Updated Tesla Model 3 Spied Showing Its Roadster-Inspired Face

• Tesla is preparing an updated Model 3, which we expect will arrive later this year.
• The reworked Model 3 is internally known as Project Highland.
• If this spy pic is anything to go by, then the revised Model 3’s design appears to crib cues from the Roadster prototype.

It’s no secret that Tesla’s working on an updated Model 3. Known internally as Project Highland, the reworked entry-level electric sedan is expected to arrive sometime later this year, possibly as a late-arriving 2023 model (Tesla’s famous for ignoring model-year norms) or as a 2024.

Regardless, Tesla has generally kept key details related to the Model 3’s revisions under wraps. Though we’re still waiting to learn what hardware and software upgrades Tesla intends to give the new Model 3, we’re finally getting our first glimpse at the car’s tweaked sheetmetal. At least, we think that’s what we’re seeing in this spy photo that seems to have originated on Reddit before finding its way to Twitter.

This supposed unmasked Model 3 prototype may ultimately turn out to be the work of a skilled Photoshop artist, or a scrapped design proposal for Project Highland, but whatever it is, its tweaked body lines match those of camouflaged Model 3s spotted in the wild. Note the crease in the door that blends into the fender and joins the side-mounted camera. It’s a small detail missing from the current Model 3, but present on the camo’d Project Highland prototypes we’ve seen.

Based on the above image, the most notable changes to the Model 3 come to its front end. Gone are the current car’s large headlight bezels and noticeably canted front bumper cover. In their places sit slit-like headlights and a simpler and more upright front valance. The resulting front-end design gives the Model 3 a look reminiscent of the Roadster prototype from 2017.

Besides a new wheel design, there’s little else to glean from this image. We’re sure Tesla’s done more than just massage the design of the Model 3 as part of Project Highland, but until the company formally reveals the revised sedan, we’ll simply have to wait and find out what improvements the EV brand’s made to the car’s adaptive safety features, infotainment technology, and powertrain components.

Senior Editor

Despite their shared last name, Greg Fink is not related to Ed “Big Daddy” Roth’s infamous Rat Fink. Both Finks, however, are known for their love of cars, car culture, and—strangely—monogrammed one-piece bathing suits. Greg’s career in the media industry goes back more than a decade. His previous experience includes stints as an editor at publications such as U.S. News & World Report, The Huffington Post, Motor1.com, and MotorTrend.