One of the best-kept recent secrets of Tesla has finally been partially revealed as an alleged picture of the next-generation Tesla Model 3 surfaced on social media.
The original poster u/ffiarpg / Reddit posted a photo of a half-covered black Tesla car parked in a shed while charging. After a second look at it, the next-gen Tesla Model 3 appears.
Tesla has been guarding these design changes since last year. Multiple Tesla enthusiasts have spotted these new Model 3 cars but their front and rear ends were covered as they made rare public appearances.
The design-refresh Model 3 program has been codenamed Project Highland. The details of which have been scarce till now.
One such Tesla Model 3 was spotted by Tesla influencer The Kilowatts back in February. Looking at the pics in the following tweet, Tesla has been hiding something for sure.
Tesla has made changes to both the front and rear design and lights therefore both sides are covered while testing the car.
However, the wheels of the Project Highland Tesla Model 3 spotted by The Kilowatts are the basic wheels that are usually hidden under the aero covers. The alleged next-gen Tesla Model 3 spotted in this new leaked online photo has premium Sport wheels on it.
As we can see in the tweets above, there are multiple Project Highland Tesla Model 3 cars getting tested in the wild. So, Tesla must have a number of prototypes getting evaluated for production.
The new headlight design of this Project Highland Tesla Model 3 has definitely trickled down from the Next-gen Tesla Roadster. This gives the next-gen Model 3 an aggressive sporty look, which was perhaps needed to make it stand different from Tesla Model Y.
Another change is that there is no other light installed in the front bumper below the headlights like in the current production version.
Let’s take a look at this design-refresh Model 3 and Roadster front fascia comparison in the following photo (top: new Model 3, bottom: Roadster).
Only by looking at these pictures, we can easily tell that these cars are designed by none other than the one and only Tesla Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen.
However, the rear part of the design-refresh Tesla Model 3 is still hidden. We are not sure when Tesla is going to launch the next-gen Tesla Model 3 but the automaker has been getting rid of the old inventory lately by constantly reducing the prices of its new cars.
Let us know what you think about the changes in the design of the next-gen Tesla Model 3 in the comments section below.
Stay tuned for constant Tesla updates, follow us on:
Google News | Flipboard | X (Twitter) | WhatsApp Channel | RSS (Feedly).
Related
- Watch the sharp new Tesla Model 3 and Model Y visualizations, Spring Update goes wide release (2026.14.1 and 2026.14.2)
- The complete guide to Tesla’s 2026 Spring Update (Hey Grok, FSD App, Cyberhog Pet Mode, more)
- Tesla update 2026.8 goes wide with Comfort Braking, Cybertruck parked blind spot, and more (official release notes)
- Tesla launches the spacious Model Y L electric SUV in Australia and New Zealand (price, range, pics)
- Tesla update 2026.2.3: hidden features, Service Mode FSD updates, battery recalibration, more
- Tesla update 2026.2.3 goes wide release, explore new features and release notes
Where is the turn signal stalk on the stalkless Model 3
On Stalkless Tesla steerings, the turn signals are in button form located on the left side beside the left scroll wheel. In the future, Tesla will automatically give turn signals, no need to press the button even (currently available in FSD Beta).
Take a close look at the Design Refresh Tesla Model S/X Plaid steering wheel.