Updated Tesla Model 3 Performance could pack Plaid power

Monday, 25 September 2023

The refreshed Model 3 debuted a few weeks ago, but there wasn’t any mention of the Performance variant.

Tesla’s update to the Model 3 was officially revealed a few weeks ago, but there was a noticeable omission – the mighty Performance. Was this an indication Tesla was considering dropping the variant? Of course not, it produces too many wonderful social media interactions.

Jokes aside, the Performance’s absence was interesting. It seems Tesla was still working on the car when the update was announced, because new official documents from the Dutch government have only just listed the model. Thankfully, the wait looks to be worth it.

There’s a chance the Performance version could pack Plaid power on its axles...

The documents, uncovered on the TFF Forum – and spotted by Drive Tesla Canada – show a new Model 3 with a vehicle identification number (VIN) ending in ‘T’, different to the ‘K’ dual-motor Long Range and the 'J' or 'S' single-motor Rear-Wheel Drive (RWD) models.

Tesla has opened the doors to its second store in Auckland, featuring a huge car delivery area, parts area, and service center.

Tesla Europe has confirmed the motors in the Long Range and Rear-Wheel Drive are identical to the pre-facelift model, which means peak output figures of 258kW/510Nm and 208kW/450Nm respectively (according to Wikipedia, as Tesla doesn’t like to talk these sorts of figures). However, in the case of the Performance, at least one of the electric motors has reportedly been tweaked to produce even more power than before.

According to TFF Forum, that ‘T’ in the VIN means some work has gone on in the motor department. You could be forgiven for thinking it stands for ‘tri’ and Tesla has given the Model 3 Performance a tri-motor powertrain like the Model S and Model X Plaid, but the documents specifically states it is a dual-motor vehicle.

What Tesla may have done is swapped one of the motors for a more powerful version, possibly from the Plaid, to bump the performance figures without requiring a larger mechanical rework.

Considering the current model already produces a substantial 340kW/639Nm. If one – or even both – of those motors go Plaid, the power figure could rise to 375kW or more, putting the Model 3 right up against the likes of the 400kW BMW i4 M50.

In any case, we’ll have to wait for Tesla to officially detail the refreshed Performance to get all the juicy details. Local deliveries of the other refreshed models are said to be kicking off in the first quarter of 2024, with Tesla New Zealand already taking online orders for the new model.