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Tesla is revamping the Model 3, and it is about time

Credit: Tesla

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Tesla is reportedly revamping the Model 3 in a new project code-named “Highland.” In all honesty, it’s about time.

The Model 3 is arguably the most crucial vehicle in Tesla’s history. Before the Model 3, Tesla was confined to expensive, luxury vehicles with the Model S and Model X. While every day, and “average” people wanted to embark on the journey of owning and driving an electric car, very few in this category could ideally and logically afford Tesla’s first two commercial releases.

In mid-2017, the Model 3 rolled off Fremont production lines for the first time, and by 2019, the Model 3 was a regularly spotted EV in areas where EVs were few and far between. I am in York County, PA, and here, before the Model 3, the BMW i3 was all I really saw. Sometimes an e-Golf or Bolt EV would appear, but EVs didn’t become a regular sighting in South Central Pennsylvania until 2019 or 2020.

Small-town America is what truly encapsulates this country. I may be biased, but after spending time in big cities and small towns, there is no doubt, to me at least, that low-population towns are where true humankind is observed. Here is where tech tends to arrive much later than the hubs of American ingenuity. iPhones were rare in my high school of 1,000 people until 2011. Everyone drove a car from the 90s, for the most part. When I started writing about electric cars in 2019, many people I told didn’t realize EVs were truly in existence. Many believed they still needed gas to operate.

The Model 3 truly changed that narrative in my area. Since then, I’ve seen more EVs in general in my area, and it is not uncommon to see 5-6 different EV manufacturers in a 20-minute drive to the store.

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Tesla truly catapulted EVs to what they are today, hate them or love them, they cannot be discredited. The Model 3 made EVs such a mainstream idea, that it may be somewhat of a sentimental design to some. However, feelings aside, it is time the car gets an upgrade.

According to a report from Reuters earlier today, Tesla is planning to revamp the Model 3’s most crucial features, including its interior and infotainment system. In my opinion, these things deserve upgrades because, simply put, they’re old.

Interior Update

Internally, Tesla’s infotainment is always up-to-date. However, an improved center screen with more intuitive designs, a high-quality and crystal-clear 5K monitor that could support gaming is the first idea. The center screen is oriented differently than the Model S and Model 3. It is a good size, but it is definitely time for Tesla to increase the quality of this monitor.

Interiors are a completely subjective topic, but I have personally felt minimalistic interiors are not a better option. Personally, I have found that touchscreens are not a less distracting option than knobs or buttons. Yes, knobs and buttons are clanky and can become invasive when they are placed too prominently on a dashboard. However, scrolling through a series of different screens to turn the air conditioning up or down a few degrees is more of a task than it should be.

tesla model 3 interior

Credit: Tesla

What about the exterior?

Tesla hasn’t done much to change the look of the Model 3 from the outside for several years. Some might call chrome delete a major change, but it truly wasn’t monumental. To me, it only helped me recognize which Model 3s were newer than others in my area.

How much can you truly change the design of a vehicle before it becomes something else entirely? Honda has made the Civic for decades, and the 2022 versions are vastly different from even the models of ten years ago. I’m not sure how the Tesla community would take significant changes in the Model 3 design; it might be too mainstream of an idea. Tesla hasn’t done much to the Model S other than modernizing its front bumper and moving away from the old nose cone. For the most part, that car has stayed the same too.

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tesla model s nosecone

(Photo: Ma. Claribelle Deveza)

Why the Model 3 deserves an update

The Model 3 was more than a catalyst for Tesla’s domination in the EV sector. It deserves to be updated and kept fresh for new owners, and it will only increase the possibility that people will return to Tesla for their next vehicle. I don’t know if I would ever drive a vehicle for a few years and then want to buy something that looks exactly the same on the inside and out.

Although the Model Y has overtaken the Model 3 as Tesla’s best-seller, some consumers may enjoy driving a sedan but will want an entirely new look in their next car. An update to the Model 3 is just what Tesla can do to keep things moving and fresh within the company’s most important product.

Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

Investor's Corner

Tesla analyst says this common earnings narrative is losing importance

“Numbers are going down next year, but that’s ok because it’s all about autonomy.”

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(Credit: Tesla)

A Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) analyst is doubling down on the idea that one common earnings narrative is losing importance as the company continues to work toward new technologies and projects.

This week, Tesla will report earnings for the third quarter, and one thing people always pay attention to is deliveries. Although Tesla reveals its deliveries for the quarter well before it reports earnings, many investors will look for commentary regarding the company’s strategy for responding to the loss of the $7,500 tax credit.

Tesla has made a few moves already, including a lease deal that takes a substantial amount of money off, launching new Standard models, and cutting up to 23 percent off of lease pricing.

Tesla makes crazy move to spur short-term demand in the U.S.

