Model 3 Mule Sightings

[Az_Rael]

Nicer is a matter of opinion though... I, for example, would not like wood in my car.

I want the interior of my car to look like it's straight out of a futuristic sci-fi film, the outside should still look like a car though.

Fair enough. I am not a huge fan of wood either. I have the carbon fiber in my S. Our Audi has very nice brushed aluminum trim. That is all personal taste in the end.

So upon further reflection, I am going to fall on the creature comforts = luxurious then. Not having power seats or an adjustable lumbar support in my $35k Volt got really, really old after a while even though I had leather seats and the finishes were nice.

 

[SoCalGuy]

I hate to say it at the risk of provoking more debate but the fog lights look better on the alphas they're longer and the amber placement just looks right...

 

[melindav]

Looking at a large photo of the latest blue T3 on Electrik looks like Continental tires? Kind of hard to read, any tire wizards out there that know by looking at it, what specific model of tire they're using? Maybe we can check out the performance ratings and pricing of them get a little new info that way.

I looked thru most all of the passenger Continental tires on a couple sites last night to see if I could spot one that look like it may have the same tread and didn't fine a match.
I have Continental ExtremeContact on my current car and love them. If the stock tires are anything close to these, I will be quite happy

 

[ryanjm]

These new pics of the blue RC are reminding me that front license plates are going to ruin the look of the front of this beautiful car (as they do for most nice cars, IMO).

So yeah...if any CHP officers are on this board and see my future Model 3 without a front plate, please don't pull me over and give me a fix-it ticket.

 

[Twincam23]

These new pics of the blue RC are reminding me that front license plates are going to ruin the look of the front of this beautiful car (as they do for most nice cars, IMO).

So yeah...if any CHP officers are on this board and see my future Model 3 without a front plate, please don't pull me over and give me a fix-it ticket.

 

[1208]

Creases creases creasessssssssssssssssssssssssssss

 

[Thomas Edison]

Kind of makes me wish I lived in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico. North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, or West Virginia where it's not required to have a front plate.

These new pics of the blue RC are reminding me that front license plates are going to ruin the look of the front of this beautiful car (as they do for most nice cars, IMO).

So yeah...if any CHP officers are on this board and see my future Model 3 without a front plate, please don't pull me over and give me a fix-it ticket.

 

[Model 3]

I'm sure they heard some feedback. But, as is said, you can't please everyone. I've yet to see anything suggesting that the feedback was overwhelmingly or even majority negative.

"No one" thought at that time that they would actually go for that interior in the production version. I thought that this was just a temporary mockup as they was not done designing the final interior, or did not want to revile it yet. So I did not think about giving any feedback on that clearly unfinished part of the car. And I do not think I'm alone in that...

 

[tomas]

"No one" thought at that time that they would actually go for that interior in the production version. I thought that this was just a temporary mockup as they was not done designing the final interior, or did not want to revile it yet. So I did not think about giving any feedback on that clearly unfinished part of the car. And I do not think I'm alone in that...

By "that interior", exactly what do you mean? It seems those bemoaning the "interior" are really talking about the lack of a traditional instrument cluster and the non integrated display. Is that what you mean, or is there more to your concern?

 

[garsh]

That "alternate reflection" that you're seeing on the blue prototype doesn't end where you drew it. It curves back down and to the left. It seems pretty obvious to me that it is a reflection of a line on the road. The original prototype crease - if followed to the fog light - continues to the underside line of the fog light. The reflection you traced on the blue car intersects the fog light itself, if you ignore the whole "curving back to the left" aspect as you did.

I hate agreeing with Garlan, but the nose really was tweaked.

Take the photo from yesterday, for instance. The first line your eyes follow is the reflection, but if you look closely, there is another line visible, and if you trace that, it's exactly the same as the old prototype. Reflections play tricks on the eyes. I want a shot in good lighting, no reflections, and straight on front/side views (not asking for much).

 

[Model 3]

By "that interior", exactly what do you mean? It seems those bemoaning the "interior" are really talking about the lack of a traditional instrument cluster and the non integrated display. Is that what you mean, or is there more to your concern?

Yes, I was talking about both the missing information console in front of the driver, the non integrated display that I could not see would pass any crash testing with 5 stars and the unfinished console between the front seats. In other words: everything in front of or between the front seats. I did not pay attention on the inside of the doors or the interior in the back in what I already had concluded had to be an unfinished interior.

