Tesla Model 3 Highland front Hardware 4.0 camera mimics the Cybertruck in high-res photos

The Model 3 Highland redesign is getting closer to launch with each passing sighting on the streets of California, and the latest one comes with the first high-res photos that allow to confirm some previously leaked details.

First off, there is an evident opening for a front camera which seems to be placed in the bumper, just like on the Cybertruck. Needless to say, both of Tesla's new 2023 electric vehicles are expected to don the full set of high-res 5MP Hardware 4.0 FSD cameras. The front one, in particular, should come as a decent substitute for the ultrasonic parking sensors (USS) that Tesla removed from new production vehicles not long ago to save $144 per car.

It thought that the Tesla Vision software that relies solely on the vehicle's cameras would do the parking assistance job just as good, and recently started rolling out a Vision-based Park Assist feature to help with parking on vehicles without USS. While the new system excels in some areas, in others owners were left less than convinced that the camera-based approach is superior, or that it even matches the USS performance.

Thus, the addition of a front bumper camera together with the new side-mounted cameras, should help the Model 3 Highland feel more confident before curbs or while creeping towards busy intersections. Besides the new cameras with higher resolution for the Cybertruck and Model 3 Highland that are now supplied by Samsung, the HW4 set also includes radar wiring.

It seems that only the expensive S/X models which ship with HW4 kits out of the factory have those, however, while all the vehicles that Tesla ships with the new FSD Hardware 4.0 come with a new, much faster computer. Unfortunately, the HW4 computer or cameras can't be retrofitted on the existing Tesla vehicles, so those who want the latest and greatest drive- or park-assist performance would have to splurge for a new Model 3 Highland, or, alternatively, for a Cybertruck.

There isn't much else new that can be glimpsed from the high-res photos of the upcoming Model 3 Highland refresh here, though they are perhaps the clearest look we've gotten of the 2024 Model 3 so far. The slightly elongated, more aggressive design can be seen even below the camouflage tarp, as well as the new separate from the head- or taillight blinkers. Inside, the Model 3 Highland should have buttonless, ventless, stalkless interior going after the Model S refresh, though Tesla might add yoke steering as an option, as well as vented seats and a new audio system. 

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