Model 3 Mule Sightings

[alseTrick]

I wish somebody would take a good photo of the front end on one of the suspected release candidate cars. Preferably on a cloudy day to minimize reflections. I don't think that yellow line is actually on the body crease, but rather lined up with something in the reflection on the car, but the picture is not quite clear enough to be definitive. I'm sticking with my theory that the front is the same until I see a conclusive photo that says otherwise.

I really like the original nose and want it stay that way. Having that crease flow into the curve at the front of the fog light opening makes way more sense than having it flow into the middle of the fog light opening. If they wanted to widen and soften that shape on the front, wouldn't it have made more sense to reshape the fog lights to match?

I think the new nose is clearly different.

But i prefer the old nose.

 

[alseTrick]

That's what I'm seeing... everything about the car (minus adding AP2 cameras) inside and out is exactly the same, which makes me think that these couple cars are, in fact, not final cars. It's very likely that they just let these two alphas out in the public eye to get attention. Again, we'll see in July, but both S and X changed significantly between alpha/beta and final, and Elon said both interior and trunk changed. Both the black and blue cars we've seen don't have those changes implemented.

I can look at two shots from the same photoshoot of the silver car and they look just as different from each other as these do. Angles + reflections + camera focal lengths + distortion from cell phone pics all play tricks on the eyes.

Doubtful.

 

[mhan00]

I recall Elon mentioning during the reveal that even the base model Model 3, at $35,000, would be the best equipped car in this class.

Exact quote from the reveal: "And I want to emphasize that, even if you buy it no options at all, this will still be an amazing car. You will not be able to buy a better car for $35,000 or even close, even if you get no options. So it's a really good car even with no options".

I'm starting to question this, especially with the sparse interior we've been seeing on the reveal cars and the RC cars. There's a LOT of cars out there that you can buy for around $35K, that come seriously loaded with stuff. I can relate to this from my own experience with my existing car, a 2005 Mercedes C230 Sport Sedan. For nearly $40K price new, it did NOT come with: full power seats with memory for driver and passenger, power tilt/telescoping steering wheel, electronic climate control, full leather, and keyless ignition to name a few options. Heck, even a split folding rear seat is optional (!!!). $15K Kias come standard with split folding rear seats!! It's something I noticed with a lot of the German brands...they tease you with a sub-$30K price for their entry car, but when you add destination charge, automatic transmission, keyless entry/push-button start, and other small items that other makers provide standard, the price balloons to over $40K.

I'm really hoping that for $35K, the Model 3 does come pretty well equipped. But it doesn't seem like it will. I'm still going to build mine up a bit (Dual Motor AWD, Pano roof, "tech" package, "winter" package, "lighting" package, etc). But it seems like they might be nickel and diming us for every little thing (eg: floor mats, cargo net, etc).

--Cintoman

He didn't say best equipped car. He said best car, which is completely subjective for each person. You, presumably, prefer options. Others might prefer an electric drive train with fast acceleration and the ability to charge overnight at home (me).

 

[WarpedOne]

Forget about the prototypes ... this car is entering mass production in 2 months. These cars are final validation of serial production tooling mounted on the final line in Fremont that is producing 'good enough' parts.

What you see is what I will get.

Design of this car started around 2013, right after Model S entered production ramp up.
"Pencil down" was not about the shape of the chassis or front bumper but about the count of M3 bolts needed to secure dashboard just enough for it to brake at the right point during crash to still get 5 star safety rating.
It was about the thickness of trunk rubber seals so it wont brake in California summer but still hold water out in Norway winter. Details.

The car is Done.

 

[WarpedOne]

He said best car, which is completely subjective for each person.

The best car is not the one that has every single feature one can find in any production car out there.
There will be plenty of cars that will have plenty of features M3 wont have.

The best car is one that the people want most. Model 3 already IS the best car.

 

[McHoffa]

Design of this car started around 2013, right after Model S entered production ramp up.

FYI, the clay model was from 2010, and looks fairly similar to what we saw in the reveal.

 

[tomas]

Forget about the prototypes ... this car is entering mass production in 2 months. These cars are final validation of serial production tooling mounted on the final line in Fremont that is producing 'good enough' parts.

What you see is what I will get.

Design of this car started around 2013, right after Model S entered production ramp up.
"Pencil down" was not about the shape of the chassis or front bumper but about the count of M3 bolts needed to secure dashboard just enough for it to brake at the right point during crash to still get 5 star safety rating.
It was about the thickness of trunk rubber seals so it wont brake in California summer but still hold water out in Norway winter. Details.

The car is Done.

If there is anything changed after candidates, I expect it would be a bolt-on part such as steering wheel, not a body panel for which stamping and assembly is highly robotic. Not that they will change anything at all.

 

[WarpedOne]

FYI, the clay model was from 2010, and looks fairly similar to what we saw in the reveal.

I agree.

 

[Garlan Garner]

The best car is not the one that has every single feature one can find in any production car out there.
There will be plenty of cars that will have plenty of features M3 wont have.

The best car is one that the people want most. Model 3 already IS the best car.

