Many were surprised that when Tesla unveiled the facelifted Model 3 in late August, it made no mention of when it would go on sale in the United States, despite customer deliveries set to start imminently in Europe and smaller markets like Australia. It now looks like Tesla is readying the Model 3 to go on sale in its home market.
An undisguised Model 3 prototype was recently snapped by a Redditor on a highway in the San Francisco Bay Area and it has made Tesla enthusiasts very excited. The car is finished in the new Model 3’s shade of Ultra Red but this example has not been built at the firm’s factory in Fremont, California. Instead, the Chinese script on the tailgate indicates it was built at Tesla’s factory near Shanghai and exported to the U.S., likely for some local testing.
Read: 2024 Tesla Model 3 Looks Better, Has More Range, And A Nicer Interior
We think the new Model 3 looks noticeably more modern than the outgoing model thanks to its redesigned front and rear fascias, in particular with the second-generation Roadster-inspired headlights and DRLs. However, not everyone is so keen on the new design but we doubt this will have any impact on how well the car sells. In fact, it seems likely that it could sell in even higher numbers than its predecessor.
It’s not just the exterior of the Model 3 that has been updated. Tesla has also made a series of alterations to the sedan’s interior, giving it a new dashboard that incorporates a new ambient lighting system. Tesla has also designed a different steering wheel for the Model 3 and removed the stalks, shifting the turn signals to the steering wheel. Slimmer bezels on the central infotainment screen also mean it now has a 15.4-inch display as opposed to the 15-inch display of the outgoing model.
Specifications for the new Model 3 in the U.S. have not been announced. In Europe, the entry-level Standard Range RWD can travel up to 344 miles (554 km) on the WLTP cycle while the Long Range is rated at 421 miles (677 km).
