Tesla appears to be about to launch next-gen Model 3

Tesla appears to be about to launch the new generation of the Model 3, its cheapest electric car, which originally launched back in 2017.

After basically a year of tracking Tesla’s “Highland” program, which is the next-generation of the Model 3, it finally looks like Tesla is about to launch it.

Tesla has pushed all of its new Model 3 orders delivery timelines in Europe past October, meaning that customers shouldn’t expect a delivery until Q4.

In the case of the Model 3 Performance, Tesla is even quoting deliveries all the way through January 2024. That’s highly unusual for Tesla early in the quarter.

The delay could potentially be attributed to the change over to the next generation of the Model 3.

In Europe, Tesla sells Model 3 vehicles produced at Gigafactory Shanghai in China. Last month, Tesla warned that it would perform “global factory upgrades” that would result in temporary production shutdowns; those upgrades have been rumored to be linked to the new Model 3.

In China, there are rumors that Tesla is planning to switch over production to the new Model 3 in the coming weeks:

That could explain the delay in the delivery timelines in Europe.

For the North American market, Tesla produces the Model 3 out of Fremont factory in California. Tesla still has short delivery timelines for the Model 3 in the US.

The automaker appeared to have had a short shutdown of Fremont factory last week, but we couldn’t confirm if it was related to the Model 3.

The next generation Model 3 is expected to feature a slight design update, especially to the front-end and back of the vehicle. It should have also chassis upgrades that could potentially make the vehicle lighter and cheaper to produce. The new Model 3 is expected to also feature the new Hardware 4.0 self-driving hardware that has made it to Tesla’s other models.

There has been a rumor that it would be equipped with new battery cells from CATL that could enable more energy capacity inside the vehicle for a longer range.

Tesla is not expected to make an official announcement about the new Model 3 until it is in production in both Gigafactory Shanghai and Fremont factory. We expect this should come by the end of the month based on the information above.