Resolution finally... I hope.
First service appointment = "We tightened some screws and replaced a clip" -> Still rattled but since it was intermittent, they thought it was fixed.
Second service appointment = "Problem not detected"
When I picked the car up on the second service appointment it started rattling as I drove away. I turned around and went back to the service center where I requested that a Tech, not a service advisor, ride with me. The head tech came out and I was able to demonstrate the sound to him, he was surprised as he was one of the techs that test drove it and couldn't detect any rattle. He made a note of it and I scheduled a 3rd appointment.
By this time I knew 100% that the trigger for the rattle was the car sitting in the sun and warming up and then turning on the AC and cooling it. After a few min of cooling it would start to rattle at varying severities. The noise would be hard to locate but it was down inside the dash somewhere.
Third service appointment. I dropped my car off yet again. Knowing the service people and them knowing you by sight is not a good thing. Anyway, they had the notes and they assured me that the head tech that rode with me was going to work on it to which I replied "I don't want it back until it's fixed". The tech then set out on a journey to find this damn rattle. He kept digging deeper into the dash and after a few days the finally found that there was a plastic divider in the AC Box that was rattling. I guess they then needed to escalate it to engineering to verify that the fix was acceptable and not going to cause issues. I'm not clear at this point because according to my invoice, it looks like there are two line items. First there's a line that says they insulated the assembly - No noise present. Then there's a line that says they replaced the HVAC assembly. Here's where things get a little sideways. I'm not exactly sure the order that these issues occurred, but they noticed that my dash assembly was slightly off center. To fix it they needed to take the entire dash assembly out and reinstall. Sometime during this process, they cracked the windshield and had to replace it. After the dash was installed, the driver's knee airbag had a "fault present" so it also needed to be replaced.
So 2 weeks after dropping it off, I picked the car up yesterday and with fingers crossed, I drove home. So far, there is no rattle but the drive home from work today is the real test. Fingers crossed...
Many of you will read this and immediately roast the service techs. I won't do that. I spent a large part of my early career disassembling vehicle interiors and trouble shooting various issues, so I completely understand the situation. Cracking a windshield when replacing an entire dash assembly is not a complete surprise to me. Windshields and rear windows are very robust but they can have weird stress points that crack with lighter contact than one would expect. you hit one of those areas just a bit too hard and you're paying for new glass. Sometimes you just get those jobs where the vehicle fights you at every turn, no matter what.
So, if you have a newer Model 3 that has an intermittent rattle in the dash after the AC runs for a few minutes, let them know to check "the plastic divider in the AC box" and think positive thoughts, burn some sage, and don't piss off any old gypsy ladies.
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