doug

I took some shots of the future Menlo Park store under renovations while stopped at the light back in May.



When I first took this photo, I thought that white wagon looked a bit out of place, but figured it belonged to a Tesla employee. The car also appeared to me to be using a temporary spare tire (donut). Today it was suggested this car might be a Whitestar mule, due to it's non stock rear rims. So I decided to take a closer look at the photos and found more "evidence":



1. Rear wheels are indeed non-stock rims (not donuts)
2. no visible tailpipe, only the rear bumper notch
3. possible power cord hanging underneath??

This car, btw, is a Dodge Magnum. For comparison, notice the tailpipe in this picture:



Anyhow.... just some fun speculation.

WarpedOne

Hmmm, quite interesting find :)

No tailpipe is a strong hint, those black rims suggest nonstandard rear axis and missing licence plates could mean this is a pure testing unit.

I wouln't call it a whitestar mule though, more like technology RD vehicle.

__________________
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Not waiting for the WhiteStar anymore
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doug

I'm not sure what the law is, but I have to say the missing plate is pretty common in California, particularly on new cars.

Well I assume they're doing R&D on the drivetrain that could go into Whitestar. That counts as a test mule in my book.

doug

Here's another picture of the Magnum that shows the tailpipe should be plainly visible:

TEG

Magnum P.I. on the case!

domenick

lol Magnum P.I., that's great.

At first I thought, What? A Dodge Magnum? That's crazy talk. But then I looked at the cord and thought, You know, he just might be onto something.

Crap. Now I have the Magnum theme song stuck in my head.

doug

That's funny. I went to a conference in Hawaii a couple years ago and the whole time I was there, I was singing that theme song to myself (and others). I even contemplated growing back the mustache I wore all through high school.



.

BBHighway

Well, Siry confirmed that this is indeed a Whitestar mule. Nice work, Doug!

WarpedOne

Do you have a link!?!?

Edit:Is Tesla using Dodge Magnum body shells for White Star mules? - AutoblogGreen

__________________
Waiting for the WhiteStar
Not waiting for the WhiteStar anymore
Waiting for VentureOne

Iz

There was a trunk-vs-hatchback debate last year on this or the TM blog.