Update: Pre-2024 Model 3 trunk specs added on 9/16/23.
The Tesla Model 3 Highland has been making headlines in the past several weeks, as many have been able to take their first looks at the refreshed vehicle. Ahead of initial deliveries, some specifications for the refreshed Model 3 have surfaced — most recently including measurements for the frunk and trunk.
X user @DerCaspar shared photos of the Model 3 Highland on display at the Mall of Berlin on Friday, along with measurements for the newly redesigned vehicle’s frunk and trunk. Additionally, Caspar shared details about the sub-trunk, the small space beneath the floor of the trunk.
Check out the trunk, sub-trunk and frunk measurements below, according to Caspar:
Tesla Model 3 Highland trunk
– back row up 107 cm (~42.1 inches)
– back row down till seat 187 cm (~73.6 inches)
– back row down till seat moved 210 cm (~82.7 inches)
– back row down till front screen 270 cm (~106.3 inches)
– width between wheel covers 94 cm (~37 inches)
– width between back row hand bars 129.5 cm (~51 inches)
– height trunk opening 46 cm (~18.1 inches)
Tesla Model 3 Highland sub-trunk
– height till sub-trunk cover 29 cm (~11.4 inches)
– narrowest width 63 cm (~24.8 inches)
– narrowest depth 32 cm (~12.6 inches)
Tesla Model 3 Highland frunk
– frunk height 23 cm (~9.1 inches)
– frunk width 72 cm (~28.3 inches)
– frunk depth 35 cm (~13.8 inches)
You can see Caspar’s full thread on X below, where he details his initial impressions of the Model 3 Highland.
Tesla Model 3 Highland
I am seeing it first hand for the first time and will post measurements during the next hour as go through the car – it looks and feels awesome 🤩
Come along pic.twitter.com/d1lXQT1T3v
— Caspar – creating a positive future ✨ (@CasparThomale) September 15, 2023
Caspar also updated the thread with a German forum showing the pre-Highland Model 3’s trunk, sub-trunk and frunk dimensions. It’s worth noting that the measurements aren’t all taken the exact same way. As one example, Caspar measured the sub-trunk width and depth at its narrowest points, while the forum user measured the old Model 3’s depth at its deepest point.
Still, comparing the two sets of dimensions can provide a pretty good comparison point for the refreshed Highland Model 3.
You can head to the forum to see pictures showing how each dimension was measured.
Pre-2024 Tesla Model 3 (non-Highland) trunk
– back row up 107 cm (~42.1 inches)
– back row down till seat 190 cm (~74.8 inches)
– back row down till seat moved completely forward 206 cm (~81.1 inches)
– width between wheel covers 94 cm (~37 inches)
– height trunk opening 46 cm (~18.1 inches)
Pre-2024 Tesla Model 3 (non-Highland) sub-trunk
– height 30 cm (~11.8 inches)
– deepest depth 46 cm (~18.1 inches)
– width 61 cm (~24 inches)
Pre-2024 Tesla Model 3 (non-Highland) frunk
– frunk height 20 cm (~7.9 inches)
– frunk depth 38 cm (~15 inches)
– frunk width at 71 cm (~28 inches)
Other features in the Tesla Model 3 Highland
In addition to providing measurements for the trunk, sub-trunk and frunk spaces, Caspar later noted a few of his favorite features in the Model 3 Highland. These included the infotainment screen in the back row, the updated headlights and general Model S-like exterior appearance, and the car’s upgraded sound dampening.
He also notes the ability to control climate and seat heating separately for the right and left rear passengers and the customizable ambient lighting strip across the front interior of the car as impressive updates. Later in the thread, a few users also pointed out that the rear fog lights flash when the trunk is opened, which is another new feature for the refreshed Model 3. When asked if he was able to try the new ventilated seats, Caspar said he hasn’t, though he plans to.
In recent weeks, users have also pointed out the Model 3 Highland’s new features, such as Auto-Shift out of Park, updated airbag placement, a blindspot indicator and several other upgrades. Earlier this week, the Model 3 Highland’s size was also revealed after the vehicle was officially registered with the China Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send your tips to us at tips@teslarati.com.
Lifestyle
Tesla teases “Halloween Mode” update with Optimus rising from a graveyard
Tesla’s Halloween teaser hides a covered vehicle and an Optimus hand rising from the ground.
Tesla has started teasing a Halloween software update for its vehicles, with a short clip on X that reads, “Halloween is coming.” The clip opens on a glowing pumpkin before pulling back to the car’s center touchscreen, where the usual parked visualization has been replaced by a graveyard scene, and the vehicle draped with a white sheet so it reads as a cartoon ghost.
Halloween is coming pic.twitter.com/lM3ASUeOqX
— Tesla (@Tesla) October 1, 2026
The second detail is a robotic hand clawing its way out of the dirt like a zombie, which looks to be the hand of Tesla’s latest Optimus V3 humanoid robot. While Tesla still has not formally shown Optimus Gen 3 walking around in service, renders pulled from Tesla’s Android app last month gave the clearest look yet, including far more refined hands that Tesla has said carry 22 degrees of freedom. The hand has been the hardest part of the program. Musk has called it the majority of the robot’s engineering difficulty, and Tesla’s patents describe a design driven by tendons with the actuators moved into the forearm.
Tesla Optimus V3 hand and arm details revealed in new patents
Optimus also has a Halloween track record. Last October the robot handed out candy in Times Square, and a costumed “zombie” Optimus shuffled around the Tesla Diner in Los Angeles on Halloween night.
On the software side, Tesla’s 2025 Holiday Update expanded Santa Mode with a Santa sleigh, snowmen, snow effects, and a festive lock chime, so it wouldn’t be too far fetched if we saw something similar but themed for a Halloween Mode.
