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Facelifted Model S?

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Do you think the Model S will get a facelift and get the new front end of the Model X? Anyone want to attempt a photoshop to see how this looks?

The Model X needs a big frunk because the seating takes up almost all the cabin space. On the Model S, the rear cargo area is much bigger and the frunk was always just a nice extra, a lot of Model S owners never use it. Tesla is not going to dedicate many resources to making the frunk bigger on the Model S because they will be throwing all their engineering resources at the Model 3 for the next couple of years.

The Model S might get a few upgrades from the Model X program that are "gimmes" ie things that can just be bolted on and don't require any extensive re-engineering. When you start changing the structure of something, you end up with a cascade of changes all through the system that need to be accounted for and thoroughly tested. Tesla doesn't have the time and resources to do that for a car they currently consider "good enough" and other projects drawing resources. Engineering something new is a much more complex science than most people think.
 
I like the Model X front. No need to mimic an ICE grille when there's no radiator behind.
If the X fron lights are LED, they could bring that to the S too.

No radiator behind? its 3 of them, or 1 radiator and 2 condensers for cooling on Model S. And Model X have a large air vent where the Tesla logo is that can open and close like the vents near the fog lights on Model S + air intake on the bottom.

Tesla radiator.jpg
 
Model X looks like its missing something from the front in every color but black, which is surprising that they did that.


The Nosecone once again looks great and is not ugly in any way and would have looked better on the X.
 
On the X, I think it would have looked better if they kept the nosecone outline - either in chrome like the S, or a body color cut-in (so where nosecone would be is depressed from rest of bumper). Thus, if they carry over to the S, I hope the keep the outline to break up the monotonous expanse up front. That said, the S also would have less of an expanse given the shorter front.
 
The nosecone was a design PHEV; meaning a temporary solution for the buyer wanting a BEV but viewing car design from an ICEv POV.

There is no airflow through the fake grill solid piece of plastic, it is a lie and a glaring design mistake.

At some point Tesla needs to stop aping Jaguar,Aston Martin, and Maserati.

And blaze its own design language.

People's who's brain is in the 21st century(wanting a BEV as their primary car) but have a heart in the 20th century
(wanting ICEv design) must be dragged along.

All those in love with nose cones better buy within the next 18 months.

For nose cone lovers that simply must have an SUV/CUV I am sure the aftermarket will come up with some fugly solutions for the Model X front fascia.
 
The nosecone was a design PHEV; meaning a temporary solution for the buyer wanting a BEV but viewing car design from an ICEv POV.

There is no airflow through the fake grill solid piece of plastic, it is a lie and a glaring design mistake.

At some point Tesla needs to stop aping Jaguar,Aston Martin, and Maserati.

And blaze its own design language.

People's who's brain is in the 21st century(wanting a BEV as their primary car) but have a heart in the 20th century
(wanting ICEv design) must be dragged along.

All those in love with nose cones better buy within the next 18 months.

For nose cone lovers that simply must have an SUV/CUV I am sure the aftermarket will come up with some fugly solutions for the Model X front fascia.

I doubt Tesla is going to make any significant changes to the Model S until the Model 3 is out there and possibly not until the new Roadster is out there. That's probably about 5 years.

One of the problem with most BEVs out there is they are garish and loud. They announce to the world you are driving a pure electric. The Model S was designed to look like an ICE for those who didn't want to scream to the world they were driving something different and it works quite well. For people who know, the Model S does stand out, but for the average person who can't tell the difference between a Ford and a Toyota, it looks like most other large sedans out there. Cars like the Toyota Avalon have a very similar shape, you have to look at the details to tell the difference.

That's one of the pluses for me. I don't want to announce to the world I'm driving a BEV. The Model X evolved that notion. It doesn't look anything like the "toy" BEVs out there, but it also doesn't quite look like an ICE either. But the market has evolved since the Model S came out, probably because the Model S came out in a lot of ways.

The bulk of the public is very conservative about change. Not so much in a political sense, but in a philosophical sense. A lot of people's reaction to something they have never seen before is "no!" until they have had time to get comfortable with it and realize that nothing bad happened because of the change. Styling a revolutionary car so that it looks like a lot of other contemporary cars was a stroke of genius for getting acceptance from the masses.

When Tesla redesigns the Model S, they may change or get rid of the nose cone, but it's going to be a very low priority for quite some time. Elon has said he wants to see Tesla building an entire range of vehicles like other car companies and expanding the offerings is going to be top priority for quite some time.
 
I don't think the Model S looks an Avalon at all, or even other large sedans luxury or otherwise. You know it's different and good when different kids say "cool!". I mean it happens a lot. It has never gotten the kind of attention our BMW and Mercedes have. My defailer who hand washes my car tells me that people stop by asking about my Model S. There are conventional elements to the design of the S, but it absolutely does not look like other cars. It looks the cost that it has- coming from experience with Merc and BMW cars. The most I ever had was compliments such as nice car with BMW. Neither the BMW nor Merc were ever a head turner like the Model S. Also most definitely a 100k car when you factor everything in, rather than just comparing luxury options.
 
No radiator behind? its 3 of them, or 1 radiator and 2 condensers for cooling on Model S. And Model X have a large air vent where the Tesla logo is that can open and close like the vents near the fog lights on Model S + air intake on the bottom.

I think the point is that there's no need to have anything that looks like a grille. The nosecone on the Model S is non-functional, as the radiators get their airflow elsewhere.

Electric cars do not need a front grille. The reason the model X looks "strange" is that we're accustomed to seeing cars with large air intakes right there on the front, something which isn't necessary any more. That's the ONLY reason the model S nosecone exists, so that it would not look too different from a "normal" (ICE) car.

It's a skeuomorphism.
 
I think the point is that there's no need to have anything that looks like a grille. The nosecone on the Model S is non-functional, as the radiators get their airflow elsewhere.

Electric cars do not need a front grille. The reason the model X looks "strange" is that we're accustomed to seeing cars with large air intakes right there on the front, something which isn't necessary any more. That's the ONLY reason the model S nosecone exists, so that it would not look too different from a "normal" (ICE) car.

It's a skeuomorphism.

In my case, it is not the lack of the nosecone that bothers me. It's the large expanse of just essentially a body panel up front and the zig-zag look of the front bumper. To me, especially from the side view, it looks like injection molded plastic with a "bubble" at the bottom. It could have been sculpted in a better fashion (IMO) and I would then like it.