Tesla Model 3 redesign is codenamed ‘Project Highland,’ report says

Tesla is reportedly working on a Model 3 redesign codenamed “Project Highland” that is going to be released by the end of next year, but that’s according to a report that should be taken with a grain of salt.

Model 3 has been on the market for five years now without any significant redesign. It has sold well and keeps selling in many markets, but it is being overtaken by Model Y globally.

Now Reuters reports that Tesla is working on a redesign of the Model 3 codenamed “Highland”:

One focus of the redesign codenamed “Highland” is to reduce the number of components and complexity in the interior of the Model 3 while focusing on features that Tesla buyers value, including the display, according to the people, who asked not to be named because the revamp has not been announced.

The report doesn’t go into the details of the redesign, beyond that it will focus on cost reduction and that the vehicle should go into production at Gigafactory Shanghai and Fremont factory during the third quarter of 2023.

In terms of the actual design, the report only says that it is inspired by the redesign of the Model S released last year – without confirming if it will have the yoke steering wheel, which was the biggest new feature of the redesign.

It’s important to note that we recently reported that Reuters doesn’t have a great track record on its “exclusive” unnamed source-based reporting on Tesla, with several recent reports proven to be inaccurate.

Electrek’s Take

It’s extremely likely that Tesla is working on a Model 3 redesign at this point. That I can easily believe, but I’d take everything else in the Reuters report with a grain of salt – not that there’s much in there about the actual redesign beyond that it will focus on cost.

Reuters’ track record on Tesla exclusives has been so bad that we simply can’t take them at face value, unfortunately. Not at this point.

But the Model 3 is certainly due for a refresh, and it would make sense that the focus would be on cost, especially since Tesla hasn’t incorporated its large-scale casting technology into the vehicle program yet as it did with Model Y.

You can expect the next generation of the vehicle to feature large single-piece casting for more production efficiency. A potential switch to 4680 cells in late 2023 is also likely in the cards.