Hopefully somebody asks a more detailed question on the shareholder call to confirm status of testing
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Hopefully somebody asks a more detailed question on the shareholder call to confirm status of testing
MassX1317
Addicted to TMC
I just woke up. Not joking here: had a dream that I met Elon Musk, his wife and kids. Anyway, he saw our car at the fairgrounds and parked next to it. He was driving a Chrysler Pacifica (or so I thought until the rear door opened upward). Apparently they disguised the Model X as a Chrysler so they could drive cross country without anyone noticing. This folks is what happens when you fall asleep reading this website on your Ipad.
AustinPowers
Total Smeghead
de704
XP268
Elon Musk said in the last earnings call that they were keeping things more private now than in the past. When it comes to the Model X I think that they're going to keep it private to the last moment. This is partially because there is a styling update when compared to the Model S of past years. After the Model X is revealed the Model S will also get a styling update too. they want to get it perfect before showing it.
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We also may not be seeing it because Tesla bought another facility east of the Fremont factory. I believe if you google "Tesla skunk works" you will find a story about it. I would bet they're testing the Model X indoors inside of that facility under wraps. If you follow that line of reasoning they could test the Model 3 in the same location in the future without anyone ever seeing it. We all know that Tesla can and does test their cars indoors because there's no emissions.
Here's a link to an article about it.
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We also may not be seeing it because Tesla bought another facility east of the Fremont factory. I believe if you google "Tesla skunk works" you will find a story about it. I would bet they're testing the Model X indoors inside of that facility under wraps. If you follow that line of reasoning they could test the Model 3 in the same location in the future without anyone ever seeing it. We all know that Tesla can and does test their cars indoors because there's no emissions.
Here's a link to an article about it.
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jkliu47
Member
OT - speaking of which - whatever happened to Elon's cross country drive with his family?
hockeythug
Active Member
jkliu47
Member
OMG! I was on a road trip of my own at exactly the same time, it happened and I missed it. 
It seemed to happen pretty much under the radar. Doing a search now, I don't see much media coverage at all.
It seemed to happen pretty much under the radar. Doing a search now, I don't see much media coverage at all.
bonnie
I play a nice person on twitter.
OMG! I was on a road trip of my own at exactly the same time, it happened and I missed it.
It seemed to happen pretty much under the radar. Doing a search now, I don't see much media coverage at all.
Which was as it should have been. He was with his family. It wasn't supposed to be a media event.
hockeythug
Active Member
OMG! I was on a road trip of my own at exactly the same time, it happened and I missed it.
It seemed to happen pretty much under the radar. Doing a search now, I don't see much media coverage at all.
Just search Musk's and his wife/gf's twitter in the beginning on April.
hingisfan
hingisfan_Mark_V
fengshui
Member
Someone asked about the Lathrop facility, and it's for additional tooling and other stuff. It's not a design or testing center. The Alpha build vehicle is a custom car, and is not produced on the main production line. I expect that they're building it at the design center in Hawthorne, with parts fabricated at the main factory.
bonnie
I play a nice person on twitter.
I agree completely. To build it on the line would require tooling and processes that would make no sense to put in place until the Alphas are tested and moving towards Beta. Disruption of the automotive market is good. Disruption of the factory line is bad.
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If the Alphas are anything like the Model S Alphas, they're going to have rough interiors, suitable for engineering work only.
I would be shocked to see an 'Alpha'. My guess is that they will be kept well hidden in the factory for on site testing. Once the Beta is produced I would expect them to do some real world testing on roads but probably as quietly as they can. A quick iPhone pix of one might show up somewhere at that point but I still doubt TM will have one sitting out on the lawn at Hawthorne...or for that matter at all their galleries.
I would bet that they'll have betas on display in the stores, whenever those are ready in sufficient numbers. They really need to provide something for the reservation holders to look at before asking them to finalize.
Here's an interesting article from early 2011 showing the state of Model S prototype development at that point. Of course, this doesn't translate to Model X development directly, since Elon said that that was likely to proceed faster than the S did. But I suspect you will start to see Alpha mules rolling around the Bay Area pretty soon (i.e., within the next several weeks).
Tesla lets us peek in on Model S development - Autoblog
And the comments to this June 2011 Jalopnik article has a link to YouTube video showing a Model S alpha prototype.
Tesla Model S "Alpha" shows off a sleeker electric ass
Tesla lets us peek in on Model S development - Autoblog
And the comments to this June 2011 Jalopnik article has a link to YouTube video showing a Model S alpha prototype.
Tesla Model S "Alpha" shows off a sleeker electric ass
anticitizen13.7
Not posting at TMC after 9/17/2018
I don't know why they'd even bother with cammo. They've already shown us prototypes and renderings. And they're going to have to show a lot more before asking reservation holders to finalize.
Nubo
Test Mule
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