Ultra-long range Tesla Model 3+ revealed: 800km range on full charge is the target, beating the latest Mercedes CLA’s 792km

Tesla has been caught developing a new 2026 Tesla Model 3+ that will combine a single motor and a larger battery for an ultra-long-range of more than 800km.

Primed to carry the ‘Model 3+’ nameplate, the new variant of the best-selling Tesla sedan was outed by CarNewsChina after China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) released images and early intel as part of an application to sell it within the region.

The news comes around the same time Tesla revealed the existence of the long Tesla Model Y L and a plan to launch it in China within months.

READ MORE: Tesla Model Y L is real! Stretched family-focussed six-seat version of Australia’s top selling EV inbound
READ MORE: Tesla updates Model S and Model X again: Is it enough to fend off emerging competition … and will we ever see them again in Australia?
READ MORE: Tesla sales fightback reinvigorates EV sales

According to the patent filing, most of the extra range will be unlocked by a new nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) battery sourced from LG.

Boosting efficiency and saving weight, the new Model 3 drops the all-wheel drive Long Range’s front e-motor, for a more efficient single e-motor.

Other upgrades – thought to include fresh software – have yet to be detailed, but the key new hardware should see the Model 3+ cover an additional 170km compared to the Model 3 Long Range AWD (629km) sold in Australia.

The US car-maker’s ultimate aim is to usurp the 792km the new Mercedes CLA can cover.

Tesla has not revealed whether or not there are plans to roll out the Tesla Model 3+ for other markets, but it’s likely as the US car-maker has historically not tailored its product for any one region.

That suggests it could one day be available in Australia.

While the new Model 3+ is being developed in China, closer to home a longer-range 2025 Tesla Model Y is already available to Australians.

As part of MY25 updates, the Tesla Model Y Long Range is now fitted with a larger 84.85kWH battery (up from 81.65kWH) that has bumped the range from 551km to a more impressive 600km on the European WLTP test cycle.

Even though it gets a bigger battery, Tesla claims performance of the 331kW Model Y remains the same.

So that means the all-wheel drive mid-size electric SUV is still capable of 0-100km/h sprint of just 4.8 seconds.

Despite the bigger battery and an 11 per cent boost in driving range the Model Y Long Range remains priced from $68,900 before on-roads.

The entry-level Tesla Model Y Rear-Wheel Drive keeps both its 62.5kWh battery and its 466km range as it was updated as part of the big mid-life tweaks earlier this year.

It remains priced at $58,900 but is now available in a new Diamond Black paint finish.