Autocar | Tesla plans electric 3-series

[dpeilow]

Tesla plans electric 3-series - Autocar.co.uk

 

[efusco]

The "Blue Star"...but 3-Series....Model S was lame enough.....they need more creative names

 

[doug]

The "Blue Star"...but 3-Series....Model S was lame enough.....they need more creative names

umm... I'm sure 3-Series just means it will be about the size of a BMW 3-series and says nothing about the name of the car.

 

[stopcrazypp]

The "Blue Star"...but 3-Series....Model S was lame enough.....they need more creative names

I think the only reason they used the "Model S" name was so the next car would be logically called the "Model T," the EV for the masses (and the first car, the Roadster, starts with an R).

 

[efusco]

I think the only reason they used the "Model S" name was so the next car would be logically called the "Model T," the EV for the masses (and the first car, the Roadster, starts with an R).

Yea, I'd heard that....still think it's lame

 

[GSP]

"Tesla’s chairman and CEO, Elon Musk, founded PayPal and a business called SpaceX that builds satellites for the US government."

Satellites? Someone needs to buy AutoCar a subscription to Aviation Week, or show them how to use Google. :tongue:

GSP

 

[vfx]

I read it as different skateboard models off the S platform. Not an entirely new car ie the BlueStar,

 

[tdelta1000]

Question:
Could this 3-series Tesla be based off of the E.Y.E design???? Or will Tesla design this new model in-house?

 

[PopSmith]

Question:
Could this 3-series Tesla be based off of the E.Y.E design???? Or will Tesla design this new model in-house?

I believe the E.Y.E. design was simply a fun idea by students with Tesla agreeing to put their badge on it, just as Audi did with a Hovercar, called "Shark", as seen here.

Since the 3-series is a BMW vehicle line I read the article as if Tesla was developing the powertrain for BMW to use in their 3-series vehicles, similar to the Smart EV.

 

[dpeilow]

As Doug said above, it's more to do with the size of the car. I don't know about over that side of the pond, but in the UK the 3 Series is used as the yardstick for the small saloon/sedan market - hence Autocar's use of the phrase.

 

[XLR82XS]

umm... I'm sure 3-Series just means it will be about the size of a BMW 3-series and says nothing about the name of the car.

 

[bedoig]

Congrats on winning the oldest thread revival ever award

 

[doug]

Eh, it was true at the time. Still is. They wanted E, but Ford wouldn't let them, so they used 3 because it looks like an E. It is funny, though, out of historical context.

Similarly funny is @GSP suggesting that SpaceX doesn't build satellites.

 

[C141medic]

@XLR82XS This is well deserved. Congrats.

 

[GSP]

Eh, it was true at the time. Still is. They wanted E, but Ford wouldn't let them, so they used 3 because it looks like an E. It is funny, though, out of historical context.

Similarly funny is @GSP suggesting that SpaceX doesn't build satellites.

OK. It does sound funny now, but it was also true at the time. What was truly funny at the time (2010) was the news reporter not knowing the difference between satellites and launch vehicles.

GSP

 

[E90SLAM]

Like the Model S, the new saloon will have a monocoque aluminium structure formed from Tesla’s own stampings, with assembly in a new Tesla factory in southern California.
​

In the end, none of those speculation came true. But seemed like that was the best "educated guess" based on how the Model S were built.