Tesla Model 3 Performance details leaked on Tesla's Australian website reveal new styling and engineering for the BYD Seal rival

Tesla may have accidentally leaked some juicy details about its upcoming Model 3 Performance with one visitor to the brand’s British website noticing that it’s all there to see in the source code. CarsGuide not only verified this but also discovered the leak on Tesla's Australian website.

Source code is basically the building blocks and instructions programmers use to build the front facing section of a website. Anybody can pull back the curtain and take a peak for themselves.

InsideEVs reported the discovery by one of their readers and CarsGuide has verified the find by checking the source code ourselves and sure enough some details of the yet-to-be-released Performance version of the new Model 3 are there in plain sight.

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So what have we found out? Well, after trawling through the code there are some interesting nuggets, the first being that the Performance will have overhauled suspension to offer better handling.

"Bespoke chassis and suspension hardware is tuned to provide intuitive, razor-sharp response to driver input”, the source code reads.

A bit more fossicking unearthed the possible output of the Model 3 Performance’s new motors.

“All-new high-performance drive units deliver more than combined 500 horsepower and 0-60 mph in {ACCELERATION} seconds. Welcome to the most powerful Model 3 ever.”

This isn’t what we were expecting, because 500 horsepower is about 368kW and the current Model 3 Performance produces 393kW.

The information in the source code could be intentionally wrong. In March this year a leak occurred due to a government filing of the Model 3’s specifications in Korea. The filing indicated the new combined output of the upcoming Performance would be 618 horsepower or 455kW.

The exact acceleration has been left out of the source code, perhaps indicating that Tesla will add this information at a later date. The acceleration of the current Model 3 Performance is 3.3 seconds. The new acceleration time could possibly be 3.1 seconds.

The Model 3 Performance will also come with a fresh look complete with a new front and rear bumper and carbon fibre boot lid lip - all also referred to in the source code.

"Exclusive to Model 3 Performance, the redesigned front and rear fascias, rear diffuser and carbon fibre spoiler give a unique look, and work together to optimise high-speed stability,” it reads

The Performance’s cabin has also been updated.

"All-new seat design with enhanced side and cushion bolsters hold you in place, while ventilation keeps you cool.”

The discovery then had us thinking - would the same source code revelations also be on the Australian Tesla website? The answer is yes. We checked. The same source code exists in the backend of the Tesla Model 3 configurator at the Aussie site, too. This means the Australian Model 3 Performance will also have the same changes and upgrades as the ones mentioned above.

The new Model 3 launched late last year, but only in the Standard and Long Range forms. Then in April, Tesla announced a $1000 drop for the Model 3 Long Range which brought the list price down to $70,000 before on-road costs. The entry grade Model 3’s price remained the same at $61,900. 

As for the price of the upcoming Performance, the grade in the past has asked up to $13 more than the Long Range, so with this in mind the price could be about $83,000. We’ll know for sure, soon with the car due to arrive locally in 2024. 

The Model 3 is one of the top two selling electric cars in Australia with 17,347 registrations in 2023. In first place is the Tesla Model Y with 28,769 sales last year.