Tesla Full Self-Driving is set to receive improvements to address its two biggest issues, according to a company engineer.
Director of Engineering at Tesla AI, Phil Duan, revealed in a post on X that improvements to both pothole avoidance and navigation “are coming,’ something we have heard many times in the past. However, there are a few things that seem to hint that things might be different this time around.
Improvements on both are coming.
— Phil Duan (@pduan) October 1, 2026
Pothole avoidance, navigation, speed control, and left lane camping are some of the most prevalent and frequently mentioned shortcomings of the Full Self-Driving suite. These are a few of the biggest issues that have kept Tesla Full Self-Driving as a Supervised suite, meaning drivers must remain attentive during operation.
Pothole Avoidance
Pothole avoidance was first mentioned as an “Upcoming Improvement” with the Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.3 update back in early April of this year. It was listed alongside “Expand reasoning to all behaviors beyond destination handling.”
It’s been six months since we first saw pothole avoidance explicitly mentioned, and it has not moved beyond that and joined the main release notes yet.
Tesla has not shed any light on why pothole avoidance has been such an issue for it to solve, but it also has issues identifying large bumps much of the time, so its modeling of sudden changes in road conditions is likely pretty weak at this particular point. I’ve had more issues with large bumps than potholes, personally, but both are issues that need to be resolved.
This is that big bounce that I mentioned in the quoted post.
It’s just a tad too drastic to take at the speed FSD wants to go over it. You can see me quickly swipe down into Sloth, but I intervened. https://t.co/K20PK9ysBg pic.twitter.com/81Oc82ZJcZ
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 2, 2026
It makes sense that things might be pretty close to being released to the public, as we are going on such an extensive period of time between it being mentioned and it actually being deployed.
Navigation
Navigation is likely the most painful part of using Full Self-Driving, as it routinely takes strange routes, has trouble with local rules (like Except Right Turn Stop Signs in Pennsylvania), and sometimes does not realize that maneuvers it is suggesting are against the law. Turning out of my neighborhood, you cannot turn left, yet my Model Y still suggests it roughly 70 percent of the time when I’m leaving.
However, Tesla might be close to a breakthrough on this. With the Summer Update, Tesla added “Preferred Routes” alongside “Automatic Navigation.”
Preferred Routes prioritized roads that the driver had actually taken before, instead of always defaulting to what the vehicle believes is the most efficient path. This has already solved many of my issues. Formerly, I would turn off the Online Routing setting, and that would eliminate most of my complaints with routing, but then you lose out later on the Live Traffic Visualization.
Tesla’s Navigation has improved tremendously thanks to the Preferred Routes release with the Summer Update, but it still could use some polishing, as it still suggests strange routes from time to time, and it also has a lot of issues getting out of a parking lot. I find that those truly confuse FSD sometimes.
News
SpaceX’s midnight spy satellite launch quietly set a new record
Falcon Heavy launched its first NRO mission while SpaceX landed four boosters in one day.
SpaceX closed out one of its busiest days ever with a midnight Falcon Heavy launch from Florida, and the rocket’s two side boosters came home to finish off a landing record the company had never set before.
Falcon Heavy lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 11:54 p.m. ET Thursday carrying NROL-97, a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office. It was the first time the NRO has flown on Falcon Heavy after 22 missions on Falcon 9, and the first NRO mission bought through the National Security Space Launch Phase 3 Lane 2 contract awarded in 2025, according to Spaceflight Now.
Falcon Heavy lifts off from pad 39A in Florida for the 14th time! pic.twitter.com/uuZLKNTdD7
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 2, 2026
Roughly eight minutes after liftoff, side boosters B1104 and B1072 touched down at Landing Zones 1 and 2 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, setting off double sonic booms across Brevard County. B1104 was flying for the second time and B1072 for the fourth. Both last flew on August 30 on NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, making NROL-97 the quickest turnaround between Falcon Heavy missions to date. The brand new center core, B1106, was expended in the Atlantic so the payload could reach its high energy orbit, and SpaceX’s mission page noted the fairing had previously flown on the NROL-95 mission in July.
The two landings capped a record for SpaceX. Earlier Thursday, Falcon 9 booster B1101 returned to Landing Zone 40 after sending the Crew-13 astronauts to the International Space Station, and another Falcon 9 launched the Transporter-18 rideshare with 130 payloads from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Spaceflight Now reported it was the first time SpaceX has landed four boosters in a single day, wrapping up the triple header Teslarati previewed on Wednesday.
Falcon Heavy’s side boosters land on LZ-1 and LZ-2 pic.twitter.com/dBPcNeggFx
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 2, 2026
The mission also brought Landing Zone 1 back for what may be its final landing. SpaceX first landed an orbital class booster there in December 2015, but its lease on the former Launch Complex 13 site ended in 2025 as the company moved Florida landings to new pads at its own launch complexes. With LZ-40 already holding the Crew-13 booster, SpaceX brought LZ-1 back into service for one more night. Launch tracker Next Spaceflight listed NROL-97 as the final expected landing at the site.
NROL-97 adds to a fast growing stack of national security work for SpaceX. The company has flown four Space Force missions from Vandenberg since mid August, several believed to carry Starshield satellites, pushing its Pentagon contract total for 2026 past $8 billion. Elon Musk was also named this week to help lead the Pentagon’s Project Meridian study on the future of warfare.
The Florida doubleheader stood out for another reason. The Space Coast saw only one launch in all of September as SpaceX shifts more of its East Coast infrastructure toward Starship, which reached orbit for the first time on Flight 14 just three days earlier.
Tesla teases “Halloween Mode” update with Optimus rising from a graveyard
Tesla says fixes on Full Self-Driving’s two biggest issues are on the way
