Tesla confirms new Model 3 Performance for 2024

A better, faster and more resolved Tesla Model 3 Performance will hit virtual showroom floors in 2024, the company has confirmed.

Tesla claims that driving enthusiasts have been involved in the process of engineering the Model 3 Performance, and that the company intends to realise the potential it left on the table when the first version hit the road five years ago.

No timetable or pricing has been confirmed, but expect to see more from the Model 3 Performance before the end of the year, before a claimed on-sale date of early 2024.

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The admission comes on the eve of the roll-out of the 2024 Tesla Model 3 revamp, which lobs in Australian Tesla stores this weekend.

Top brass from the US EV company in Australia for the launch – who cannot be directly quoted – confirmed that the previous iteration of the Performance was underbaked.

Difficulties meeting manufacturing quotas for the more basic version of the Model 3 meant that the focus fell on fulfilling customer orders, not refining an upmarket, go-fast version.

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The company says that the next version will be “pretty special” and will focus on the areas left undone with the first one.

Expect the 2024 Model 3 Performance to be based on the current dual-motor powertrain, which remains physically unchanged for the facelifted version of Australia’s best-selling electric car.

Refinements to the updated Model 3’s body and suspension set-up will lend themselves very well towards a performance version, with revised dampers and bushings promising a more compliant ride and a new focus on aerodynamic performance.

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Larger rims with high-performance tyres, more sophisticated shocks that could potentially offer adjustable damping and larger, multi-piston brakes are a given, along with further sports-orientated revisions to the interior makeover rolled out for the 2024 car.

Significant software updates and physical hardware changes are also anticipated; necessary if the new Performance is to outstrip the current 0-100km/h time of 3.3 seconds achieved by the previous version, which launched in the US in 2017 and in Australia two years later.

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As with all EVs, weight will be a factor; the 2024 version of the Model 3 gains a handful of kilograms over its predecessor thanks to the addition of stronger, heavier doors and acoustic glass throughout the car.

It’s possible that the new Performance could shed a few kilos by way of lighter body panels, more svelte (and expensive) forged rims and the use of a smaller battery pack to favour punch over distance, but at worst it will be within a few percentage points on the scales as the stock Dual Motor.