Buying a Tesla for the first time is always an exciting experience.
But while choosing the perfect color for your new ride may seem like a small detail, it can actually make a big impact on the overall look and feel of your vehicle.
With so many options to choose from, it can be tough to decide on the perfect hue.
That’s why we’ve put together this comprehensive guide to help you pick the best color for your Tesla Model 3. From the exterior to the interior and even the best color combinations, we’ll cover all the key factors to consider when making your decision.
Don’t settle for anything less than the ultimate color combination for your dream car – start turning heads on the road with a Tesla Model 3 that truly reflects your style and personality.
4 Factors to Consider When Choosing the Color of Your Model 3
Aside from personal taste, there are several important factors to consider when choosing the best color for your Model 3. So before making a decision, you might want to consider these first:
1. Maintenance
Maintaining the surface of your car can be quite difficult and costly. Dark colors like black, blue, and green require more care than white and pearl shades. This is because a simple scratch or dent can be very visible in dark colors.
Normally, white automotive paint colors are less expensive because they don’t require many additives.
Pearl White, which is the cheapest Model 3 color, is the least expensive to maintain, while the Red Multi-Coat is the most expensive one.
That said, if you don’t want to spend more dollars on repair, you should consider maintenance as a big factor when choosing your Model 3 color.
2. Costs
As of this writing, the Tesla Model 3 is available in five different colors at different prices (I’ll discuss each color in detail in a separate section below):
- Pearl White Multi-Coat – $0
- Midnight Silver Metallic – $0
- Deep Blue Metallic – $1,000
- Solid Black – $1,500
- Red Multi-Coat – $2,000
See all five Tesla Model 3 colors in the following video by Rino Saint:
Given the extra costs for each color, except for Pearl White, you should know your budget first before making a decision.
3. Resale Value
Because different colors have different prices, it’s obvious that when you opt to sell your car in the future, the color price is carried over.
The color has a big impact on the resale value of your car even after four to five years, especially if your car has been maintained properly and the exterior is still in pristine condition.
According to iSeeCars.com, used blue Teslas attract 1.9% of the deals compared with just -11.2% of reds regardless of the models. Thus, it’s safe to say that the Blue Metallic has the highest resale value due to its far higher demand compared with the black (-0.6%), white (-6.2%), silver (-6.2%), and red (-11.2%). People may love red vehicles and are willing to pay a premium, but they don’t want a used red car.
4. Heat Factor
Studies suggest that darker colors absorb more heat and light than brighter and lighter colors. These studies were done specifically for clothing, but they are also applicable to cars since they are exposed to different weather conditions.
Dark colors absorb more heat, so dark-colored cars are hotter, while lighter colors deflect heat. If you want your car to be cooler, choose light colors.
The Tesla Model 3 Colors Available, With Their Strengths & Weaknesses
As I mentioned above, there are currently five available color options for the Tesla Model 3, and I’m going to give you more details about each in this section.
Pearl White Multi-Coat
One of the Model 3 colors that won’t require you to pay extra is the Pearl White Multi-Coat. A classy color, it’s easily the most popular Model 3 color according to multiple sources.
Aside from being a classy, no-cost option, what makes it popular is the fact that it is easy to maintain and hides scratches.
Lighter colors are best to hide imperfections compared with darker ones where they are easily visible.
Pros
✅ Good and clean looking
✅ Never goes out of fashion
✅ Practical
✅ Easy to spot at night
Cons
❌ Get dirty easily and requires regular wash
❌ Overpopular
❌ Low resale value
Midnight Silver Metallic
Midnight Silver Metallic is also a very popular choice among Model 3 owners because of its chrome-like hue. Although it’s not really chrome, its brilliant shine and reflective qualities are a delight to the human eye.
Despite falling from higher popularity in recent years, a Midnight Silver Model 3 is easy to maintain and can hide dust, small dents, and tiny scratches.
Silver portrays sophistication and a distinguished image. People who drive silver cars are often considered cool.
Midnight Silver comes at no additional cost like Pearl White, and the ease of maintenance and cleaning is something you should consider. Still, when compared with white, silver is not as easy to keep at its best.
