Model S "Alpha" testing pictures????

tdelta1000 · Feb 28, 2011

Does anyone have pictures of the Model S "Alpha" during its cold weather testing?

Have there been any other pictures of the "Alpha" in the wild?

Does anyone have pics of the "Alpha" test fleet as a group?

Are there any pics with the third row of seats?

Are there any pics with any "Alpha" on a dyno?

dpeilow · Feb 28, 2011

I'd expect them to have surfaced here if there were.

suxxer · Mar 1, 2011

I hope new Alpha pictures can clear the question if they dropped the front blue led bar or not.

VS.

vfx · Mar 2, 2011

I'm sure if someone staked out the Tesla factory (generically) they could see the testing car on the road. Tesla has no track.

doug · Mar 3, 2011

vfx said:
Tesla has no track.

Actually NUMMI has a pinched loop with banked curves that I always thought was or could be a simple test track.
NUMMI plant, - Google Maps

Eberhard · Mar 3, 2011

why is the aerodynamics not as good like daimlers CLS or E-class. They claim 0.24 compared to 0.27 of Model S. Or does Elon wants to surprise us. (0.27 is not to bad at all)

tdelta1000 · Mar 3, 2011

doug said:
Actually NUMMI has a pinched loop with banked curves that I always thought was or could be a simple test track.
NUMMI plant, - Google Maps

Doug, that was a good catch.... I did not know that the Tesla Factory had a small closed looped track.

tdelta1000 · Mar 3, 2011

suxxer said:
I hope new Alpha pictures can clear the question if they dropped the front blue led bar or not.

VS.

suxxer, I was hoping to see pictures of the "Alpha" fleet in the wild because the "Beta" fleet is not far from being introduced according to earlier reports.

Tommy · Mar 3, 2011

Eberhard said:
why is the aerodynamics not as good like daimlers CLS or E-class. They claim 0.24 compared to 0.27 of Model S. Or does Elon wants to surprise us. (0.27 is not to bad at all)

The Tesla engineers that spoke in Boston were quoted as saying 0.25 for the Model S. See link below:
Tesla tech talk Boston

Norbert · Mar 3, 2011

doug said:
Actually NUMMI has a pinched loop with banked curves that I always thought was or could be a simple test track.
NUMMI plant, - Google Maps

Looks like the plant came including a not-so-small railway station...

stopcrazypp · Mar 3, 2011

Eberhard said:
why is the aerodynamics not as good like daimlers CLS or E-class. They claim 0.24 compared to 0.27 of Model S. Or does Elon wants to surprise us. (0.27 is not to bad at all)

Those are on the coupes (or 4 door couple style in the CLS with barely any rear headroom), which have different profiles than sedans. The E Class sedan is .25, which supposedly took lots and lots of tweaking by Mercedes engineers.

PopSmith · Mar 3, 2011

doug said:
Actually NUMMI has a pinched loop with banked curves that I always thought was or could be a simple test track.
NUMMI plant, - Google Maps

It looks like it to me too. I guess Tesla could use it for a bit of "real world" verification before ramping up production but that's about it. I'm amazed how small it is compared to the output the Tesla plant is capable of.

Norbert said:
Looks like the plant came including a not-so-small railway station...

That's good, it will make it far easier for large amounts of parts/equipment to be delivered to the factory.

KenEE · Mar 5, 2011

I think Alpha pictures are not being pushed because the final S will look more like the prototype. Obviously with the just launched national tour of the prototype (to drum up business) Tesla is acknowledging the organic curves are more appealing to buyers and potential buyers. If the Alpha were all that then they would be touring with an Alpha.

At least this is my hope.

Todd Burch · Mar 5, 2011

Ken,

I agree--I think the alpha is focused on the guts of the car, not the looks...and they've stated several times in the past that the final exterior will be very close to the prototype. It probably just have to have dimensions similar to the final car, so they can work on the interior, crash testing, etc.

We know the grill is just temporary...and many of the other parts probably are as well.

I just think Tesla should have made that clear when they released the video, because it spooked a lot of deposit holders and investors alike. Regardless, I still feel confident we won't be disappointed.

Lloyd · Mar 5, 2011

I bet they have it so well disguised that even it's own engineer would not recognize it! Othewise we would be seeing something!!

tdelta1000 · Mar 12, 2011

Lloyd said:
I bet they have it so well disguised that even it's own engineer would not recognize it! Othewise we would be seeing something!!

lol.... You're right. I just saw one that looks like an Infiniti G25 a few minntues ago. lol

TEG · Mar 12, 2011

G37SE:

G25:

Doug_G · Mar 12, 2011

I have a G37... I don't think it looks anything like an S.

tdelta1000 · Mar 12, 2011

Doug_G said:
I have a G37... I don't think it looks anything like an S.

Doug it was a joke......only a joke. The Model S looks for better than the G25 and G37.

Doug_G · Mar 12, 2011

tdelta1000 said:
Doug it was a joke......only a joke. The Model S looks for better than the G25 and G37.

I know... but I couldn't help commenting. The looks of the G37 are fine, but nowhere near as sexy as the Model S (which will eventually be replacing my G37).

Aside: I simply hate Infiniti's color selections - all shades of grey. Even blue looks grey. The one color I liked - red - was cancelled. I hate grey cars. I ended up with black. But I digress... from the tangent.

Model S "Alpha" testing pictures????

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