2024 Tesla Model 3

Inside the Model 3, Tesla makes some smart design choices, like dropping the faux-wood look in favor of soft textiles. Other more garish ones, like jumping on the multi-color ambient light bandwagon, can thankfully be switched off. Tesla’s center console now has a smart place to set (and charge) phones. Sturdy cupholders and a generous center console provide good storage space up front. The 15.4-inch touchscreen remains the centerpiece, and it sits over a thin horizontal vent panel. There’s no instrument cluster and you have to get used to the idea of the top corner (and left portion) of the screen space being your gauge cluster. Turn signal stalks and the shift lever are gone this year, too, subcontracted to touchscreen menus like the mirror, and steering-wheel and vent controls.

How fast is the Model 3?

The base model impresses with a 0-60 mph time of 5.8 seconds, but the Performance model leaves the competition in its dust at just 2.9 seconds to 60 mph and a top speed of 163 mph. Base Model 3 versions makea modest 257 hp; Long Range AWD versions step it up to 394 hp with their dual-motor system, while Model 3 Performance models now make 510 hp combined from their dual motors, according to Tesla. 

The Model 3 Performance now stands out more in the driving experience with an adaptive damping system, track tools like a lap timer and video logging, forged wheels, performance brakes, a carbon-fiber spoiler, and other aerodynamic improvements. 

Both of the single-motor rear-wheel-drive models weigh in at under 4,000 pounds—unusual for a long-range EV—while the dual-motor AWD models weigh only slightly above the 4,000-pound mark. That contributes to a more nimble, athletic feel than you’ll find of other EVs in this size class. 

The Model 3 offers three levels of steering firmness, but it no longer allows you to select the level of brake regeneration, so you’ll simply need to get used to Tesla’s version of one-pedal driving, in which you’ll rarely need to press the brake pedal other than during the final feet of a stop. Lift off the accelerator and you’re storing energy in the battery, but when you press the brake pedal you’re only using the brake pads. Unlike EVs from most other automakers, Tesla EVs don’t incorporate blended braking. 

In previous model years we called the Model 3’s ride stiff and busy, but that’s no longer the case. The Model 3 utilizes a double-wishbone front and multilink rear suspension for a pliant ride and stable handling, and retains a very low center of gravity. A reworked front geometry, new bushings, and more help this sedan filter out harshness from the road.

The Model 3 offers lots of trunk and frunk space (21.0 and 3.1 cubic feet, respectively), and this is one of the few frunks that’s deep enough to be useful for a wide range of uses, like a few grocery bags or a couple of daypacks. The 60:40-split rear seats fold forward with a latch on the seat top, providing cargo versatility, if you’re willing to deal with a load floor that isn’t flat. Small-items storage space is really well thought out, too, with big door bins and multiple deep covered bins in the center console. 

With the Model 3’s revamp for 2024, Tesla has revisited materials and the overall fit and finish of this electric sedan, and the effort shows. Textile materials replace a woodgrain look, and feel appropriate in an EV. The most pronounced improvement comes in noise, vibration, and harshness. Thanks to acoustic glass and other measures, cabin road noise is better shut out, and the Model 3 is now among the quieter EVs at its price point.

Tesla continues to mislead customers by naming its driver-assistance aids Autopilot, and its expanded-version Full Self-Driving, suggesting that the car can drive itself in circumstances where it shouldn’t and can’t. It’s a marketing issue more than a technical one, which makes it all the more egregious. 

Full Self-Driving, for $8,000 or monthly subscription options, now promises “minimal driver intervention” for navigation to a given destination, regardless of whether it’s along a highway or in the city.

Tesla includes eight years of data to keep those updates coming and the navigation fed, but if you want video and audio streaming, sentry video surveillance, and more, it’s part of a premium data package for $99 a year or $9.99 a month. 

The standard features list for the Model 3 includes a glass roof, four USB-C ports, wireless phone charging, heated and cooled front seats, seat heaters across all three rear seat positions, a heated steering wheel, and an 8.0-inch touchscreen in back that passengers there can access climate settings, vent direction, audio, gaming, and more. 

Tesla provides a 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, and a 8-year/120,000-mile powertrain and battery warranty. It just misses a point here for the lack of complimentary scheduled maintenance, though the Teslarati would argue there is none. 

Which Tesla Model 3 should I buy?

For more people, one of the 2024 Tesla Model 3 Long Range models is going to be the best fit. They allow a range of up to 363 miles with a price that starts at $44,130 for the Long Range RWD, while Long Range AWD costs $5,000 more. Both of these models qualify for a $7,500 tax credit, so for many households they’ll cost $36,630 and $41,630, respectively. But be forewarned, Tesla prices change all the time, so check the prices, the math, and tax-credit qualification once again before you buy (and the base version remains better as a lease deal). 

How much is a fully loaded Model 3?

The top Tesla Model 3 Performance starts at $56,630. Add the Ultra Red or Quicksilver ($2,000) paint and you’re up to $64,630. If you don’t have it, a Tesla mobile charger costs another $250 and a wall charger another $450, for over $65,000 in all. In a refreshing departure for those who’ve had everything’s-optional European sport sedans in the past, there’s really nothing more to nickel-and-dime you, as upgraded wheels, Pirelli P Zero tires, better brakes, a carbon-fiber spoiler, and an adaptive suspension are among the many included performance enhancements.

The Tesla Model 3 will regain about 175 miles of range in 15 minutes, or charge from 10-80% in about 30 minutes—or less for the base version—at Supercharger stations. With its 11-kw onboard charger and the appropriate wall charger, the Model 3 can be charged fully in less than 7 hours—or in 10-11.5 hours with a lower-power mobile connector and 240-volt outlet.

One key difference between the base Model 3 and Model 3 Long Range models is the battery chemistry. Base models have a lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) chemistry that allows regular charging up to 100% (Tesla encourages it at least once a week), while Long Range models have a nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) lithium-ion chemistry for which Tesla recommends charging to 80% daily and saving the top-off for long road trips.