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3PHASE
3PHASE
Good point. Hey, this is near DC, and there is going to be a Lucid Motors Air here tomorrow. Coincidence?
Lucid Motors on Twitter
Sometimes Congress gets to see things before we do. I will keep my eyes open in DC.
Lucid Motors on Twitter
Sometimes Congress gets to see things before we do. I will keep my eyes open in DC.
3PHASE
3PHASE
I don't know. Something about the area around DC/Baltimore? A preproduction Bolt checked in at a charging station before the car went on sale, and a Mercedes B class electric actually stopped at a meetup I had, unexpectedly. They were testing charging infrastructure.
Do I believe it, no (no dice/no photo)... but all eyes are on CA for testing... perhaps they would want to do it somewhere else. Game is changing a bit... makes things fun anyway to guess. How hard would it be to sneak one on a transport/covered with other cars for delivery out here. What would be hard is charging in public or at a Super Charger.
Also, Congress carries A LOT of weight. They get special viewings at the DC car show. So important that GM showed the Spark EV at the car show the night before the show on year, but then immediately shipped it to Chicago the day of the show, so we could not see it.
3PHASE
3PHASE
Since the Lucid Air is in town, it's possible he is mistaking it for the Model 3. I'm going to check out the Lucid tomorrow, so if I see a white one, any query them on if they have been driving it around, that might tell the story. Bigger car though.
FlatSix911
Porsche 918 Hybrid
My co-workers swear up and down they saw a couple of Model 3's testing in Phoenix last month - at least one a gloss black. They're reasonably EV-savvy (one owns a Volt and would love a Model 3), so I've got to lend some credence to their sighting, but they had no pictures. There's no real reason to test in Phoenix in February - it's nowhere near as cold as most of the country, and it's nowhere near as hot as it'll be in the summer. Maybe the good weather was sufficient reason...
When the Model X mules were seen, there was a lot of disbelief back then as well. Reality was, out of the 100+ that we later found our were out there, only a handful were captured in photos. More were seen.
While these can be misindentifications, I would not jump to conclusions as fast as people have. Tesla has a history of driving very lightly disguised mules in broad daylight.... basically just white or black wrap covering some changed parts, if even that.
There is very little reason to think they'd operate any differently on the Model 3. The basic shape has been public - in fact Model X had changed more than Model 3 is likely from it public prototype, yet Tesla drove even that much changed Model X out there in the public, prior to reveal, without much camo. Some very notable people on TMC lost bets here being sure that no way will Tesla show the final design in public like that... Yet that is exactly what Tesla did.
It is quite possible Tesla is already driving production-spec Model 3s on public roads with mild camo amounting to not much more than maybe a white or black wrap and some disguising (or removal) of changed parts. In fact, their history combined with the recent news of test production starting suggests they probably are...
While these can be misindentifications, I would not jump to conclusions as fast as people have. Tesla has a history of driving very lightly disguised mules in broad daylight.... basically just white or black wrap covering some changed parts, if even that.
There is very little reason to think they'd operate any differently on the Model 3. The basic shape has been public - in fact Model X had changed more than Model 3 is likely from it public prototype, yet Tesla drove even that much changed Model X out there in the public, prior to reveal, without much camo. Some very notable people on TMC lost bets here being sure that no way will Tesla show the final design in public like that... Yet that is exactly what Tesla did.
It is quite possible Tesla is already driving production-spec Model 3s on public roads with mild camo amounting to not much more than maybe a white or black wrap and some disguising (or removal) of changed parts. In fact, their history combined with the recent news of test production starting suggests they probably are...
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It is 2017 and there is more smartphones, dash cams and what not than people walking around.
So, don't bother.... no picture == no sighting
So, don't bother.... no picture == no sighting
Dan Detweiler
Active Member
Pretty soon people are going to start mis-identifying Ford F-150s for Model 3s in their desire to see one on the road!
Dan
Dan
ModelNforNerd
Active Member
Realistically, we can not know.
I know it seems like Model X ramp-up has taken a decade, but it was only in 2015 when we last saw mules - and only a handful of the hunderd(s) were photographed.
Now we have two recent reports of Model 3 mules being sighted, in white and black that were the colors of almost all Model X mule sightings as well, around the time we know Tesla has said it builds release candidates and starts driving them.
It sounds possible. But of course misidentification or entirely fake info is possible too. I think it is better to conclude we don't know than say it ain't so, when it could be... Enough people were so sure and so wrong about the Model X mules, that should teach us something.
Where were some of the confirmed model X sightings? The only reason I lean towards the sightings being misidentification is the locations of the sightings. To me they don't strike me as being places that offer any sort of testing advantage that would warrant Tesla sending vehicles there to be tested. On the other hand, I guess they could be sending them to these places specifically because people will say what I just did and discount the rumors.Enough people were so sure and so wrong about the Model X mules, that should teach us something.
Bokonon
Title-customizing Member
(emphasis mine)
This is something I'd like to know too. I didn't follow Tesla's early testing of the Model X too closely, but I am very curious as to whether any (confirmed!) sightings of the early mules occurred at any significant distance from Fremont or Hawthorne. My [somewhat unsubstantiated] impression is that Tesla likes to conduct its early testing close to home, but I could be wrong. Can someone who was on mule-watch with the X chime in here with an example?
My thinking has been along these lines too, especially given that there's a week left until Elon said the "early release candidates" would be driving around. It seems unlikely that Tesla would go to the hassle of shipping non-early-RC vehicles broadly around the country at this point if the early-RCs are just around the corner.
Model X was of course most sighted around California, but there were also sightings in Michigan or at least Arizona definitely:
Tesla Model X Off-road Testing in Arizona?
Michigan: Model X Mule Sightings
Also we later learned Tesla had hundred(s) of mules, some in very exotic locations.
Tesla Model X Off-road Testing in Arizona?
Michigan: Model X Mule Sightings
Also we later learned Tesla had hundred(s) of mules, some in very exotic locations.
ModelNforNerd
Active Member
I wonder now....since I'm sure Tesla has a pretty decent database of reservation holders.....
If they just start driving up and down streets near were res holders live, to see if we spot them...?
If they just start driving up and down streets near were res holders live, to see if we spot them...?
WileyTheMan
Peanut Gallery Member
I, along with all the other M3 reservation holders in the south bay, are keeping our eyes (and cameras) peeled for the Wild and Elusive Model 3 RC. I feel like Marty Stouffer.
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