In the Model X Mule Sightings thread there is a long discussuing started by a sighting about how much the Model X mule has changed, if it has changed at all - and how final it may be. As the discussion still goes on, I decided to explore the topic in a summary form, perhaps we can reach some conclusions.
Here is the controversial image, that has evoked many cries of "ugly" in different hues - some have even speculated a fake image (not so in my opinion):
1) How come some Model X noses look blunt and others look pointed?
One question that has been presented over the course of the sub-thread is why does the "duck bite" nose below look so different to e.g. the one above:
That reason is very simple - car and viewing angle (it would be the same with naked eye, although camera lens geometry can sometimes exaggerate this like in the middle 2012 prototype below). The below car is slightly angled towards the camera, exposing more of the front. The picture above it, is taken behind the car, thus hiding most of the front and changing the look dramatically. It is the same nose, it just looks different from angle.
Here is the same effect on the 2012 Model X prototype - one is a crop from a frontal angle and second as well as third from a rear angles (compared to the nose), all of the same prototype, at the same event - how the nose goes from pointy to blunt is evident here, even though the 2012 Model X nose was not as "duck bite" as it now is on the mules:
We can clearly see how a rear viweing angle can make the car's front look blunt, as the front-most nose is hidden from view, while a more frontal view shows the full, pointed, rounded nose. We should not confuse these viewing angle differences as different noses.
2) Is the controversial front a new or temporary nose for Model X?
Model X nose has dramatically changed since the 2012-2013 Model X prototypes of course (as seen above, or in the silhouette comparison thread), compared to 2015 Model X mules, but beyond that there is not much to suggest changes this year. While we can't be sure what the final production nose looks like (concept drawings have speculated, though), the same "duck bite" Model X nose has been there throughout the year - it is not new at all. Tesla has made incremental changes to some other mule panels, mainly in the rear window area and falcon wings areas, but nose has been pretty much the same, big-shapes-wise.
It comes down to shadows and angle, and some minor changes in how camo is applied on the mules (color, some changes in nose cone camo). Here is the "duck bite" on a white-clad camoed mule witnessed in March, compared to the latest "controversial" sighting:
Source: Pictures - Spied: 2016 Tesla Model X
It is the same shape, in fact, the whole car looks the same from this angle as camo wrap mostly hides minor differences in nose cone and rear window/roof areas that exist probably due to incremental adjustments of the manufacturing process, camo, perhaps the odd old or temporary panel, and on-and-off again type of work on the mule.
Now, what this means for production models is speculative, of course. But for 2015 mules, we haven't seen multiple noses, just this one basic type. Call it the "duck bite", if you will.
Finally, the concept drawing of what the nose might look without camo - just wild speculation:
Source: [Concept] Model X image without nose-cone and A pillar cross-beam - Page 4
Also, a comparison from the May silhouette thread, the 2015 Model X mule up and 2012-2013 Model X prototype below - here the noses are seen fairly perpendicular to the camera, not from much of an angle - the "duck bite" is hidden because the car is not angled towards the camera at all in the clip the snap comes from, also the mushy video quality hurts, but in a second video from the same poster and very likely same mule that looks the same from the side, we can see the "bite" is there at 1:19, even though it is not visible straight from the side.
Source: How much has Model X changed: mule (2015) vs. prototype (2012) silhouette
Here is the controversial image, that has evoked many cries of "ugly" in different hues - some have even speculated a fake image (not so in my opinion):
1) How come some Model X noses look blunt and others look pointed?
One question that has been presented over the course of the sub-thread is why does the "duck bite" nose below look so different to e.g. the one above:
That reason is very simple - car and viewing angle (it would be the same with naked eye, although camera lens geometry can sometimes exaggerate this like in the middle 2012 prototype below). The below car is slightly angled towards the camera, exposing more of the front. The picture above it, is taken behind the car, thus hiding most of the front and changing the look dramatically. It is the same nose, it just looks different from angle.
Here is the same effect on the 2012 Model X prototype - one is a crop from a frontal angle and second as well as third from a rear angles (compared to the nose), all of the same prototype, at the same event - how the nose goes from pointy to blunt is evident here, even though the 2012 Model X nose was not as "duck bite" as it now is on the mules:
We can clearly see how a rear viweing angle can make the car's front look blunt, as the front-most nose is hidden from view, while a more frontal view shows the full, pointed, rounded nose. We should not confuse these viewing angle differences as different noses.
2) Is the controversial front a new or temporary nose for Model X?
Model X nose has dramatically changed since the 2012-2013 Model X prototypes of course (as seen above, or in the silhouette comparison thread), compared to 2015 Model X mules, but beyond that there is not much to suggest changes this year. While we can't be sure what the final production nose looks like (concept drawings have speculated, though), the same "duck bite" Model X nose has been there throughout the year - it is not new at all. Tesla has made incremental changes to some other mule panels, mainly in the rear window area and falcon wings areas, but nose has been pretty much the same, big-shapes-wise.
It comes down to shadows and angle, and some minor changes in how camo is applied on the mules (color, some changes in nose cone camo). Here is the "duck bite" on a white-clad camoed mule witnessed in March, compared to the latest "controversial" sighting:
Source: Pictures - Spied: 2016 Tesla Model X
It is the same shape, in fact, the whole car looks the same from this angle as camo wrap mostly hides minor differences in nose cone and rear window/roof areas that exist probably due to incremental adjustments of the manufacturing process, camo, perhaps the odd old or temporary panel, and on-and-off again type of work on the mule.
Now, what this means for production models is speculative, of course. But for 2015 mules, we haven't seen multiple noses, just this one basic type. Call it the "duck bite", if you will.
Finally, the concept drawing of what the nose might look without camo - just wild speculation:
Source: [Concept] Model X image without nose-cone and A pillar cross-beam - Page 4
Also, a comparison from the May silhouette thread, the 2015 Model X mule up and 2012-2013 Model X prototype below - here the noses are seen fairly perpendicular to the camera, not from much of an angle - the "duck bite" is hidden because the car is not angled towards the camera at all in the clip the snap comes from, also the mushy video quality hurts, but in a second video from the same poster and very likely same mule that looks the same from the side, we can see the "bite" is there at 1:19, even though it is not visible straight from the side.
Source: How much has Model X changed: mule (2015) vs. prototype (2012) silhouette
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