Several parts from the interior claimed to be from the Tesla Model 3 Project Highland refresh have been leaked online over the last few days, giving us what appears to be the best look yet at some of the changes to coming to the interior of the electric sedan. A close up picture of the new 18″ Aero wheels has also appeared on the Chinese version of eBay, although those wheels may be a knock off.
The first interior part to be shared online was of the new dash. The photo was initially shared by X user @xiaoteshushu in China. The tweet has since been deleted, apparently at the request of the parts supplier who asked for it to be removed, but as we all know the internet is forever. In the photo below the original Model 3 dash is at the bottom, while the new Highland dash is at the top.
As noted by former Munro & Associates president Cory Steuben points out, the new dash appears to have several more components integrated into a single piece, supporting the theory that Highland is about lower costs through manufacturing efficiencies. This photo also appears to show the new woven fabric material that will be replacing the wood trim that has been in the Model 3 since its inception. Many have been hoping that a driver display will be added to the Model 3 with this redesign, but that does not appear to be the case from this photo.
The other part of the interior that has been leaked is the door trim. Again these photos come from @xiaoteshushu, and again one of the photos has since been deleted. In the photo on the left the new door card is at the bottom, and from it we can see a new speaker has been added, as well as what looks like a new fabric on the door card itself. Although its not easy to see, an ambient lighting strip at the door card has also been added, something which we have previously reported was coming to the Model 3. We get a better view of ambient light strip in the picture on the right, which also shows us a close up look at the new fabric.
Also visible in the photo on the right is the new door button, which more closely resembles the buttons found in the Model S and Model X.
The final piece that has also leaked is a close up photo of the new 18″ Aero wheels, although we can’t be sure if these are original. As we noted this photo appeared on Chinese version of eBay, Xianyu. The listing says “Highland’s new Tesla Model 3 wheels in the third quarter of 2023. The new 8900 one, no bargaining, strong direct auction.”
This is definitely the correct design, and matches what was seen on an earlier test vehicle in California. However these have a silver finish, and the test vehicle had black wheels. As we have previously reported, we have also seen photos of both the new 18″ and 19″ wheels for Highland, and those were also finished in matte black, so these could be a knock-off.
With all of these leaks occurring now, we should be seeing the final version very soon. Production of the new Model 3 has already started at Giga Shanghai, beginning last week. Tesla will reportedly be alternating between production of the old Model 3 and the new Model 3, with two days dedicated for each version. This will continue for two weeks, after which the production lines will be entirely switched over to the new version starting August 14.
There has been no word yet on when Fremont will switch over production to the new Model 3, but that will likely happen shortly after Giga Shanghai as China’s design team has been the leader of Project Highland.
