KUALA LUMPUR, May 11 — The brand new Tesla Model 3 Performance has finally arrived in Malaysia. This is the most powerful Tesla Model 3 yet, and it is finally available for public viewing in our local market.

If you’re keen on checking out this high-performance electric vehicle, you can visit the Tesla Centre in Cyberjaya. There’s only one Tesla Model 3 Performance on display and it has the Ultra Red exterior and black and white interior colour option.

Unfortunately, no test drives are available for the Tesla Model 3 Performance just yet. Tesla Malaysia has been accepting orders for the Performance model since 24th April and you can secure your unit by placing a non-refundable RM1,000 order fee on their website. Tesla’s website has also indicated an estimated delivery timeframe of Q2 2024 and we’ve been told that customer deliveries are expected to begin in late June 2024.

As revealed recently, the Tesla Model 3 Performance is officially priced from RM242,000 excluding additional registration and admin fees. The white exterior and black interior comes for free and if you want to change the options, you’ll have to pay extra.

It costs RM5,000 to switch to Black or Blue, RM7,500 for Stealth Grey and RM11,000 for Ultra Red. If you want to switch the interior to black and white, that’s an extra RM5,000. The basic autopilot features come as standard and Tesla is offering buyers the option to upgrade to Enhanced Autopilot for RM16,000, or Full Self-Driving (FSD) for RM32,000. Do note that most of the advanced safety features are not available in Malaysia, subject to regulatory approvals.

In case you missed it, Tesla Malaysia has recently announced an RM8,000 price cut for the other Model 3 variants. The Tesla Model 3 RWD is now going for RM181,000 while the Long Range AWD version is going for RM210,000. In terms of range, the Model 3 RWD has a WLTP-rating of 513km while the LR AWD is rated for 629km. The Performance AWD model has a WLTP-rated range of 528km.

From the name, you’ll know that the Tesla Model 3 has the best performance figures in the lineup. With its dual motor performance drive unit setup, the Tesla Model 3 Performance boasts 460hp and 723Nm of torque. It can accelerate from 0-100km/h in just 3.1 seconds, up to a top speed of 261km/h. The Tesla Model 3 Performance units for Malaysia are fully imported from China and the performance figures are different from the EVs made in the USA.

The Tesla Model 3 Performance features a sportier front bumper design with splitters and the rear bumpers with diffuser. There are also carbon fibre spoiler on the trunk lid and an extra "Performance” badge which replaces the Dual Motor lettering. According to Tesla, the new aerodynamic changes have resulted in 5 per cent reduced drag, 36 per cent lift reduction and 55 per cent improvement in front-to-rear lift balance compared to the previous Model 3 Performance model.

As mentioned earlier, the Tesla Model 3 performance gets a staggered wheel setup. All four wheels are wrapped with Pirelli P Zero Elect Tyres but the rear wheels are wider. The front tyres are 235/35 R20, while the rear are using 275/30 R20.

For the first time on a Tesla Model 3, the Performance model also gets an adaptive damping system which adjusts to driver and road inputs in real-time to optimise the ride and handling. The adaptive suspension is managed via software and it will make the necessary changes based on the preset modes such as Standard, Sport and Track.

The Performance model also gets Tesla’s Track Mode V3 which provides further settings for handling balance, regenerative braking and vehicle stability assist.

On the inside, the biggest change can be found on the front which features a new Sports Seats which are still powered and offer both heated and ventilated function. Tesla has also added carbon fibre elements on the dash instead of the usual fabric finish.

The rest of the interior remains unchanged which includes the lack of stalks. To indicate your signal lights, you’ll have to push buttons on the steering wheel and gear selection is done by swiping gestures on the touch screen or with the backup buttons mounted on the ceiling.

The charging capabilities are similar to the Tesla Model 3 Long Range. It supports AC charging up to 11kW and DC charging up to 250kW. The peak 250kW sharing rate can only be achieved at a lower state of charge and when it is plugged in at Tesla Supercharger.

What do you think of the Tesla Model 3 Performance? Is it worth the RM32,000 premium over the Tesla Model 3 Long Range? Let us know in the comments down below. — Soya Cincau