Image: @klwtts/Twitter

Tesla Model 3 Project Highland has profound changes in store for the electric sedan. They will include hardware, an exterior facelift, and interior upgrades, according to leaked information.

Tesla is working on updating its Model 3, which has not undergone any profound changes since 2017. The project, codenamed Project Highland, aims to make major changes to the car, equipping it with essential components to take driving to the next level. Not A Tesla App received a leak from its confidant that revealed the larger plans of Project Highland.

Headlights

According to the information, the Model 3 upgrade will include redesigned headlights. The new headlights will have a different shape and continue to offer matrix headlights. However, it remains unclear if they will be enabled at launch.

Bumper Camera

Since Tesla has been hiding the front part of the car ever since the Model 3 Highland was first seen, it was obvious that the shape of the bumper would change. First, Tesla is always looking for more aerodynamics to improve the drag coefficient, and changes to the bumper will help achieve this. Second, the front bumper will house one camera in the center of the lower-vent area. This will provide the ability to detect objects directly in front of the car, which is especially important after the removal of Ultra Sonic Sensors.

Rear Bumper

The rear bumper of the car will also be changed, which we already guessed due to the fact that Tesla always covered this part in test cars. However, at this point, there is no voiced reason to change its design other than that it could be a simple design change to better match the overall look of the car.

Mirrors

According to the information, the mirrors will also be changed, although only slightly. The source did not say if the changes are due to a desire to improve the overall look or make more fundamental changes to their features.

Additional Cameras

One of the most interesting is the addition of cameras. Tesla recently launched Hardware 4 on Model S and Model X vehicles. While the new vehicles feature the same number of cameras as the Hardware 3 vehicles, the new Model 3 will be different. There will be three new cameras in total: one in the center of the front bumper, as mentioned earlier, and two more on the sides of the car.

The camera housing on the wing will now contain two cameras. One will look back, as it is now, and the other will look in some other direction. It remains unclear how exactly the new camera will be oriented. The body of the camera repeater on the front fenders is also likely to change. It now includes a longer line, as seen on one of the test vehicles.

Project Highland will ship with Tesla's latest Hardware 4. The cameras themselves are expected to be the same as found in the HW4 Model S and Model X vehicles. Presumably, these are 5-megapixel anti-glare cameras, which are significantly more advanced than the current 1.2-megapixel cameras in HW3 vehicles. In addition, with a new set of cameras, the new Model 3 has everything to provide a bird's eye view.

Sensors

Tesla removes the temperature sensor, which is used to detect the temperature outside the car. Instead, the car will determine the outside temperature based on its GPS location and weather data.

Tesla is also improving its GPS module, which is expected to provide more accurate positioning. The new system will allow Tesla to use networks other than GPS to determine the vehicle's location. This may result in faster location detection and higher accuracy.

Interior

Inside the car, there will also be some changes that will relate to refreshing the appearance. The wood trim will be removed and replaced with fabric trim. The car's dashboard will also receive a facelift, but no details have been released.

Production of the vehicle is expected to start in Q3 2023.

© 2023, Eva Fox | Tesmanian. All rights reserved.

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Article edited by @SmokeyShorts; follow him on Twitter

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