 

[Garlan Garner]

That "alternate reflection" that you're seeing on the blue prototype doesn't end where you drew it. It curves back down and to the left. It seems pretty obvious to me that it is a reflection of a line on the road. The original prototype crease - if followed to the fog light - continues to the underside line of the fog light. The reflection you traced on the blue car intersects the fog light itself, if you ignore the whole "curving back to the left" aspect as you did.

I hate agreeing with Garlan, but the nose really was tweaked.

 

[Reciprocity]

These new pics of the blue RC are reminding me that front license plates are going to ruin the look of the front of this beautiful car (as they do for most nice cars, IMO).

So yeah...if any CHP officers are on this board and see my future Model 3 without a front plate, please don't pull me over and give me a fix-it ticket.

I have the Torklift no drill plate for my Model X, it lowers the location of the plate and of course does not require drilling holes. With no frame around the plate it kind of just floats there. It uses compression to attached to the grill deep in cutout on the bottom:

 

[Reciprocity]

Another view with a front plate an overlay for sizing:

 

[flamingoezz]

Design, attention to detail, and materials. they flunk the design part. there isn't much to add detail to so they can only get half credit for this one if they do some ncie seat stitching and soft materials on doors + dash. I think they'll pass on quality of materials.

Interior will beat a toyota, but not most entry level luxury cars.

Curious what makes a cars interior luxurious. .

 

[melindav]

Kind of makes me wish I lived in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico. North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, or West Virginia where it's not required to have a front plate.

Really? I think I'll keep with ptld and a front plate. (And that being after the most miserable winter ever!)

 

[AnxietyRanger]

I know people are seeing this, and I see what you're talking about, but until I see a shot without reflections, I'm skeptical. Take the photo from yesterday, for instance. The first line your eyes follow is the reflection, but if you look closely, there is another line visible, and if you trace that, it's exactly the same as the old prototype. Reflections play tricks on the eyes. I want a shot in good lighting, no reflections, and straight on front/side views (not asking for much).

@McHoffa I still can't agree. As per #1512, the reflections follow the crease. That's what they do. I'm not sure we are seeing what you claim we are seeing either, the new crease goes lower than your exaggeration.

See how they do here - new and old crease clearly visible. Even if you assume the crease isn't quite as up as you draw, to account for reflection inaccuracies, no way is the new crease not turning earlier and thus over the foglight...

Besides, this is not just about the crease. It is the fact that gut feeling alone tells many of us these noses are different. When you combine that with the obvious evidence such as the black image below, IMO it is quite convincing.

New - crease turning somewhere over the foglight, not at its edge:

Old - crease turning at inner edge of foglight:

 

[Az_Rael]

See how they do here - new and old crease clearly visible. Even if you assume the crease isn't quite as up as you draw, to account for reflection inaccuracies, no way is the new crease not turning earlier and thus over the foglight...

You are assuming the fog lights haven't changed in any way, which we can see they have based on the location of the amber light. So we don't know if the new one is longer, shorter or what compared to the prototype.

 

[AnxietyRanger]

This is what I mean. In the right conditions with the right super reflective paint (like blue or black) the reflections can cause your eyes to follow lines that don't exist. I just want a straight on shot and side shot in less reflective conditions.

Nothing wrong with wanting that, I want that too - and I agree in certain cases reflections certainly can play with you.

That said, I think overall every single image I've seen (or nearly) of the prototype nose looks like a tighter turning, higher, flatter face - and every (or nearly) of the production mule looks like a shallower turning, lower, less duckfaced nose... and that to my is intuitively a very powerful additional evidence.

I think I've developed a pretty keen eye on mule hunting and intuitively it feels that Tesla did tune the nose and the tail of this thing, no matter how subtly.

I could not, in good conscience claim the two noses below are tha same, even if I tried. It seems plain as day to me that Tesla tuned down the duckface, probably because it was a little controversial.

The "duckface" has become smaller, less pronounced.

New:

Old:

 

[ohmman]

I honestly see what both sides of the argument are saying. The ones who see a change have some good photo evidence to support their claim. However, I also see that the reflections aren't necessarily of flat surfaces. They are reflecting roadways and sky, which can indeed skew the way it looks since there's a horizon in the mix. To me, the latest blue shot looks like there has been no change, but other black ones seem like there has been a change. It's interesting to me that people feel strongly one way or another, because it really seems slightly ambiguous to me.

I don't know which group should be nicknamed "The Creasers."