GEN III - When will we see the first prototype

[VolkerP]

Great work as usual, TEG! Clay models have the big advantage that you can easily add charge ports. Anywhere, any number you want, any connector!

[ElSupreme]

I hope that Tesla does not waste their time and resources on a convertible, They should be working towards bigger markets - not smaller.

No Tesla should be 100% focused on manufacturing, and quality control, if they can't get this right then all the models in the world won't help them. Once they ramp up their line, and work out all the gremlins they should work or more sales.

I personally think there may be 1 or 2 more 'S' platform cars before we see a production Gen III. The Gen III may be announced before, but a 'S' van, truck, or convertible (or even a true S wagon) would be much easier for Tesla to produce than a whole new car.

[Grendal]

No Tesla should be 100% focused on manufacturing, and quality control, if they can't get this right then all the models in the world won't help them. Once they ramp up their line, and work out all the gremlins they should work or more sales.

You make a good point, but a design team is a design team. It's unlikely you can switch them to manufacturing. It's also unlikely you would let them go during a quiet time. So even though most of the company is focused on manufacturing and quality control, the design team should still be working hard on the next big project. The Gen III platform will be a lot more complex than just a smaller Model S platform. It will certainly be along those lines but you only have to look at how tight the Model S's pieces fit into its platform to realize that it will take a lot of work to effectively put all the same pieces into something much smaller.

I personally think there may be 1 or 2 more 'S' platform cars before we see a production Gen III. The Gen III may be announced before, but a 'S' van, truck, or convertible (or even a true S wagon) would be much easier for Tesla to produce than a whole new car.

I think there is a possibility of one more S type vehicle prior to the Bluestar for the reason you mentioned. Other S type vehicles will also likely appear but I'd expect them after the Bluestar unless Tesla gets some kind of pre-order.

[Fredrik S]

I hope we don't see a prototype before they are sure to be able to deliver a GenIII with 300 miles of range at a $ 30 000 price. If it's going to be a massmarket car, well the customers won't accept less.

Mod Note: as this post sparked a line of discussion relating to costs and range, it has been copied to Gen III Range Pricing Speculation while also being preserved here as it also touches on timeline.

[favo]

I wonder if they'll tease us with any Gen III info at the 6/22 event.

[jerry33]

but then those spending $80K for a Model S will be a little upset that a $30K car gets just as much range as they do... 10 years from now maybe...but 2 or 3 years later? No way.

I don't see why. I'd have to be a pretty dumb bunny to not realize that as soon as I purchase any technology product in two or three years it will either be much better and cheaper or way better and the same price. What I'm paying for is the ability to have it now. It's really no different that getting a Signature.

[Doug_G]

I wonder if they'll tease us with any Gen III info at the 6/22 event.

Nah, they won't want to distract from the Model S launch story. Probably the Model X will be sitting there for those who want to look at it, but it won't be something they'll make a big deal about.

[ElSupreme]

I suspect the same, but would imagine they might scale it down to maybe 14-15". Can't see them completely eliminating it -- especially since I doubt it's a very expensive component of the total package.

I 100% agree. In fact I bet the 'screen' will end up costing Tesla less than traditional dashboards sometime during their 3rd model. It is a lot easier to program buttons, knobs, and switches than to do them physically.

[doug]

We already have a bluestar styling thread.

[AnOutsider]

We already have a bluestar styling thread.

Indeed. I've taken a number of posts from this thread (got it from 12 pages to 3) and moved them to the relevant threads below. Some posts were copied as they were still somewhat relevant to this thread, or fit in more than one thread. Hopefully I did not miss anything or go too heavy handed -- it was a number of posts and got a bit unwieldy pushing to 3 different threads.

Posts moved to:

• Gen3 4-door sedan styling ideas
• Gen3 2-door coupe styling ideas
• Gen III Range Pricing Speculation

From here on out, let's try to keep this particular thread about the timeline for seeing the Gen III prototype.