Tesla is developing a revamped version of Model 3, according to four people with knowledge of the effort, as the top EV maker aims to cut production costs and boost the appeal of the five-year-old electric sedan.
The revamp of the battery-powered sedan, which could also include some changes to the Model 3’s exterior and powertrain performance, will go into production at Tesla’s factory in Shanghai and the company’s Fremont, California plant, two of the people said. Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory will put the redesigned Model 3 into production in the third quarter of 2023, they said.
It is also an example of a key project at Tesla that has rolled ahead even as Chief Executive Elon Musk has focused on his troubled acquisition of Twitter in recent months, an area of concern for Tesla investors.The redesign for the Model 3 builds on the revamp of the Model S - Tesla’s premium EV sedan - that was released last year.
“Having said that, consumers still tend to equate visual changes with newness,” he said. “Tesla knows visually tangible changes are in order.” Musk has said Tesla is looking to drive costs down through simplification and working on a small-car platform that would be half the cost of the Model 3. Graphic: Tesla outpaces Toyota in profit per vehicle - https://graphics.reuters.com/TESLA-MODEL3/mypmonqbqpr/chart.png