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

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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