The 2024 Tesla Model 3 Performance features numerous updates, including increased power, enabling it to reach speeds over 100 mph more quickly. In our testing, the new M3P is 3.9 seconds faster to reach 100 mph and 8.7 seconds quicker to hit 150 mph compared to its predecessor. Priced under $57K, the 510-hp Model 3 also has nearly identical test results to an all-wheel-drive BMW M3 Competition that now starts at around $86K. Strangely, the updated Tesla Model 3 Performance doesn’t have the crazy drive mode that bigger Tesla models do because it is so fast. The M3P was already one of the fastest EVs we’d ever tried. It could go from 0 to 60 mph in 3.1 seconds. The new “Highland” model, on the other hand, has improvements that lower mile-per-minute times, which means the electric sedan can hit 100 mph and beyond much faster. Tesla and Elon Musk, the company’s CEO, are rarely known for being quiet. Still, the name “Performance” for the fastest Model 3 seemed pretty low-key for a car that could reach 60 mph in 2.8 seconds on our test track. It’s not the biggest improvement, but it’s three-tenths faster than the 2019 M3P we went over. The 2024 Model 3 Performance goes even faster on the drag strip, where it does the quarter-mile in 11.0 seconds at 125 mph. The one before it went 1320 feet at 115 mph in 11.6 ticks. Even stranger, as they got closer to speeds over 100 mph, the difference between their acceleration times grew a lot. Even though an electric vehicle’s (EV) initial torque has a big effect on its speed, acceleration usually goes down as speed goes up because EVs don’t have transmission ratios, and their continuous peak power is restricted. Tesla says that the Highland Model 3 Performance, the newest version of the car’s rear-wheel drive unit, has 16 percent more peak torque and 32 percent more horsepower than the previous M3P. The new car has two motors, which give it more speed for a longer time. Tesla says that the amount of constant power has grown by 22%. It has 510 hp and 554 lb-ft of power now. Our younger, 4046-pound test car lost 40 pounds because it went on a diet and now has a slightly lower coefficient of drag, which makes it slipperier. The results speak for themselves. The Model 3 Performance with all-wheel drive went from 0 to 100 mph in 6.8 seconds, which is 1.4 seconds faster than the previous model. From there, its lead grew until it reached 130 mph, 3.9 seconds faster, and had a 12.3-second run. Finally, it took the new M3P 18.3 ticks to reach 150 mph, which is 8.7 seconds less than the 2019 model. One of the craziest things about it is that the 2024 Tesla Model 3 Performance starts at $56,630, and that’s before the $7,500 federal tax credit that it can get. It’s now as fast as the BMW M3, which was its predecessor and ran on gasoline. In fact, its test results put it in the same class as EVs, which cost almost twice as much. Surprisingly, a 2023 M3 Competition xDrive and a ’24 M3P both ran the quarter-mile in 1:42. They also reached speeds of 60 and 130 mph the same number of times. The only car with a gas tank is the BMW, which costs about $30,000 more than the Tesla.
