I think I just saw a prototype for the redesigned Model S...

[Fiver]

Video is here. First the MS, then the trailing M3. It is very quick, don't know if it will help much. I resized it a bit to focus on that side of the road.

Box

Maybe we should rename this thread "Is this your car?”

The second car is most certainly a 3. When it's close up the distortion makes it look like a Y but farther away you can clearly see the difference. As for the first car.... No idea, but the headlights do look like the ones that used to be on classic S.

Which dash cam do you have?

 

[Vinc]

The second car is most certainly a 3. When it's close up the distortion makes it look like a Y but farther away you can clearly see the difference. As for the first car.... No idea, but the headlights do look like the ones that used to be on classic S.

Which dash cam do you have?

Just a good old IRO...

 

[gaswalla]

Wtf is IRO?

I looked it up
IRO DashCam - Model S AP2 unboxing

 

[Keith909man]

That model 3 just looks like a part of the chome delete came off, exposing the original trim

 

[Keith909man]

Well, looks like your post is making National news lol showed up on Yahoos front page today

Tesla's mystery test car may be a Model S refresh

 

[slfdrvntchr]

I think based on the shape of the handles, it's a model 3 or y. I don't think they would get rid of the automatic handle style of the s

 

[Fiver]

I think based on the shape of the handles, it's a model 3 or y. I don't think they would get rid of the automatic handle style of the s

In principle I agree that the handles are one of the smaller, but still defining items that makes the S the S.

At the same time, I can also see Tesla trying to save themselves some money on parts by unifying the doorhandles to be the same as the 3/Y/Semi.

 

[buttershrimp]

I think First car is model s test mule, second is model y

 

[BluestarE3]

Well, looks like your post is making National news lol showed up on Yahoos front page today

Tesla's mystery test car may be a Model S refresh

Yahoo picked this story up from Engadget who picked it up from Electek who picked it up from here. Funny thing is that Engadget sloppily changed the setting of this sighting from Hawthorne to Fremont!
Tesla's mystery test car may be a Model S refresh

 

[Vinc]

As a journalism major myself... Engadget you can do better!

I guess if this is not a prototype, the more exposure, the more of a chance of somebody coming out to claim that this was just them driving back from a quick run to McDonald's. If that is the case, I apologize in advance for the "sloppy wrapping job" comment. You do you

There are a number of brands with design centers around SoCal and it is not unusual to run across prototypes with different levels of camo. Teslas of all flavors and with all kinds of mods are also a pretty common sight, including the one that sits on my driveway. This is just to say that I am pretty confident that the black car was a camoed MS, while the trailing vehicle was a regular M3, perhaps with the rear windows obscured with plastic. By the way, the M3 was about 20 seconds behind the MS and catching up, that is why there is a cut in the video. The MS was one of the last cars to cross a green light and the M3 had to stop at the intersection.

I think the proportions of the black car were just those of a regular MS, but hiding body panels. This would suggest a mild refresh. The windows are also heavily tinted, which would make sense if they are hiding a new interior.

Jeez, I wish I had turned around, which was my first instinct. Had I recalled that I do have a dashcam, I would certainly had. Then we would not be dealing with Bigfoot level pics

 

[estrobel]

There is a matte black model S with some crazy green (Almost flourescent) striping here in Fort Lauderdale. I assumed it was custom painted after the fact. Great job but not exactly a mass market color for most Tesla owners. Next time I see it I will attempt to get a picture.

 

[Zero Beyond]

That

Video is here. First the MS, then the trailing M3. It is very quick, don't know if it will help much. I resized it a bit to focus on that side of the road.

Box

Maybe we should rename this thread "Is this your car?”

That definitely looks to be a older model S in a matte black finish. Usually when car companies want to test out a new car on public streets without the people knowing what it is, they would use a checkered paint finish on it so the car’s dimensions are unrecognizable and hard to picture.

 

[Vinc]

You are very correct. But sometimes matte black is also used...

 

[AlexanderAF]

The car looks taller because it is most likely skewed from the camera. The camera shutter passes over the sensor from left to right, so if the car is moving from left to right it will get squished. If it was still it wouldn’t be distorted. Similar to how an ambulance sounds high-pitched as it’s moving toward you and low-pitched as it’s moving away.

 

[DirtyT3sla]

Wow this is a great find! It'd be so fun to live so close to the factory. I regularly see test vehicles from the big three in Metro Detroit.

 

[BluestarE3]

Wow this is a great find! It'd be so fun to live so close to the factory. I regularly see test vehicles from the big three in Metro Detroit.

This sighting (of whatever it may have been) was near the design studio in Hawthorne rather than the factory in Fremont.

 

[Snow Drift]

Every car looks squished and taller. It's a Model S and Model 3. I doubt that's a MY since from a distance you can see it is as short as the Kia Optima next to it.

Could be testing for sure.

 

[ucmndd]

The car looks taller because it is most likely skewed from the camera. The camera shutter passes over the sensor from left to right, so if the car is moving from left to right it will get squished. If it was still it wouldn’t be distorted. Similar to how an ambulance sounds high-pitched as it’s moving toward you and low-pitched as it’s moving away.

Honest question, is this even “a thing” in the digital CCD world where there is no analog shutter?

 

[Ms Rosa]

Maybe it has been a long day and I am just imagining things. Or maybe there is a matte black MS prototype driving around Los Angeles.

I was driving south on La Brea and Jefferson, not terribly far from Tesla's headquarters in Hawthorne, when out of the corner of my eye I saw a matte black Model S coming the opposite way. What caught my attention was the wrapping. It was very mismatched, with some panels glossier than others. At first I just thought "well, that is one sloppy wrapping job". But then something seemed odd about the shape of the car itself (can't pinpoint exactly what). By the time I looked again the car had already passed me and I could only catch it in the rearview mirror. And the rear lights were different from the usual Model S lights. They looked bigger. For an instant it crossed my mind that it might be some sort of new Mazda. But then I saw a Model 3 driving right behind it, also with black matte wrap.

So... that is the whole story. Sorry that I could not catch any more details or take any pictures, the entire adventure took about 5 seconds.

People in the LA area, maybe be in the lookout for a matte black Model S?

I saw one yesterday in downtown San Francisco. I thought it might have been an older model, given that Tesla's been offering fewer color options. Sorry now I didn't look closer.

 

[buttershrimp]

You are very correct. But sometimes matte black is also used...

View attachment 420306

Worst XPEL matte black job ever