changes included the addition of the heat pump, factory black trim, new wheels options, a power trunk, and much more.
Based on information seen by Tesla hacker @greentheonly, the list is incomplete and Tesla has made even more changes to their top selling vehicle.
Probably the biggest piece of information green revealed is that Tesla has introduced, or will soon, a new set of ultrasonic sensors, and made changes to the radar.
According to green, Tesla has been working on ‘in-house’ radar sensors in an effort to improve upon what is currently available on the market. Either because the team’s progress was too slow or not meeting expectations, green says Tesla have bought a new 4D radar sensor from Arbe Robotics instead.
In looking at information posted to the company’s website, you can definitely see some similarities between their Phoenix product and what is seen on the release of the FSD beta.
While the output looks similar, the automaker clearly hasn’t introduced these new sensors. When it does, it will greatly increase the effective range that the car can “see” from less than 200m to about 300m.
Other changes noted by the hacker that we either didn’t know about or didn’t have confirmation of include:
- Heated steering wheel
- New top console (waiting for more information on what exactly this is) Update: This is the area above the rear view mirror
- Heated radar
- Along with new headlights, also new taillights, noted as “Global” (these are probably like the new Model Y taillights)
- New 19″ Zero-G wheels (previously they were 20″)
- Adaptive air suspension (not yet but “in the works” according to green)
He also noted a couple of changes for the Model Y:
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- 3rd row flat fold seats (7-seater coming soon)
- HEPA filter with Biohazard Mode – you can read more about this here
- Adaptive air suspension (not yet but “in the works” according to green)
All these changes, including those to the Model Y, makes the fact that Tesla was able to keep the price for all variants the same truly remarkable.
Keep checking back as we’ll update this article as we receive more information.
