Tesla refreshes the Model 3 with improved range, a heated steering wheel, and more

[Polycount]

In brief: Tesla's first mass-market vehicle (or as close to mass-market as it gets for the carmaker), the Model 3, has just received a significant refresh for 2021. The new and improved Model 3 brings redesigned interior elements, updated wheels, and several other notable upgrades.

This information comes courtesy of Electrek, whose writers saw the updated Model 3 for themselves and spoke to sources familiar with Tesla's inner workings.

According to the outlet, and from what we've been able to find through Tesla's Model 3 configuration tool, the Model 3 refresh brings a beautiful new center console with a matte finish and a slide-open compartment. There's also reportedly "new upholstery," an electric trunk, double-paned windows, a heated steering wheel (with a metallic finish), and various other functional and aesthetic changes.

More important than all of that, though, is the range improvements that new Model 3 customers will enjoy from here on out. The basic "Standard Range Plus" Model 3 has an upgraded range of 263 miles per full charge, which is about 13 miles more than the old version.

The Performance Model 3 has seen similar improvements, now topping out at 315 miles per full charge, up from 299 miles.

Electrek's sources say the range increases are due to efficiency improvements brought on by the "new heat pump system" that's been implemented into refreshed Model 3s. The price of the vehicle, fortunately, has remained unchanged despite all of these touch-ups.

The basic Standard Range Plus car will still come in at about $38,000 before incentives and savings, whereas the Performance model starts at roughly $55,000. The price of Long Range Model 3s is also stagnant at $47,000.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/87157-tesla-refreshes-model-3-improved-range-heated-steering.html

 

[ColdSoup]

The model 3 was the 12th best selling car regardless of price during the first half of 2020 and the top selling car among luxury car brands. If you combine aggregate sales of all car models for BMW, Audi, Mercedes, and Lexus, the Model 3 (presumably Tesla overall as well) comes in 5th.

I'd call that a good achievement considering how long the big name luxury brands have had to iterate designs and refine marketing strategies. I still won't buy a Model 3 because it doesn't have a proper dashboard display or instrument cluster, but hopefully Tesla will correct this or just make a Model S closer to entry level luxury car pricing.

 

[Uncle Al]

Until Musk lives up to his original promise to produce an all electric car with top mileage and equivalent features of the average mid-range car at a price of under $35,000 I would never consider this or any of his other creations. He's too long on promises and too short on delivery .....

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

Until Musk lives up to his original promise to produce an all electric car with top mileage and equivalent features of the average mid-range car at a price of under $35,000 I would never consider this or any of his other creations. He's too long on promises and too short on delivery .....

They’ve been offering it since last year, here’s an example:

 

[QuantumPhysics]

Can’t take Tesla interiors seriously till they have heated/ ventilated seats and heated steering wheels as STANDARD.

 

[Alfatawi Mendel]

The model 3 is starting to look a little dated now - In my eyes anyway.

 

[Alfatawi Mendel]

The model 3 was the 12th best selling car regardless of price during the first half of 2020 and the top selling car among luxury car brands. If you combine aggregate sales of all car models for BMW, Audi, Mercedes, and Lexus, the Model 3 (presumably Tesla overall as well) comes in 5th.

I'd call that a good achievement considering how long the big name luxury brands have had to iterate designs and refine marketing strategies. I still won't buy a Model 3 because it doesn't have a proper dashboard display or instrument cluster, but hopefully Tesla will correct this or just make a Model S closer to entry level luxury car pricing.

The model 3 was the 12th best selling car regardless of price during the first half of 2020 and the top selling car among luxury car brands. If you combine aggregate sales of all car models for BMW, Audi, Mercedes, and Lexus, the Model 3 (presumably Tesla overall as well) comes in 5th.

I'd call that a good achievement considering how long the big name luxury brands have had to iterate designs and refine marketing strategies. I still won't buy a Model 3 because it doesn't have a proper dashboard display or instrument cluster, but hopefully Tesla will correct this or just make a Model S closer to entry level luxury car pricing.

I would hardly class Tesla as a 'Luxury' car maker. And to put Tesla sales into perspective - The VW group alone, sold 10 million cars in 2019.
How much did Tesla sell?

 

[scavengerspc]

Can’t take Tesla interiors seriously till they have heated/ ventilated seats and heated steering wheels as STANDARD.