However, analysts are looking at the company in a different light.

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Aligning with the narrative that Tesla is not just a car company and has many different projects, Gene Munster of Deepwater Asset Management believes many investors need to look at another part of the business.

Munster said the delivery figures for Q3, which landed at 497,099, the highest in company history, were padded by customers rushing to showrooms to take advantage of the expiring tax credit.

He believes that deliveries will be more realistic in subsequent quarters, but investors should not worry because the focus on Tesla is not going to be on how many cars it hands over to customers:

“Numbers are going down next year, but that’s ok because it’s all about autonomy.”

Tesla has been working nonstop to roll out a dedicated Robotaxi platform in various cities across the United States, and has already launched in two states: Texas and California.

It has also received regulatory approvals to test driverless Robotaxis in Arizona and Nevada, while seeking permissions in Florida and other states, according to the company’s online job postings.

Munster continued:

“Most people are hyper-focused on the Robotaxi opportunity and not focused as much on FSD.”

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While Robotaxi is incredibly important, Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) suite is also extremely crucial moving forward, as it sets the stage for the company to roll out a formidable self-driving service.

Tesla rolled out its newest FSD software to more owners last night, and as it expands, the company is gaining valuable data to refine its performance.

Earnings will be reported tomorrow at market close.

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Tesla rolled out a new feature with FSD v14 to fix a major complaint

One of the most crucial cameras for FSD operation is located at the top of the windshield, and some owners have complained about condensation or other debris accumulating here, which impacts FSD’s availability during drives.

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Credit: The Kilowatts | X

Tesla rolled out a new feature with Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14.1.3 in an effort to fix a major complaint from owners.

Tesla’s approach to self-driving is significantly different than other companies as it only relies on cameras for operation. Tesla Vision was launched several years ago and completely axed any reliance the suite had on sensors, as CEO Elon Musk’s strategy was unorthodox and went against the grain.

However, it has proven to be effective, as Tesla still operates the most refined semi-autonomous driving suite in the United States.

There are some drawbacks, though, and one of them has to do with the obvious: cameras get dirty and need to be cleaned somewhat regularly.

One of the most crucial cameras for FSD operation is located at the top of the windshield, and some owners have complained about condensation or other debris accumulating here, which impacts FSD’s availability during drives:

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Tesla has been working to confront this issue, and in classic fashion, it used a software update to work on resolving it.

With the rollout of Full Self-Driving v14.1.3 and Software Version 2025.32.8.15, Tesla added a new feature that aims to clean the front camera efficiently without relying on the owner to do it manually.

Tesla Full Self-Driving’s new version officially gets a wider rollout

In its release notes for the suite, it said:

“Added automatic narrow field washing to provide rapid and efficient front camera self-cleaning, and optimize aerodynamics wash at higher vehicle speed.”

If the camera starts to have some issues with visibility, the car will automatically clean the front windshield camera to avoid any issues:

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This new addition is a small but mighty change considering all things. It is a necessary process to keep things operational and avoid any disruptions in FSD performance. It is also a testament to how much better Tesla vehicles can get with a simple software update.

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Tesla Full Self-Driving’s new version officially gets a wider rollout

So far, v14 has introduced a handful of new features and improvements, but the first versions needed refinement before Tesla made an effort to expand the population. It had issues with a brake stutter, but this has been mostly resolved.

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Credit: Tesla Europe and Middle East | X

Tesla’s newest Full Self-Driving version is officially rolling out wider to customers outside of the Early Access Program (EAP), in preparation for a total launch of the new v14 suite.

Over the past several weeks, Tesla has been working to refine its new v14 Full Self-Driving (Supervised) in an effort to have it ready for the entire fleet of vehicles in the United States. We are lucky enough to be in the EAP, so we’ve been able to test new features and rollouts first-hand.

So far, v14 has introduced a handful of new features and improvements, but the first versions needed refinement before Tesla made an effort to expand the population. It had issues with a brake stutter, but this has been mostly resolved.

Additionally, the rollout of the new Mad Max Speed Profile has gathered some attention.

Now that Tesla has started rolling out v14.1.3 yesterday to EAP members, the company ultimately decided that it was time to expand the software to more vehicles, as many owners are reporting that they’re receiving it:

Additionally, the suite has started to expand to Model S and Model X vehicles, so this rollout is not exclusive to Model 3 and Model Y:

The only issue with this rollout is that it still appears to be missing the Cybertruck, which Tesla was transparent about earlier this month. Although the company planned to release v14 to Cybertrucks by the end of the month, there has been no hint that this is going to happen.

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This is already the third iteration of v14 in the past two weeks, indicating that Tesla is truly addressing the shortcomings of past versions and rolling out updates as quickly as possible.

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