About time to unveil the D and something else

[Lloyd]

Is that a public airfield? Or a private one? Regardless doesn't matter even if he did trade on it for the past 2 weeks without posting it here after the announcement had happened. I wish that he had posted it earlier so everyone here could have made money before the announcement

Inyokern Airport is Public. See Website Interesting that it is the site of an Unmaned Systems Event.

 

[Nubo]

Is this TEG?
View attachment 60571

Or maybe this is him?
View attachment 60572

 

[HankLloydRight]

You just can't see the side mirrors due to the angle of the photo.. here's one to compare:

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And another to show where they would be seen.. if you were standing here and stepped slightly to the left, the right side mirror would also disappear.

 

[Bill D]

Whatever Tesla is introducing on Oct 9 - if it includes a live demonstration of significantly improved acceleration, the rough concrete surface in that Hawthorne Airport photo would "hook-up" really well, probably much better than any asphalt surface.

 

[MartinAustin]

Dry runway is one thing... I personally think they should demonstrate the grip of the AWD by showing acceleration on some suboptimal surfaces. For example, a wet road, or a road with 1/2" thick layer of water. Or some fake snow Or perhaps they have some snow-driving footage, similar to their Norwegian geothermal engineer's video, that they can cut to during the event.

Snow big deal if they don't. :tongue:

 

[Cottonwood]

Dry runway is one thing... I personally think they should demonstrate the grip of the AWD by showing acceleration on some suboptimal surfaces. For example, a wet road, or a road with 1/2" thick layer of water. Or some fake snow Or perhaps they have some snow-driving footage, similar to their Norwegian geothermal engineer's video, that they can cut to during the event.

Snow big deal if they don't. :tongue:

Here is a record to go for, "Fastest on Ice." Nokian did it with an Audi RS6. With the better aerodynamic shape of a Model S, the Hakka 8 tires, the right gears, and AWD, Tesla should be able to beat this record.

 

[tga]

Whatever Tesla is introducing on Oct 9 - if it includes a live demonstration of significantly improved acceleration, the rough concrete surface in that Hawthorne Airport photo would "hook-up" really well, probably much better than any asphalt surface.

Yeah, but...

I don't know HHR well, but I'll speculate anyway. HHR has only one runway. It's just under a mile long, so you could easily demonstrate acceleration (and maybe top speed).

But I highly doubt the FAA will take kindly to closing down the only runway at a publicly owned, public use airport for a private company to put on what is (let's face it) a dog-and-pony show. I guess you could sneak on the runway for a quick run between flight operations*, but...

Yes, it's not VNY, but I suspect all airports in LAX's class B airspace are an important piece of the regional transportation infrastructure.

I've been wrong before, but for those who expect to see cars blasting up and down the runway, prepare to be disappointed.

*Some quick math estimates 1 takeoff/landing every 5 minutes:

• HHR averages 220 flight ops/day. See: http://www.airnav.com/airport/KHHR
• Assume 18 hrs/day (let's pretend there's some downtime at night), that's 18*60, or 1080 minutes.
• 1080 min/220 flight ops = 4.9 min/flight op

 

[ThortsMD]

View attachment 60542

The person supplying the original photo said that the friend that took the photo was female. The photographer in these images looks like a dude to me. More confuscation?

---Edit-------
Jeez, I sure hope I don't owe someone an appology! :crying:

 

[Beckler]

Since this is happening at an airport, are we sure this won't be a Model S than can fly? D is for Divert - other air traffic may have to during the demo.

 

[FreeOfPge]

Whatever Tesla is introducing on Oct 9 - if it includes a live demonstration of significantly improved acceleration, the rough concrete surface in that Hawthorne Airport photo would "hook-up" really well, probably much better than any asphalt surface.

Excellent point. This would explain why the 'secret' was badged in the wild. If it was NOT in fact badged and sent out into the wild, rather, it was badged for a photo shoot or production, the badge would need to be on the car for the shoot. Makes sense.

 

[TEG]

...but for those who expect to see cars blasting up and down the runway, prepare to be disappointed...

Maybe they show, on big video screens, the one at Inyokern blasting down that runway. A lot less busy than Hawthorne.

Model X intro at Hawthorne, they had a big section of parking lot coned off for test rides.

 

[FreeOfPge]

This car, could be the same MS in Elon's tweet...with the photo taken at the airfield.

 

[chickensevil]

This car, could be the same MS in Elon's tweet...with the photo taken at the airfield.

Unlikely, that photo looks very much like a total computer generated image. Although a pretty good one!

 

[FreeOfPge]

Unlikely, that photo looks very much like a total computer generated image. Although a pretty good one!

Forgive my ignorance, I'm not tech savvy...wouldn't they use an actual photo and modify the image to produce a computer generated image? If you zoom in on the right and left sides, the lighting is slightly unequal. A 100% computer generated image should be the same on both sides, no?

 

[twinklejet]

if the runway's gonna be closed.. it will likely show up here anytime between now and 9th oct: https://pilotweb.nas.faa.gov/PilotW...veLocId=KHHR&actionType=notamRetrievalByICAOs

It's called a NOTAM (Notice to airmen) and at this point in time.. there's nothing about a runway closure..

 

[All Your Bases]

This is obviously a pun in the direction of the late Steve Jobs.
The D is for Dual-drive, and "the other letter" is the X Beta. Far to many fan and press invites for it NOT to be the X. And some sensor tech. thrown in for good measure.
This is Elon style !

 

[Doug_G]

One post moved to Short-Term TSLA Price Movements - 2014

 

[pete8314]

The person supplying the original photo said that the friend that took the photo was female. The photographer in these images looks like a dude to me. More confuscation?

They also said (waaaay up-thread) that there's another picture from the side, so it would be good to see that, to explain the mirrors, and add another 400 speculative posts

 

[mitch672]

confirmation of All Wheel Drive Model S
Paris: Tesla Model S AWD A No Show - So Far

 

[AmpedRealtor]

I reiterate that it wouldn't be the Model X. That is a BIGGER deal than a dual motor Model S and deserves the headline, not a "something extra."

Are you familiar with Steve Jobs and his famous keynotes? He always said "one more thing" at the end, and the "one more thing" was much bigger than the headline event. So much so, that the "one more thing" was actually the news worthy item. The same is true here. The "something else" alluded to by Elon is going to be bigger than the D announcement. The something else, given that Model X sig holders are receiving an invite, is clearly relating to the Model X. The event is being held at an airport, so I'm sure this will involve driving demos. Model X is probably farther along than any of us know.

You don't invite Model X sig reservation holders across the country to try and sell them an AWD Model S. That is going to piss off the people you invited. The D is actually going to be the least important aspect of this news conference.

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You think Tesla is going to eat the extra cost of a second motor and inverter? Or did I miss the sarcasm?

I believe my post said "I think", so the answer to your question is yes. The cost of production is falling as is the cost of batteries. Many of the P85+ suspension components have already been silently integrated into the less expensive P85. Seems like the logical path if Tesla can hold its margins.

What Tesla does not want to do, in my humble opinion, is announce a $150,000 super car. The media spin will be terrible. Tesla is trying to get to an affordable vehicle, so it would make no sense to launch an even more expensive Model S variant. Again, just my opinion. I think if there is an added cost for the AWD, it will be small.