Tesla finally launches refreshed performance Model 3, fastest yet with 3.1 secs to 100km/h

In September 2023, Tesla unveiled its refreshed Model 3 to the world with orders in Australia opening on the same day. At that time, only two variants of the very popular electric sedan could be ordered and was missing the top-trim Performance variant.

Now, almost 8 months later, Tesla has finally unveiled the new Model 3 Performance, making it the most powerful and fastest electric car the company will offer in Australia.

The US pricing has been unveiled at $US52,990 which is equivalent to around $A82,000 in Australia. 

Local pricing has also been announced this morning which comes in at $80,900 before on-roads. This pricing also makes it the cheapest Model 3 Performance Tesla has offered in the country so far.

This is very close to the price of the Model Y Performance in Australia which after massive recent price cuts starts at $82,990 before on-roads.

The local configurator reveals improvements that will make this variant the fastest Model 3 Tesla has ever offered, thanks to the upgraded powertrain and aerodynamics improvements on the car.

This new powertrain delivers 500+ hp or 365+ kW, which on paper seems to be conservative compared to the last vehicle. 

It is likely to be much higher than that and Tesla is keeping the new car’s actual specs close to their chest until owners receive the vehicle and perform their dyno tests.

Regardless, it will be able to do the 0-60 mph spring in 2.9 seconds which is down from 3.1 seconds in the previous Performance model.

This would make the 0-100 km/h time in 3.1 seconds. 

On top of that, the top speed has also been slightly improved to 163 mph or 262 km/h. That’s a bump of 1 km/h over the last model.

The main areas of improvement are the inclusion of adaptive suspension which is exclusive to the new Performance variant and is software controlled. 

This will ensure daily driving comfort isn’t compromised while still providing enhanced body control needed to track use.

The third version of Tesla’s very capable “track-mode” is available on this car which has been tuned to work effortlessly with the new high-output powertrain and the adaptive suspension setup.

To help get all this power down, Tesla has introduced new Performance forged “20-inch Warp” staggered wheels. The new wheels and tyre setup will improve the dynamics of the car during daily driving but even more when coming out of corners on the track.

Given the size of the wheels, the range is now set at 528 km on the WLTP cycle. This is only slightly higher than the RWD variant which uses a smaller battery and 18-inch wheels.

Behind the new wheels are the new high-performance brakes which offer better thermal performance and minimising the discs from getting too hot.

The exterior design has also been improved with new front bumper with ventilations, rear carbon fibre lip spoiler and a rear diffuser. 

On the rear, Tesla has also included a Ludicrous badge, highlighting the new Performance Model 3 now sits just under the Plaid performance series Tesla has in the Model S and Model X in the US market.

Moving onto the inside, the improved dash of the vehicle has been enhanced to now offer a carbon fibre dash section. 

Along with the dash, the interior now gets new ventilated sports seats which look a lot closer to the bucket seats found in performance cars. These new seats will provide the driver and passenger extra support when performing high-speed cornering on the track.

The new Model 3 Performance is a big step up from the last generation, especially if the pricing of the new Model is similar to its predecessor. The Australian prices are likely to be announced in the coming days.

Update: The article has now been updated with Australian pricing.