Leaked Tesla Model 3 Highland with Ludicrous badge, performance parts, and new wheels suggests more speed coming with 2024 US launch

The new Tesla Model 3 Performance may come in a trim that features tech from the Model X and S Plaid. (Image source: Tesla – edited)

An as-yet unannounced Tesla Model 3 Highland Performance looks like it may come with a new badge that looks similar to the graphic shown when Ludicrous mode is active. Not much is known about the hardware, but it may represent a sort of Performance Plus variant of the Model 3 refresh.

Tesla has yet to reveal any details about a Performance trim for the new Model 3 Highland, but a recently-published Tesla parts catalogue appears to indicate that a Ludicrous upgrade or factory trim will be available when the Model 3 Highland Performance launches.

Tesla’s online international parts catalogue for the Model 3 Highland, as spotted by The Kilowatts on X (fka Twitter), depicts a Model 3 Highland with the wording “Dual Motor” on the boot lid below a new badge that looks like the graphic shown on-screen when Ludicrous mode is activated in previous Teslas. 

Previous rumours suggested that the Model 3 Highland Performance would launch with tech or motors from the Model S and X Plaid. That may indeed be what Tesla intends to do with the Performance+ or Ludicrous — or whatever it ends up being called — hardware. As a reminder, Tesla Model S owners could previously upgrade their vehicles with the Ludicrous package, which upgraded the battery contactor and fuses to increase the amount of power that could be used by the motors.

A refreshed Model 3 Performance with the same hardware upgrade seems unlikely, but a Ludicrous trim that serves as a sort of dual-motor Plaid version is entirely possible. That would provide a way for Tesla to differentiate the top-spec Model 3 Highland from the regular or previous-generation Performance variant, while still preserving the premium “Plaid” branding for its high-end Model S and X.

Further adding credence to rumours of a higher-performance trim of the Model 3 Highland are the new wheels and performance brakes and suspension also seen in the parts catalogue. The new wheels somewhat resemble designs previously seen on the Model 3, but they appear to feature sharper lines and a more simplified design overall.

Tesla will likely wait until the dust has settled after the Cybertruck launch before it announces a Model 3 Highland for the US market. It has been reported that the Model 3 Highland Performance would land in the US around the middle of 2024, alongside the rest of the Highland refresh.

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Julian van der Merwe – Magazine & Specialist News Writer – 411 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2022

My interest in tech started in high school, rooting and flashing my Motorola Defy, but I really fell down the rabbit hole when I realised I could overclock the i7 930 in my Gigabyte pre-built PC. This tinkering addiction eventually lead me to study product design in university. I think tech should improve the lives of the people using it, no matter the field. I like to read and write about laptops, smartphones, software and trends in technology.

Julian van der Merwe, 2023-10-20 (Update: 2023-10-20)

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