Tesla Model 3 could have a HUD dashboard, a nice surprise for early depositors

By Stephen Edelstein Published July 29, 2017

While the hundreds of thousands of people who put down deposits have apparently seen enough, the Tesla Model 3 prototypes unveiled a few weeks ago do not represent 100 percent of what we’ll see on the production car. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said there are still some things left to be revealed.

Many of those things likely pertain to the interior. The Model 3 prototypes had no instrumentation, save for one large landscape screen, which raised a few eyebrows. But what if that screen was just a placeholder for a comprehensive head-up display? Boy Genius Report believes that could be the case, mainly because of one recent Tesla hire.

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The addition of Milan Kovac is an indication that Tesla is pursuing sophisticated HUD tech, the report claims. Kovac is the former principal engineer of Skully Systems, which developed a motorcycle helmet with an integrated HUD. Kovac also worked at Softkinetic, the Belgian company that developed gesture-control technology currently used in the BMW 7 Series.

Could a gesture-controlled HUD dashboard be the next piece of the Model 3 puzzle? A dashboard with essentially no physical instrumentation or switches would be an impressive technical achievement for any car, let alone one with a base price of $35,000. Whether this theory turns out to be true or not, we know the interior shown in the Model 3 prototypes is not what customers will get when production starts at the end of 2017.

Recent Elon Musk Twitter chatter indicates the Model 3 interior shown at the end of March isn’t the real one, says Jalopnik. In one tweet, Musk said the setup shown in the prototypes is “not the real steering system,” while in another he promised that the “real steering controls” will be “like a spaceship.” When asked flat out why the Model 3 appears to have display screen instead of a traditional gauge cluster, Musk said it will “make sense after part two” of the Model 3 reveal.

The Model 3 is one of the most anticipated new-car launches in recent memory, and Tesla wants to milk it for all it’s worth. Given Tesla’s past achievements, it’s not inconceivable that the Model 3 will get some kind of radical dashboard design. What’s still more surprising is that around 400,000 people were willing to put down $1,000 deposits having barely seen the car.

Stephen Edelstein

Contributing Editor

Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…

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Tesla has released a cheaper Model 3 — and I really hope it comes to the U.S.

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Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad that the Model 3 is available at a lower price in Mexico (it cuts the price of the current base Model 3 by around $4,000). But I really hope the vehicle makes it to the U.S.
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There are a few things that set the cheaper Model 3 variant apart from the current base Model 3 in the U,S. Most of these have to do with a regression of features compared to the Model 3 Highland update that was released last year. For example, the new passenger display in the back seat has been removed, and the accent lighting in the car is white only. Additionally, the seat coverings are a cheaper fabric instead of the faux leather available in the current Model 3. And there are no options for heated seats or a heated steering wheel.

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Tesla is expanding the available options for the Model 3. Some time ago, Tesla stopped selling the Model 3 Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive, but the company has rereleased that version of the Model 3 in the form of the new Model 3 Highland design. This expands the number of Model 3 options available to four.

There are plenty of good reasons to buy a Tesla Model 3, but one of them is most certainly the price. The base version of the Model 3 starts at $38,990 before any tax incentives or other discounts. Sure, that’s not cheap, but it does make the Model 3 one of the least expensive high-end EVs out there right now. If you’re interested in the Model 3, however, I don’t think you should buy the base model. I think you should upgrade.

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The base price of the Tesla Model Y is down to $42,990 at the time of this writing, which represents a pretty huge price cut. That's before any tax incentives too -- and considering the car is eligible for the full $7,500 tax credit, that means you could get it for as low as $35,490.