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First close-up look at Tesla’s Model 3 interior in production-ready form
Following this week’s sighting of a very refined looking blue Tesla Model 3 driving near the company’s Silicon Valley headquarters, the vehicle was sighted once again this time giving us a first close-up look at a very production-ready Model 3 interior.
The blue Tesla Model 3 was spotted on Thursday shortly before 4pm local time driving away from Tesla HQ and coming to a stop at the intersection of Arastradero road and Purrsima. It’s the very same road we first captured on video a black Model 3 doing a very spirited drive with a BMW chase car. However, unlike previous sightings of the highly anticipated electric car, Thursday’s sighting takes place while being directly next to the vehicle.
Teslarati obtained the following never-before-seen photos showing a close-up look at what’s presumably the final version of the Model 3 dashboard. As noted by Chief Elon Musk earlier this month, the dashboard doesn’t have a heads up display – much to the disappointment of HUD hopefuls worldwide. Noticeably present is the large landscape mounted center infotainment system which will also act as the main command center to the vehicle. The thin touchscreen device framed by what appears to be a hard plastic bezel with rounded corners rests several inches away from a shallow dashboard.
Tesla Model 3 drivers will not have an instrument cluster with speedometer. After all, Elon Musk says “you won’t care“. Nor will there be a “hump” on the dashboard in front of the steering wheel. Some Tesla community members speculated that there would be some form of an instrument cluster, after seeing a rounded dashboard protrusion appear on a rendering showing a Tesla Model 3 under a Supercharger with solar canopy.
In its place is a streamlined and simple looking horizontal strip of seemingly functionless interior trim. With the expectation that Model 3 will one day be fully self-driving, Tesla could eventually use the area as a storage compartment for passengers in the non-driving driver’s seat.
A large digital readout resembling that of an oversized analog speedometer appears on the left side of the infotainment system and occupies nearly a third of the overall screen size.
Also seen in our spy shots is a bamboo style interior finish that’s currently not available on either the Model S or Model X. The interior trim decor is angled on a downward slope away from the vehicle’s ventilation system that’s located directly above and runs the full width of the dashboard.
We’re also getting a clear look at how the steering wheel is mounted which swoops in and around the bottom section of the dashboard.
The center console of the Model 3 remains largely the same as early Alpha cars that we’ve seen. Two cupholders have been provisioned into the center console storage unit which appears to have pull handles similar to that of the Model S and Model X console.
Lastly, we’re seeing what appears to be the final trunk and glass roof design. Though black tape is seen across the entire car masking off any gaps between body panels and doors – presumably as engineers perform quality assurance wind testing – the Model 3, overall, appears to be very well-finished.
The rear defroster lines can be seen on the rear windshield leading to two unknown circular marks on the glass roof. A horizontal rear brake light can be seen mounted towards the bottom of the rear windshield.
Musk has said that the first deliveries of Model 3 will be the simpler rear wheel drive configuration followed by the dual motor variant and performance version in late 2017 and into 2018. With only a couple of months left before Tesla is expected to begin low volume production of the first Model 3 variants, we suspect that there will be very few updates, if any, to come. Tesla is expected to hold a Model 3 launch event in July.
Have you spotted a Model 3? Be sure to send us a tip at tips@teslarati.com or DM us on @Twitter or Facebook.
A big thanks to Wayne for providing Teslarati with the following exclusive photos. We’ve stitched together Wayne’s photos to create an animation that shows his perspective of the oncoming Model 3.
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Tesla readies its autonomous Cybercab and Robotaxi cleaning service
A Texas permit just confirmed Tesla’s cleaning robot is coming to service its Cybercab and Robotaxi fleet.
A routine Texas building permit may have quietly confirmed that Tesla’s robot vacuum and autonomous cleaning bot for the Robotaxi and Cybercab is coming. A state filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, as first discovered by Tesla enthusiast Spencer and posted to X, that project number TABS2025022006, lists the scope of work at Tesla’s Austin Robotaxi hub at 5900 E Ben White Blvd to include a “Cleaning Robot” alongside Supercharger cabinets and an Equipment Inspection System.
Tesla first showed the cleaning robot publicly on January 31, 2025, posting a short video on X with the caption “This robot sucks,” showing a large robotic arm inside a Cybercab cabin switching between attachments to vacuum debris, pick up trash, and wipe down surfaces.
The operational case for this hardware comes down to mathematics. A robotaxi running rides across Austin needs to cycle passengers continuously to generate revenue. Every minute a vehicle sits waiting for a human cleaning crew is a minute it is not earning. A robotic arm that can fully clean a Cybercab cabin between rides in under two minutes removes one of the key bottlenecks in fleet utilization that no autonomous vehicle company has yet solved at scale.
This robot sucks pic.twitter.com/VUmGfCM5B3
— Tesla (@Tesla) January 31, 2025
The 5900 E Ben White Blvd address sits roughly 12 miles southwest of Gigafactory Texas, where Tesla has been mass producing its Cybercab. The Ben White facility is expected to functions as Tesla’s Austin Robotaxi Hub, the physical base of operations where fleet vehicles return between rides to charge, get cleaned, and undergo inspection before being dispatched again – and all autonomously. One can imagine a Cybercab dropping off a passenger, routes itself back to Ben White, pulls into the cleaning station, charges on one of the Supercharger cabinets listed in the same permit, passes the equipment inspection system, and returns to service, all without a human making a single decision.
