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New spy shots confirm Tesla Model 3 details way before launch

Published Apr 6th, 2017 4:14PM EDT
Tesla Model 3 interior photos
Image: Tesla

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Tesla’s Model 3 won’t be delivered to customers for months, and Elon Musk still hasn’t taken all the wraps off the Model 3, leaving a bunch of key details up in the air. But even if Musk is being a particularly secretive billionaire this month, Tesla still needs to do extensive real-world testing of a car that it’s planning on selling soon. You can see where this is going.

Jalopnik obtained a number of spy photos of a Tesla Model 3 undergoing real-world testing. You get a better look at the exterior styling, a glimpse of the software the Model 3 will be running, and enough blurry shots to tell that all the rumors about a drastically innovative interior are true.

The photos confirm one major detail about the interior: there’s no speedo, no heads-up display, just a giant tablet. Unlike the tablet in the Model S and Model X, this one isn’t sunk into the dash. Instead, it sits out on its own little stand, angled towards the driver. Presumably, the screen will display basic information like speed and battery charge, as well as details about the car’s autonomous driving technology, navigation, and the climate system.

In the spy photos, unfortunately, all we can see is a mostly-black screen that looks like a blank navigation system. You can see temperature information at the bottom, but I can’t make out a speedo anywhere. It’s kinda-possible that there’s a heads-up display hidden in the car somewhere, although there’s no sign of a projector or cutout for one.

Aside from the interior details, the new photos also give us another great look at the outside of the car. The styling has been tweaked a little from the original design, especially around the nose. The long hood and upturned nose make me think of Porsche’s four-door sedan, the Panamera. That’s not a bad thing, especially given how ugly Tesla accidentally made the Model X.

Head over to Jalopnik to see all the photos, and you might want to check out these other spy shots while you’re at it.

Chris Mills
Chris Mills News Editor

Chris Mills has been a news editor and writer for over 15 years, starting at Future Publishing, Gawker Media, and then BGR. He studied at McGill University in Quebec, Canada.