Odd. A car that has those things are what I can't take seriously.

 

[sreams]

Until Musk lives up to his original promise to produce an all electric car with top mileage and equivalent features of the average mid-range car at a price of under $35,000 I would never consider this or any of his other creations. He's too long on promises and too short on delivery .....

I've had a Model 3 since April of 2018. I pay about $2000/year less for fuel than I did with the Audi S4 it replaced. The out-the-door price does not paint the whole picture at all. The all-in price of a Model 3 over 10 years of ownership is about the same as that of a car that cost $10-20K less up front.

 

[sreams]

Odd. A car that has those things are what I can't take seriously.

I don't believe

I would hardly class Tesla as a 'Luxury' car maker. And to put Tesla sales into perspective - The VW group alone, sold 10 million cars in 2019.
How much did Tesla sell?

For how long has VW existed and how much did they build up their manufacturing over that time? How many new US car companies have been at all competitive in the last 50 years?

Tesla is in it's 8th year producing more than a few token cars (original Roadster).With multiple new factories going up, what you see now is just an indication of a continuing trend of expansion.

 

[tecsi]

The model 3 was the 12th best selling car regardless of price during the first half of 2020 and the top selling car among luxury car brands. If you combine aggregate sales of all car models for BMW, Audi, Mercedes, and Lexus, the Model 3 (presumably Tesla overall as well) comes in 5th.

I'd call that a good achievement considering how long the big name luxury brands have had to iterate designs and refine marketing strategies. I still won't buy a Model 3 because it doesn't have a proper dashboard display or instrument cluster, but hopefully Tesla will correct this or just make a Model S closer to entry level luxury car pricing.

Seriously...no proper dashboard display swings it for you? Why is that?

 

[VitalyT]

The model 3 is starting to look a little dated now - In my eyes anyway.

Time to upgrade your eyes? I'm joking. I'm not a Tesla fan at all. When I drove Tesla Model S, I didn't like it at all, I thought it looked and felt awfully cheap. And when I saw Model 3 for the first time, I almost laughed, at its primitive, rugged and tasteless interior, or you can say the lack of it.

 

[jbgtly]

Seriously...no proper dashboard display swings it for you? Why is that?

Apparently he likes a proper dashboard display??? So do I.
I really don't see why any further info would be needed.

 

[DaveBG]

Until Musk lives up to his original promise to produce an all electric car with top mileage and equivalent features of the average mid-range car at a price of under $35,000 I would never consider this or any of his other creations. He's too long on promises and too short on delivery .....

The 35 000 car is available and the reviews all say that this is the best bargain of the decade since they include many of the things of the more expensive car for free.

 

[SixTymes]

Can’t take Tesla interiors seriously till they have heated/ ventilated seats and heated steering wheels as STANDARD.

best troll post ever. I needed a laugh, thank you.

 

[Mark Garnett]

I would hardly class Tesla as a 'Luxury' car maker. And to put Tesla sales into perspective - The VW group alone, sold 10 million cars in 2019.
How much did Tesla sell?

I doesn’t matter if you consider Tesla luxury or not (I agree with you), it is still outselling luxury cars and that was the point of the statement; electric cars are desired even over highly honed true luxury vehicles.
VW selling 10m, sure but Nokia used to sell a load of phones till we realised they were all outdated old tech, we all chose to spend more on better smart phones. VW is one of the few taking EVs seriously, but even they likely to be still selling less EVs mid decade than Tesla.

 

[negroplasty]

The 35 000 37 990 car is available and the reviews all say that this is the best bargain of the decade since they include many of the things of the more expensive car for free 37 990.

Fixed that for ya. Most people don't pay for a year of gas up-front when they buy a car.

 

[mattferg]

I would hardly class Tesla as a 'Luxury' car maker. And to put Tesla sales into perspective - The VW group alone, sold 10 million cars in 2019.
How much did Tesla sell?

The "VW Group" (VAG, actually) isn't luxury curs for the most part. That group includes Audi and Ducati, Bentley and Bugatti sure (with the majority of that being Audi) but the majority of those sales are probably Volkswagen, Skoda and SEAT. Not exactly comparative to a Model 3, let alone the S...

 

[Endymio]

I pay about $2000/year less for fuel for [my Model 3] than I did with the Audi S4 it replaced...The all-in price of a Model 3 over 10 years of ownership is about the same as that of a car that cost $10-20K less up front.