The sighting activity around both locations has accelerated in parallel with production. By mid-March 2026, Cybercabs were spotted regularly on public roads across Austin and Silicon Valley. Tesla’s Robotaxi operations in Texas has expanded to cover the entire Austin metro area and has spread to Dallas, while autonomous Cybercab employee shuttle runs at Gigafactory Texas are also set to begin soon. What it represents is the physical infrastructure behind a fleet that Tesla intends to run without anyone cleaning, driving, or dispatching it by hand.
SpaceX is preparing for the 13th integrated flight test of its Starship system, with a targeted launch as early as Thursday, July 16. The 90-minute launch window opens at 5:45 p.m. CT from Starbase in South Texas.
This comes roughly seven weeks after Flight 12 on May 22, underscoring the company’s accelerating pace in its rapid development campaign. The mission will use the latest Starship and Super Heavy V3 vehicles equipped with Raptor 3 engines. Booster 20 will attempt a controlled boostback burn, followed by a splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, while Ship 40 will follow a suborbital trajectory.
Starship’s thirteenth flight test is preparing to launch as early as Thursday, July 16 → https://t.co/Rp7VwBzpWx pic.twitter.com/jdpFlQUEpF
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) July 11, 2026
Key objectives for Flight 13 will include demonstrating reliable stage separation, engine performance under various conditions, and controlled reentry.
A major milestone for Flight 13 is the first deployment of 20 next-generation Starlink V3 satellites. These satellites feature advanced laser links for inter-satellite communication, deployable solar arrays, and onboard cameras, six of which will capture imagery of Starship’s heat shield during flight.
Several heat shield tiles on Ship 40 will be painted white to serve as imaging targets, while additional experiments test upgraded tiles on aft flaps, modified attachments on the aft skirt, and load-sensing tiles to measure stresses. The upper stage will also attempt a single Raptor engine relight in space before a targeted splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
These tests build directly on lessons from Flight 12, which introduced the V3 configuration but encountered issues including a booster flip anomaly during boostback and an engine-out event on the ship. Hardware and software modifications on Booster 20 and Ship 40 aim to improve engine relight reliability, startup sequencing, and overall robustness.
Next Starship launch aiming for Thursday https://t.co/SajPPd4pdb
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 12, 2026
The short interval between Flights 12 and 13 highlights SpaceX’s iterative approach. Elon Musk has repeatedly emphasized that Starship launches will become “incredibly common” in the coming years.
The company envisions scaling to rates as high as one launch per hour within 4-5 years, potentially enabling thousands of flights annually. Such cadence is essential for Starship’s goals: establishing orbital refueling for lunar and Mars missions, deploying massive satellite constellations, and making life multiplanetary.
With each flight, Starship edges closer to full reusability and operational maturity. Success on July 16 would mark another step toward routine access to space and the ambitious vision of humanity becoming a spacefaring civilization.
Tesla shared a striking video showcasing the decommissioning of the original Model S and Model X assembly line at its Fremont Factory in Northern California. Completed in just 46 days, the teardown involved heavy machinery dismantling concrete pits, removing robotic arms and conveyors, and clearing the space for new production.
The post, captioned “End of an era,” captured both the end of a historic chapter and Tesla’s aggressive pivot toward its next major initiative, Optimus.
End of an era: Decommissioning the original Model S & X assembly line in just 46 days pic.twitter.com/kGEdfhl62h
— Tesla Manufacturing (@gigafactories) July 10, 2026
The decision to retire the Model S and Model X originated during Tesla’s Q4 2025 Earnings Call in late January 2026. CEO Elon Musk announced that production of the company’s flagship sedan and SUV would wind down by the end of Q2 2026, describing it as bringing the programs to an “honorable discharge.”
Custom orders ceased around early April 2026, with the final vehicles rolling off the line in early May. A special signature delivery ceremony on May 20 marked the emotional close for these vehicles, which had defined Tesla’s early success and luxury EV segment since the Model S launch in 2012.
The primary reason for tearing down the lines was to repurpose the valuable factory floor space for high-volume production of Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot. Musk had indicated on Earnings Calls that the Fremont S/X line would be replaced by a dedicated Optimus manufacturing line targeting a capacity of one million units per year.
This move aligns with Tesla’s broader strategic shift from traditional vehicle manufacturing toward robotics and artificial intelligence, leveraging the company’s expertise in autonomy, AI training, and high-volume production.
Optimus, Tesla’s general-purpose humanoid robot, is designed to perform repetitive or dangerous tasks in factories, warehouses, and eventually homes. Powered by Tesla’s AI and Neural Networks, it aims to be a versatile, affordable platform. Production of Optimus Gen 3 is already underway in limited form at Fremont, with full-scale output on the converted line expected to begin in late July or August.
Tesla is targeting rapid scaling, with internal ambitions pointing toward tens or even hundreds of thousands of units annually by the end of 2026.
Longer-term, Tesla is constructing a much larger second-generation Optimus facility at Giga Texas, with potential capacity reaching millions of units per year. The company views Optimus as a transformative product that could eventually surpass its automotive business in scale and value, enabling widespread deployment of useful robots across industries. CEO Elon Musk has even predicted it would be the most popular product of all-time.
As one era closes at Fremont, another is rapidly taking shape.
Tesla readies its autonomous Cybercab and Robotaxi cleaning service
SpaceX reveals Starship Flight 13 launch date