“Silver is my favorite Model 3 color. My car looks larger and shows off the lines well and blends the silver trim. It is easy to take care of. For me, this is perfect for Model 3 but I would pick white for Model S.”
Felipe Buccianti
Pros
✅ Easy to maintain
✅ Shows the least dirt
✅ Easy to spot at night
Cons
❌ Very common and overly popular
❌ Low resale value
Solid Black
The color black is always associated with luxury, elegance, and sophistication. It also means power, suggesting that those behind the wheels are powerful people.
The president of the United States, senators, congressmen, Secret Service, FBI, and even local politicians use black vehicles.
The Solid Black Model 3 is glossy, but not metallic, and the additional $1,500 is something that you might consider.
Plus, black is the hardest color to maintain.
Pros
✅ Hides dust
✅ Invisible rusting
✅ Warm
✅ Forever fashion
Cons
❌ Not easily visible at night
❌ Gets hot faster
❌ Fades easily
Deep Blue Metallic
Blue is seen as calm and cool but expresses strength, trust, and wisdom like the deep sea. Considered boys’ favorite color, drivers of blue cars are always confident and seldom enter into conflicts with other road users.
Personally, the Deep Blue Metallic is my favorite Model 3 color. Although it needs more care compared with the Pearl White Multi-Coat and Midnight Silver Metallic, it always looks new when properly maintained and is far cheaper than the Red Multi-Coat.
Another interesting piece of data is that cars in blue are less likely to be stolen. Per CCC Information Services, the top five most-often stolen vehicle colors are (in order) silver, white, black, gold, and green.
“I have a 2021 Model 3 white and honestly I feel like I should’ve gotten the blue. The blue is extremely glossy/reflective (and is the most reflective of all M3 colors) which makes it look really awesome in good light and when it’s washed.”
geekflyer
Pros
✅ Can’t get dirt easily
✅ Hides small dents and scratches
✅ Less likely to be stolen
✅ Highest resale value
Cons
❌ Holds more heat than white and silver
Red Multi-Coat
Regardless of the car’s brand and model, the color red is always the most expensive car color, and the Tesla Model 3 is no different.
So if you want a Red Multi-Coat Model 3, make sure to have an extra $2,000 to spend. It’s $1,000 more expensive than the Deep Blue Metallic.
One of the obvious reasons why the Red Multi-Coat is expensive is because of its minority compared with white, black, and silver. For this reason, it becomes a head-turner as it’s easy to spot on the road.
Red is a strong and noticeable color that’s also associated with passion. Red Model 3 owners are said to love attention and are mostly ambitious.
Most people are willing to pay an extra $2,000 for a Red Multi-Coat Model 3 because they know the value of the color. Of all Tesla colors, it has the lowest depreciation over three years.
The cost is also justifiable because of its unparalleled looks, head-turning appearance, and high resale value.
Although the Red-Multi-Coat depreciates the slowest, it does not have the highest resale value.
Pros
✅ Attention grabber and can be spotted easily from far away
✅ Easy to spot in a crowded parking lot
Cons
❌ Expensive initial cost
❌ Hard and expensive to maintain
Other Model 3 Colors (2017–2018): Silver Metallic and Obsidian Black Metallic
Since these colors were discontinued in 2018, they are now only available in used Model 3s in limited numbers, and possibly, many of these cars, being four years old, may not be in good condition anymore.
So if you want to buy a secondhand Tesla Model 3 in Silver Metallic or Obsidian Black Metallic, decide based on the actual car’s appearance and paint condition.
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Choosing the Best Interior Color for Your Tesla Model 3
Since the Model 3 was first released in 2017, Tesla has offered only two interior colors for the electric sedan, all black and black and white, with the latter having white seats and door sidings with black linings.
The white interior really looks stunning and is the favorite of most Model 3 owners. It is cool to the eye and clean and doesn’t absorb so much heat.
The all-black interior, however, is mostly chosen by those who want a white or silver exterior and those who have pets and children.
Choosing all black or black and white depends on your liking, needs, and situation. For example, people who have kids always choose black because it can hide dirt, scratches, and stains, while people who are good at cleaning and are always alone inside their Model 3 choose white.
