There’s the old saying that loose lips sink ships; lucky that’s not true for Tesla. With eyes and ears everywhere, the Tesla Community has gathered more information about the soon to be released, Model 3 Ludicrous. Yes, Ludicrous, not Performance, as we’ve all but confirmed for weeks. But this leak is more than just the new name and badge.
A source spoke to VehicleSuggest and proved their credibility by producing what appears to be the new Ludicrous badge. We saw the same badging on the cars used in a promotional shoot in Spain.
The insider, apparently from Tesla's China Research and Development team, told the website that the 20 engineers from the Fremont factory recently visited Tesla’s China facilities to discuss and fix any issues with the Model 3 Ludicrous. The car has been spotted around California for more than a month, with its giveaway disguise of capes on the front and back. Presumably, the testing has revealed a few more issues that must be combed through. Problems that have been identified include integrating a new motor system and fine-tuning the new suspension system.
Two or Three Motors?
The 2024 Model 3 was recently featured on Jay Leno’s Garage. Leno, a long-time Model S owner, was impressed by the new model, praising its design by saying, “It’s really perfect. I actually love the size of this.” When Lars Moravy inquired if Leno had any interest in purchasing one, Leno expressed enthusiasm for a triple-motor version, noting, “I tell you, this with a triple engine in it would be a killer. It would be lighter than the S, and it would be faster.” However, Moravy pointed out the potential challenges in accommodating such an upgrade, responding, “It would be fun, man, but it would be hard to fit.”
It appears the triple motor is not happening. The insider stated that the Model 3 Ludicrous will feature a dual-motor setup with improved performance. Although the exact performance metrics remain under wraps, the anticipation is that it will surpass the already impressive acceleration of the Model 3 Performance variant, which reaches 60 mph in just 3.1 seconds.
Release Date
According to the insider, the launch of this high-performance variant is targeted for May, with a simultaneous reveal in both the USA and China. By the way, Leno wanted Lars to state the horsepower on the new Model 3. He says it is 400 horsepower for the dual-motor variant (updated). Imagine a 600-horsepower Model 3? That is Ludicrous. However, with all signs pointing to two motors, it will be interesting to see what Tesla does to improve this already awesome car.
Winter is here, and temperatures are dropping, so one of the most common Tesla questions is about to resurface.
If you’ve landed here after frantically searching about “smoke” coming from your Tesla while Supercharging, take a deep breath—it’s completely normal.
Tesla Smoking While Charging
If you’re Supercharging in freezing weather—even with preconditioning—you might notice steam rising from your Tesla. But rest assured, your car isn’t smoking.
Your Tesla’s heat pump is hard at work warming both the cabin and battery to keep you comfortable and ensure optimal charging temperatures. Over time, condensation and ice build-up in the heat exchanger coils.
Why Does It Happen?
When you reach a Supercharger with your vehicle, the heat pump is still running hot, but without the cold air from driving to keep the heat exchanger coils cool, the ice and condensation quickly start to evaporate—creating what looks like smoke.
Since this typically happens near the front of the vehicle, where a car would traditionally have an engine, new vehicle owners can be startled by the discovery. However, rest assured that it’s just water vapor and it’s completely normal in cold weather.
In fact, this behavior can be experienced in any EV with a heat pump in cold climates. So, if you saw steam coming out of your vehicle and panicked, don’t worry—you’re not alone.
Now that you know what’s happening, go ahead and Supercharge with confidence.
Tesla made a lot of improvements in the 2024 Holiday Update, including more than 15 undocumented improvements that were included in the release. One of these was a stealthy performance improvement to the YouTube app.
Several people have mentioned they’ve seen improved performance on YouTube since this year’s Holiday Update - and there’s an interesting reason why.
YouTube Improvements
The improved YouTube performance in Tesla vehicles comes from an unexpected source—Tesla actually rolled back support for YouTube’s newer AV1 video encoding. Instead, vehicles now default to the older VP9 encoding standard.
While AV1 is highly efficient in terms of bandwidth, it requires considerably more processing power to decode and display videos. VP9, on the other hand, is less computationally demanding but uses more bandwidth to achieve the same video quality. This trade-off means smoother playback and better overall performance, even if it comes at the cost of slightly higher data usage.
Intel Inside
The VP9 video codec that the YouTube app is now using is much easier to decode, making it less taxing on the vehicle’s processor. This change is particularly beneficial for Tesla vehicles with Intel processors, which previously struggled to stream video at just 720p. When using AV1, these vehicles often experienced stuttering, sometimes forcing the YouTube app to automatically downgrade playback to 480p.
With this update, Intel-based Teslas should now be able to stream at 1080p smoothly. Streaming at 1440p is also possible, although occasional stutters still occur as the system keeps up with the decoding process.
Intel-based vehicles are the big winners with this change, but this appears to affect AMD Ryzen-based infotainment units as well, providing even smoother playback.
Chromium Web App
Tesla’s Theater apps aren’t native applications; instead, they run as chromeless web apps, leveraging the open-source browser built into Teslas known as Chromium (the open-source version of Chrome). Although this works quite well, there is a severe limitation - Chromium hardware acceleration isn’t supported on Linux, the operating system Tesla uses for their OS.
As a result, Tesla vehicles rely on software decoding instead of hardware decoding, which would otherwise handle video playback far more efficiently. A potential solution could be for Tesla to transition away from Chromium-based web apps in favor of a Mozilla Firefox-based browser, as Firefox does support hardware acceleration on Linux. This switch could also open the door to better streaming performance and the possibility of expanding Tesla’s in-car entertainment options.
However, Tesla’s choice of Chromium likely stems from Digital Rights Management (DRM) requirements for streaming services like Disney+ and Netflix, which rely on DRM-enabled playback. Firefox on Linux has had inconsistent support for DRM due to codec availability and variations in operating system versions.
We’re hopeful that Tesla will either adopt Firefox or develop a fully native application to improve video streaming, rather than continuing with the current web-based Tesla Theater. This shift could also pave the way for additional in-car applications built on Tesla’s native Linux environment—perhaps even reviving the long-rumored Tesla App Store.
Regardless, this update is a welcome improvement, particularly for YouTube, which remains one of the most widely used Theater Mode apps due to its accessibility, free content, and mix of short and long-form videos. It remains to be seen whether similar improvements are made for Netflix, Disney+, or other streaming platforms.
If you’ve noticed improved performance in Theater Mode, now you know why.
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