I am unsure what Tesla's policy will be on potential customers requesting custom paint colours, or perhaps asking to use some of the stunning metallic and chromatic paint effects that are now available. When I ordered my Roadster the company said it would be no problem to use any Dupont colour code, although there would have to be an extra charge to do this. I paid the charge and got a spectacular blue/purple metallic colour as a result. One so potent I keep on looking at it and taking photos of it ! Given the style of the Model S, I suspect they don’t want anyone driving a Model S signature around in a 'Very Orange' or Toxic Green Model S just yet, but inevitably people will want custom colours schemes at some point. Below I have used an existing render previously posted on TMC and played around with the colours, contrast, saturation etc. It is not my intention to ruffle any feathers at Tesla, but there are many other people besides myself already beginning to imagine 'what if ..' colour scenarios and whenever I buy a new car I will often spend ages trying out various virtual images.
Let's see a good photo of your Roadster! My understanding is they aren't offering custom paint on the S. I expect this is so they can focus on volume. As you know, the Roadster was a job-shop built car, while the S is assembly line. They have the paint equipment (which I saw on the factory tour and is quite impressive I must say) setup for volume and it's probably quite a pain to switch colors, especially for just one car. I do love your mockups and wish I had more options for the signature S, even for a cost.
Maybe it's something they'll get to at some point once things are up and running without problems for a year or two. Would love a color like your Roadster or the ruby red custom Roadster for Toyota's CEO.
Awesome. Can you add some spinner hubcaps and fuzzy dice to the screenshots for the full effect? (ducks) JK... some of the screenshots looked cool, others were a bit over the top for me, and I'm slightly color blind. Don't imagine it would be a huge deal to buy the regular white model and take it to a reputable paint shop, no?
At the Factory Event the people in the paint shop claimed that they would do custom colors, just not right away.
How about the spray chrome plating? I had it done on some of my Harley parts and it works They can also put certain colors in it to make it metallics http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Up_CLJXRyaM&feature=related Tesla's not going to do it, but it's something to consider if you want something unique
Not sure what happens in the USA, but in Europe the stock Tesla colour swatches have details on the reverse which include Tesla's chosen name for the colour, their own colour reference, and the exact Dupont colour reference. Generally speaking, all car manufacturers seem to name their colours with fancy words even though they are often identical to specific colours used by other makers. Tesla colour names and colour reference numbers can be directly correlated to the range Lotus offer just by the Dupont Code (although the exact colour mix often changes slightly year on year, which is why model year is sometimes important). Once the Dupont code is known a paintshop can look up the exact colour mix, and finishing details, in order to repair cars etc. Here's some direct Tesla colour name and code examples :-
I saw this chromed Mercedes SL600 in Sarasota last year: It will be auctioned off for charity in April. From the local paper:
HEXIS Manufacturer of Sign Vinyl, Digital Printing and Laminates Films. All the colors in which you can vinyl-wrap your car! (chrome also)
As an aside, didn't someone here make a site a while back where you could enter a color code and tint the Model S any color you wanted?
Yup, here it is: TESLA - Model S - Dream Color Maker made by Tomanik. A quick search brought up half a dozen Model S color threads & polls. The most recent thread is Thoughts on Exterior Colors, besides this one.