Refreshed Tesla Model 3 Highland Spotted In Germany With Manufacturer Plates

The car in the photos looks similar to those spotted in the US and New Zealand, but details are hard to come by.

Tesla Model 3 Highland leaked photo (Source: Reddit)

Iulian Dnistran

By: Iulian Dnistran

Aug 30, 2023 at 2:49am ET

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A set of photos that purportedly show a Tesla Model 3 Highland prototype driving down a portion of Germany’s famous Autobahn has been published on X (formerly Twitter) by the user @mrxex2 a couple of days ago.

Embedded below, the post includes four photos shot from behind the vehicle and the description, ”Tesla Model 3 Highland Spotted on German Highway near A4 Lichtenau.”

Analyzing the images, it appears that the car is, in fact, a refreshed Model 3, seeing how the camouflage, rear reflectors, and tail lights look identical to those found on previous covered-up prototypes spotted in the United States, New Zealand, and China.

Furthermore, the red German license plate has the number “06” at the beginning of the numerical sequence, which means it has been issued for a workshop, dealer, or manufacturer.

The “GE” letters represent the city that issued the plate, in this case, Gelsenkirchen, which is located between Essen and Dortmund. According to TeslaMag.de, the American EV maker doesn’t have a presence in Gelsenkirchen, but there is a Tesla Center about 45 minutes east, next to Dortmund airport.

With this being said, we can’t confirm the veracity of the information because the X user can’t be contacted via direct messaging. Moreover, the description of the post says that the prototype was spotted on the A4 Autobahn near Lichtenau, but a quick Google Maps check reveals there is no such road near the city, but rather an A44. It may just be a spelling error, but again, we have no way of confirming this.

In a reply on X, the original poster said that the spotted Tesla was heading toward Dusseldorf, which is in the direction of Dortmund.

At the beginning of this month, we reported that Tesla postponed the estimated delivery dates for new Model 3 builds in Europe, with posts on social media speculating that the move might be related to the upcoming commercial launch of the facelifted model.

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Additionally, reports from China indicate that the Shanghai Gigafactory started trial production of the updated EV this month, with mass assembly and deliveries set to begin next month.

As a reminder, the so-called Project Highland Tesla Model 3 is expected to feature a redesigned front end, a revised rear with vertical indicator LEDs instead of horizontal, and a tweaked interior that will reportedly include ambient lighting.