The interior color has to do with the car’s exterior color as well, and I found out that most owners of blue and red Model 3s choose white to get the red/white and blue/white combinations.
To make it easier for you, here’s a list of when to choose a white or a black interior.
Choose White:
- If you are single and don’t have kids or other people who always ride with you
- If you are neat and clean and always want your car to look organized
- If you don’t have a lot of stuff inside your car
- If you are not a smoker
- If your Model 3 exterior color is blue or red, the white interior will make a perfect combination.
- If you don’t like heat
Here’s what a white interior looks like:
Choose Black:
- If your car’s color is black
- If you’re always smoking inside your car. Nicotine will stick to the ceiling and will be visible if it’s white.
- If you bring children and/or always ride with family members or friends
- If you don’t care much about interior cleaning
“I just found that color really affects heat and I noticed that black interiors are just terrible under the sun.”
Levelheadsteve
What Are the Best Tesla Model 3 Color Combinations?
The exterior and interior colors of your car should complement each other; otherwise, you’ll end up getting something you might regret later.
Here are the best color combinations as suggested by Model 3 owners:
- Pearl White Multi-Coat Model 3 with a Black and White Interior
- Deep Blue Metallic Model 3 with a Black and White Interior
- Red Multi-Coat Model 3 with a Black and White Interior
- Solid Black Model 3 with an All-Black Interior
- Pearl White Multi-Coat Model 3 with an All-Black Interior
- Midnight Silver Metallic Model 3 with an All-Black Interior
What If Tesla Does Not Offer Your Favorite Color?
If your favorite color is outside the color options offered by Tesla, don’t worry, it’s not the end of the world.
For a little over $1,000, you can have your Model 3 wrapped with the vinyl of your favorite color.
Tesla launched its own car wrapping service in China in 2020, and hopefully, more service centers would launch the service soon. Meanwhile, you can check out our guide on Tesla Model 3 car wraps to find reputable car wrap installers in the United States and Canada – or wrap your car on your own.
Although car vinyl might not look like a top-quality paint job, it can be pretty close and offers a large number of color choices.
It’s worth noting though that wrapping is not cheap, so if you plan to have a car wrap after buying, don’t pay extra for the color. Just pick the Pearl White Multi-Coat for no extra cost with your chosen interior color and have it wrapped.
Upcoming Tesla Model 3 Colors
Before the end of 2021, Tesla’s new car paint colors were revealed in its mobile app update.
Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk also said in one of his tweets that the company will have the “world’s most advanced paint shop in Germany with more layers of stunning colors.”
According to the report, the new colors are:
- Deep Crimson Multi-Coat
- Abyss Blue Multi-Coat
- Mercury Silver Metallic
As of 2023, Tesla started offering a Quicksilver and a Midnight Cherry Red color for the Giga Berlin Model Y.
The only question now is whether these colors will be available for the Model 3 in America and when.
If these colors ever become available in the United States, I don’t expect that to happen anytime soon.
Final Thoughts: What Are the Best Tesla Model 3 Colors?
While personal preference ultimately plays a role in choosing the best color for a Tesla Model 3, it’s clear that the Pearl White Multi-Coat exterior is a top choice among the available options.
It is the most popular color choice, comes at no extra cost, is easy to maintain, hides scratches well, and doesn’t absorb as much heat as darker colors.
Pairing it with a white interior creates a sleek and stylish look for the Model 3.
For those who want to make a bolder statement, the Red Multi-Coat exterior, combined with a white interior, may be the way to go.
Regardless of your choice, we hope that this guide has made the decision-making process easier for you and helped you find the best color for your Tesla Model 3.
Zac Ludicrous
Mechanical engineer by profession. TSLA shareholder before the hype. EV enthusiast all day long. Zac enjoys learning about the future of battery technology, autonomy, and EVs. He considers Tesla Model 3 the most important vehicle of the 21st century -- and is in a quest to improve the ownership experience of every Model 3 owner he possibly can.These 5 rare tips can save you so much time and stress – and few owners know about them (even after years of ownership). Sign up below to learn more. It's free!
