Is this the final dashboard design for the Tesla Model 3?
New pictures show the interior of a Tesla Model 3 that looks pretty close to production-ready.
Tesla is currently testing release candidates of its forthcoming Model 3 sedan, and it appears one has been identified in public with an interior that looks pretty well set for production.
Our compatriots at Teslarati obtained images of what looks like a Model 3 undergoing on-road testing. The exterior isn't much different than what we've seen in pictures of earlier Model 3s, except for some tape covering various panel gaps front and rear. I reached out to Tesla to confirm that this is a release candidate Model 3, but I have not heard back yet.
This picture once again confirms my theory that matte wood trim looks good on every car.
The most interesting picture is the one of the Model 3's interior. It's clear that Tesla is going all-in on its single-screen setup. There doesn't appear to be any sort of gauge cluster ahead of the steering wheel. Instead, what looks like a speedometer covers the left side of the single, landscape-oriented screen.
In general, the interior looks really nice. There's a single strip of wood trim that runs the width of the dashboard, with what appears to be a gap for climate-control vents between the wood trip and the top of the dash. It looks clean and simple, which it needs to be in order to keep costs low, as the car is expected to start between $30,000 and $40,000.
You can head over to Teslarati's site to see all the photos, but it seems pretty clear that Tesla's just about ready to unveil the production version of the Model 3. Rumor has it that this event will take place in the summer. It's been little over a year since the car was shown off as a prototype, and it's expected to enter production later this year.
Here's a zoomed-in version of the above shot.