Model 3 Mule Sightings

[Garlan Garner]

Yeah you're right, here's a better picture that's easier to see

I love how people disagree with how something looks to me... or maybe they are disagreeing about nikeykid's eyes

I wonder what that large white thing is in on the top of the headlight.....or maybe that's a reflection or something.

 

[JeffK]

I wonder what that large white thing is in on the top of the headlight.....or maybe that's a reflection or something.

It's been there since the reveal.

and it was yellow at the solar roof launch

 

[dsvick]

I wonder what that large white thing is in on the top of the headlight.....or maybe that's a reflection or something.

It's been there since the reveal.
and it was yellow at the solar roof launch

DRL? Or maybe just a running light?

 

[Garlan Garner]

It's been there since the reveal.

and it was yellow at the solar roof launch

Ahhh....I see that now. Thanks.

 

[Drone Flyer]

How about a Tesla Model 3 Giraffe sighting? Why do we always see a mule? LOL!

 

[JeffK]

How about a Tesla Model 3 Giraffe sighting? Why do we always see a mule? LOL!

My bad, that's a Tesla Model S giraffe.

 

[Owner]

I think I spotted the mule yesterday! It caught my eye but I was too far away from it to verify. I did try to catch up to it but to no avail.

I do live near to Tesla headquarters, so there is a reasonable chance this was the Model 3.

 

[cizUK]

I think I spotted the mule yesterday! It caught my eye but I was too far away from it to verify. I did try to catch up to it but to no avail.

I do live near to Tesla headquarters, so there is a reasonable chance this was the Model 3.

RC not mule

But thanks for trying - better luck next time!

 

[Model 3]

RC not mule

I may have misunderstood this, but I thought that the cars could be prototypes, alpha, beta, release candidate or per-production. But any drivable cars that is not a normal stock production car - including any of the mentioned versions - that is drivable and produced/modified and driven by the factory/manufacture was to be considered as a "mule". If so he was right to call this RC car for a "mule". If not, then it is off topic to post any pictures/movies of RC cars in this thread

 

[melindav]

I may have misunderstood this, but I thought that the cars could be prototypes, alpha, beta, release candidate or per-production. But any drivable cars that is not a normal stock production car - including any of the mentioned versions - that is drivable and produced/modified and driven by the factory/manufacture was to be considered as a "mule". If so he was right to call this RC car for a "mule". If not, then it is off topic to post any pictures/movies of RC cars in this thread

I've always thought "mule" referred to a test vehicle being disguised as something else. IE if the Model 3 mechanics were hidden under a Model S body - or a new year was tested in the previous year's body, etc... so based on that an alpha or RC would not be mules. The model Xs that had camouflaged fronts, roofs could be consider mules...

 

[Owner]

RC not mule

But thanks for trying - better luck next time!

RC, mule, terminology.... Excuse my ignorance but what does RC stand for? I get mule, alpha, beta... Sorry if this is a repeat but don't want to look back 139 pages..

I was having a very weird day, so that was a nice bit of excitement nevertheless.

 

[melindav]

RC, mule, terminology.... Excuse my ignorance but what does RC stand for? I get mule, alpha, beta...

I was having a very weird day, so that was a nice bit of excitement nevertheless.

RC: Release Candidate

 

[Owner]

RC: Release Candidate

So this is post-Beta then?

I'm trying to make a software analogy here as that was my business. A RC then would be the piece of software undergoing final testing to prove that we could release it. We could have potentially then likely around 5 RCs before we shipped software, the final one being the actual software.

And how does this thread know this is a RC and not a Beta or even Alpha?

 

[ohmman]

And how does this thread know this is a RC and not a Beta or even Alpha?

Elon stated they were skipping the others and going straight to testing release candidates.

 

[Reciprocity]

Elon stated they were skipping the others and going straight to testing release candidates.

Release candidate is just a fancy word for Beta that you think is release worthy. So its just a Beta until its not. Then its a production car.

 

[ohmman]

Release candidate is just a fancy word for Beta that you think is release worthy. So its just a Beta until its not. Then its a production car.

I agree, but that's not how Elon spun it in the earnings call. He said Tesla was "essentially eliminating beta because of advanced analytical techniques and going straight to release candidate."

 

[Reciprocity]

I agree, but that's not how Elon spun it in the earnings call. He said Tesla was "essentially eliminating beta because of advanced analytical techniques and going straight to release candidate."

Oh, I don't think its an attempt to deceive anyone, I think Elon believes that its a release candidate and release candidates are just Beta's that meet a level of quality that you assume you can release, baring in bugs you might find during the exhaustive testing. Bugs still come up today with S/X and they resolve them and update the manufacturing process. In Tesla's world, nothing is ever done, where I think other auto makers focus on the next model and Tesla is constantly refining the existing model through software mostly but also tweaks to the manufacturing process.

From reading some of the reports of almost 100 model 3s at an Ohio proving grounds owned by Honda, its probably very much true that they skipped the traditional beta period where you know that you will have issues that need to be resolved before you can do stress testing and crash testing and whether testing and so on where you may or may not find issues.

As I understand it, the guy Tesla hired from Audi specialized in the manufacturing process and getting from design to production faster through simulations and other testing procedures that allowed them and now Tesla to speed the time to production by lower the number of unknowns that where not part of the simulations. I think it was Audi, it could have been Volvo.

 

[kingjamez]

Release candidate is just a fancy word for Beta that you think is release worthy. So its just a Beta until its not. Then its a production car.

The way I see it, and think that Elon was defining "beta" as is that a Beta is: Really close to what we want to ship, but a few things aren't just like we want them. Whereas an RC is: We think this is final, now we're going to test to see if it actually is.

-Jim

 

[Sonny Daze]

From what I understand, when manufacturers build betas they make several of them using slightly different processes. They inspect/test those betas to determine which is the best process to use to build the release candidates. This is what Tesla skipped. I know people like to relate the beta process to software because that's what they understand but I don't think you can do that. I've never been involved in a process where the same app was built multiple different ways and then a winner chosen from those choices.

 

[Mishakim]

I've always thought "mule" referred to a test vehicle being disguised as something else. IE if the Model 3 mechanics were hidden under a Model S body - or a new year was tested in the previous year's body, etc... so based on that an alpha or RC would not be mules. The model Xs that had camouflaged fronts, roofs could be consider mules...

In my experience "mule" meant a test vehicle where you were testing new hardware on an old platform, because the new platform wasn't ready yet. (Hence the use of "mule" - half horse, half donkey) Disguise would be a side benefit of using an existing platform, but wasn't the reason for the use of the mule.