Perhaps if you're paying much more than average for gasoline. Using this calculator and the US average cost for both gasoline and electricity, I calculated the cost savings per mile for driving a Tesla and got $0.0425/m (City) and $0.0178/m (Highway). (The values diverge widely as gas vehicles not only perform better on the highway, but electric cars do slightly worse.) Using those results, your annual driving would have to total 47,100 miles (city) or 112,400 miles (highway). That's far more than the average driver.

And, of course, if you're trying to project long-term cost savings, you have to assume that EV owners will at some point begin paying the same road taxes that gas vehicle owners do ... many states are already talking about an EV-only ad-valorem surcharge. Further, if you postulate continued EV fleet growth, basic supply-demand considerations will not only result in large drops in the price of gasoline, but similar price hikes for electricity, as the US lacks the excess generating capacity to power so many vehicles.

For how long has VW existed...How many new US car companies have been at all competitive in the last 50 years?...Tesla is in it's 8th year producing more than a few token cars

No cherry-picking data ranges, please. Tesla just began its 18th year of existence. And if you're going to compare the two companies, VW took 3 years to become profitable; Tesla took 17.

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

VW selling 10m, sure but Nokia used to sell a load of phones till we realised they were all outdated old tech, we all chose to spend more on better smart phones. VW is one of the few taking EVs seriously, but even they likely to be still selling less EVs mid decade than Tesla.

The key reason here is battery supply. You cannot make tens of millions of EVs today without securing the development of battery supply and Tesla is the only car company doing this themselves. All the other carmakers are relying on existing battery companies to do this for them. That’s not necessarily a bad thing; the problem is that battery supply has to 100x to meet world demand. Chances are, car companies won’t be able to push battery companies to grow as fast as Tesla.

Now we have news that Tesla is producing their own battery cells today and plans to put these into mass-market vehicles in the next 5 years. Meanwhile existing automakers will be buying their batteries from someone else making profit off of them and their only choice will be hand down the cost to the consumer. Unless car companies get into battery cell production then they will always be at a cost disadvantage to Tesla as well.

 

[Endymio]

Unless car companies get into battery cell production then they will always be at a cost disadvantage to Tesla as well.

I'm not necessarily disagreeing with you, but I must point out that by this logic AMD would always be at a cost disadvantage to Intel, which of course isn't truel. (though it was for a lengthy period of time).

It very well may be that sourcing batteries from a manufacturer which supplies many automakers is cheaper than attempting to produce them yourself.

 

[AlextheGreatest]

Perhaps if you're paying much more than average for gasoline. Using this calculator and the US average cost for both gasoline and electricity, I calculated the cost savings per mile for driving a Tesla and got $0.0425/m (City) and $0.0178/m (Highway). (The values diverge widely as gas vehicles not only perform better on the highway, but electric cars do slightly worse.) Using those results, your annual driving would have to total 47,100 miles (city) or 112,400 miles (highway). That's far more than the average driver.

And, of course, if you're trying to project long-term cost savings, you have to assume that EV owners will at some point begin paying the same road taxes that gas vehicle owners do ... many states are already talking about an EV-only ad-valorem surcharge. Further, if you postulate continued EV fleet growth, basic supply-demand considerations will not only result in large drops in the price of gasoline, but similar price hikes for electricity, as the US lacks the excess generating capacity to power so many vehicles.

No cherry-picking data ranges, please. Tesla just began its 18th year of existence. And if you're going to compare the two companies, VW took 3 years to become profitable; Tesla took 17.

The benefit to the environment and climate alone is enough to want to purchase an EV, it shouldn't be taxed at all, it's gas powered vehicles that should be taxed far more.

 

[Endymio]

The benefit to the environment and climate alone is enough to want to purchase an EV, it shouldn't be taxed at all

The only benefit of owning an EV that isn't wildly overstated is the level of smugness it generates in an EV owner.

 

[mbk34]

I'd love a Tesla but sadly can't afford one. It's not the crazy acceleration, the fuel economy or the silence - it's that feeling of being in the future now that would rock my boat.

 

[Endymio]

it's that feeling of being in the future now that would rock my boat.

You do realize that electric cars actually predate internal-combustion ones -- they were sold in the 1800s, and it wasn't until the early 1900s that gas cars overtook them in popularity.