Have you ever wondered if the cars that exit the assembly line when production commences are exactly the same as the ones that are manufactured a bit later?
Since the Model 3 is one of the hottest cars right now and some owners have complained that build quality was patchy, it made sense to examine if, and how, later production models might be different from earlier ones.
We already know that Tesla likes to do things a little bit differently, so customers should expect their models to improve continuously without a mid-life cycle revamp, as is the case with pretty much any other passenger vehicle.
Nevertheless, there are some changes that were implemented as Model 3 production ramped up. To find out, Teslaunity made a quick comparison of an early VIN Model 3 and a late VIN one. The older car is VIN #005XXX and the newer one is #101XXX, which were manufactured seven months apart.
For starters, older Model 3s didn’t feature a trunk garnish straight out of the factory. The owner of the grey car had to have his installed afterwards, just so he wouldn’t have to deal with that much exposed metal.
There is also a slightly different seat design in the newer model, with new stitching patterns in front and a raised, by about 2 inches (5 cm), backseat. Newer models also come with a matte finish Tesla emblem on the steering wheel, instead of a chrome one, which we admit is a visual upgrade since chrome tends to look a bit cheap and is a fingerprint magnet.
Meanwhile, behind the steering wheel you’ll find a chrome insert which is now uninterrupted in its design, while the sun visor doesn’t feature Alcantara flaps anymore.
There are a few more differences worth mentioning, which you can see by watching the video below.