The best car to me is the one that I want.

Even if its the only one they make.

 

[PV1]

I'm thinking that what we are now seeing is what the final production cars will look like. While the S and X may have changed from the initial reveal to the final release, did the release candidates seen just a couple of months prior to production change to any degree? I also don't think we've gotten a good enough look at the interior on the RCs to say that it hasn't changed. Yes, the steering wheel is in the same place and so is the screen. But that's about all we can say.

From what I remember, the MS alpha was significantly different from the prototype, but from alpha to production not much changed on the exterior. The most notable changes from alpha to production were the tail lights and nosecone. The interior changed with the beta release, and as far as I know, the only change from beta to production was the swap from touchscreen to button steering wheel controls.

With the Model X, as a Tesla outsider, I don't remember seeing any official reveals besides the initial reveal and first deliveries (no public alpha or beta).

So far with Model 3, reveal 1 gave us the current crop of test cars, but there hasn't been another official reveal yet. From the sounds of it, that will be when they deliver the first batch of 3s. My guess is that Elon expected a rush of pre-orders early on, so they held off revealing a prototype M3 on its own and instead revealed the protoype alongside the alpha models (the matte black with old style handles). The newer cars with the colored in headlights are likely the beta models, and besides some jewelry and makeup, this will be what gets delivered.

 

[garsh]

With the Model X, as a Tesla outsider, I don't remember seeing any official reveals besides the initial reveal and first deliveries (no public alpha or beta).

The X prototypes had a front-end that looked more like the original S.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

The X prototypes had a front-end that looked more like the original S.

Don't forget about the folding seats!

 

[ohmman]

Don't forget about the folding seats!

 

[AnxietyRanger]

With the Model X, as a Tesla outsider, I don't remember seeing any official reveals besides the initial reveal and first deliveries (no public alpha or beta).

In between the Model X announcement in 2012 and the launch in 2015, there was the prototype update in 2013, which featured a somewhat different concept interior (and exterior was white instead of tan) - shown at various car shows.

 

[WileyTheMan]

I'm still holding on a slim thread of hope that the dashboard will look different than the one we've been seeing (like they purposely didn't build the final dash into the PCs). I know, I know, chances are that's the final one, but it's so spartan and unimpressive, I don't see how that will match up with the ICE competition.

 

[melindav]

I'm still holding on a slim thread of hope that the dashboard will look different than the one we've been seeing (like they purposely didn't build the final dash into the PCs). I know, I know, chances are that's the final one, but it's so spartan and unimpressive, I don't see how that will match up with the ICE competition.

I'm fine with the spareness but would really rather see the screen embedded instead of floating away from the dash... I am sure there is a reason though... guess we will know in 2-3 months!

 

[omgwtfbyobbq]

I'm fine with the spareness but would really rather see the screen embedded instead of floating away from the dash... I am sure there is a reason though... guess we will know in 2-3 months!

A one piece dash with a connection for the touchscreen might be easier/faster/cheaper to assemble and service than an integrated touchscreen like the X/S have.

 

[stopcrazypp]

A one piece dash with a connection for the touchscreen might be easier/faster/cheaper to assemble and service than an integrated touchscreen like the X/S have.

I think it mostly has to do with the viewing angles for the speedometer (making the screen higher than the dash) plus the change to a landscape view. An integrated screen would need an extra surround that sticks up.

 

[gregincal]

From what I remember, the MS alpha was significantly different from the prototype, but from alpha to production not much changed on the exterior. The most notable changes from alpha to production were the tail lights and nosecone. The interior changed with the beta release, and as far as I know, the only change from beta to production was the swap from touchscreen to button steering wheel controls.

With the Model X, as a Tesla outsider, I don't remember seeing any official reveals besides the initial reveal and first deliveries (no public alpha or beta).

So far with Model 3, reveal 1 gave us the current crop of test cars, but there hasn't been another official reveal yet. From the sounds of it, that will be when they deliver the first batch of 3s. My guess is that Elon expected a rush of pre-orders early on, so they held off revealing a prototype M3 on its own and instead revealed the protoype alongside the alpha models (the matte black with old style handles). The newer cars with the colored in headlights are likely the beta models, and besides some jewelry and makeup, this will be what gets delivered.

I'm not quite sure what you are saying about the X. Like the 3, there were no official reveals in the months leading up to the first deliveries, but about 6 months before first deliveries they started test driving cars that turned out to be pretty much exactly what they ended up shipping. Likewise, I see no reason to believe the current Model 3 test cars are not pretty much what will end up shipping. I have no idea what you mean by "reveal 1 gave us the current crop of test cars", because these test cars are clearly not any of the prototype cars they built a year ago.

 

[alseTrick]

I'm still holding on a slim thread of hope that the dashboard will look different than the one we've been seeing (like they purposely didn't build the final dash into the PCs). I know, I know, chances are that's the final one, but it's so spartan and unimpressive, I don't see how that will match up with the ICE competition.

It won't. It can't.

But that doesn't mean Tesla won't do it anyways. Sigh...