The wheels are one of the rare features that Tesla lets customers change on Model 3 during its early production. A set of 18″ aero wheels comes standard and 19″ Sport wheels are offered for a $1,500 premium.

When I was at the Model 3 press event and then the delivery event last month, I saw quite a few Model 3 vehicles and most of them had the Sport wheels.

Only a few people, like Tesla’s VP of Engineering, Doug Field, went with the 18″ aero wheels on his Model 3.

The Sport wheels seem like a no brainer compared to the aero wheels, which improve aerodynamic performance as the name suggests, but they are not for everyone aesthetically speaking.

But you can actually remove the aero caps off the wheels and now we get to see the standard 18″ wheels without the caps for the first time. It looks pretty cool.

New friend of the site Logan Jastremski spotted a Model 3 (VIN #101) at the Fremont factory yesterday and it didn’t have the caps on – pictured above. Here’s a side-by-side of the caps on and off:

Someone in the comment section below anonymously posted other pictures of the wheels without the caps:

Aesthetically, it should be more pleasing for most people. Maybe it will even save $1,500 for those who didn’t see the standard wheels as an option because of the caps, but who didn’t mind the smaller size.

Though the 19″ Sport wheels remain the only option to get a chrome/silver look and the bigger size:

It sort of results in 3 designs with just 2 options. What do you think?

Of course, the advantage of the aero wheels is that you can actually switch the design relatively easily. We haven’t seen the process of removing the caps yet, but it shouldn’t be too complicated since it’s the only way to access the lugs.

Also, it will be interesting to test how the aerodynamic performance are going to affect the range with and without the aero caps.

Jastremski shared a few more pictures of Model 3 VIN#101 with us (all picture credits to Logan Jastremski)

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