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Model X Mule Sightings
- Thread starter Paul Carter
- Start date
Not exactly a pre-existing bias in my case. I was thinking the same thing until I saw the front, at which point I went "hey, that can't be right." I find it incredibly hard to believe there will be an ugly gap at the front of the hood. They are definitely going to pains to keep the front of the car hidden.
I am certainly in the 'camp of mules' and that these pics are not a representation of a production version, but the question in my mind is....
Given the current stated delivery timeline, shouldn't there be camo production testers out on the road by now, if for nothing more than the prelim road tests for initial production fit and finish?
Given the current stated delivery timeline, shouldn't there be camo production testers out on the road by now, if for nothing more than the prelim road tests for initial production fit and finish?
These are pretty high resolution pics. I don't know if this was established with 100% agreement before, but from this pic it's very clear that the windshield goes all the way to the middle of the roof where the falcon wings open. Presumably the lack of having a transition to metal helps aerodynamics- and I bet it looks awesome from the inside.
This is exactly why the argument that these aren't representative of the production version falls apart. These have to be the release candidates that we are seeing, and they have to be representative of the production version. Otherwise, they can't possibly meet the schedule they have set. We'll know for sure in a matter of weeks.
NigelM
Recovering Member
Feel free to yell "Nah, nah, ne, na. nah" at me later if/ when I'm proven wrong and I'll be duly humble. ;-)
I do think we're seeing some elements start to soldify.....E.g that windscreen sweep looks awesome and not something that anyone would create as a dummy or camo, could it be Gorilla Glass? Also cool if the windscreen wipers are totally hidden now.
On the other hand, Release Candidates would have a better body fit, parts should be color matched, they certainly would have the correct lights (rear and headlights), that nose definitely isn't RC standard and if this is a functioning RC what's with all the cameras and sensors on the inside of the windscreen?
And yes, I agree, we can start counting in weeks rather than months now....hopefully!
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But here's the thing--you've circled the lights, the sensors, the nose cone, and various trim pieces on the rear door.
The lights are covered by some sort of camouflage/tape/vinyl wrap, with cutouts to let the light shine out. That's not just common in the auto industry, it's basically universal. There's no reason to think, based on this pic, that the lights underneath that vinyl are anything other than production units.
The nose, too, appears to be covered by some sort of black vinyl wrapping. What's underneath? It's hard to say, but as with the lights why would we assume it's anything other than the production part?
The fit and finish of the rear door isn't to production tolerance, though I'll tell you that the corresponding trim piece in my production Model S is also misaligned. But if all the other body panels are production spec, why would the door not be?
And yes, there are some cameras inside the vehicle. Those could serve any number of purposes, but again I don't see why they imply anything about the readiness of the body panels.
That windshield is a production spec piece. The fact that it fits so well with everything around it suggests everything around it is production spec, as well.
The lights are covered by some sort of camouflage/tape/vinyl wrap, with cutouts to let the light shine out. That's not just common in the auto industry, it's basically universal. There's no reason to think, based on this pic, that the lights underneath that vinyl are anything other than production units.
The nose, too, appears to be covered by some sort of black vinyl wrapping. What's underneath? It's hard to say, but as with the lights why would we assume it's anything other than the production part?
The fit and finish of the rear door isn't to production tolerance, though I'll tell you that the corresponding trim piece in my production Model S is also misaligned. But if all the other body panels are production spec, why would the door not be?
And yes, there are some cameras inside the vehicle. Those could serve any number of purposes, but again I don't see why they imply anything about the readiness of the body panels.
That windshield is a production spec piece. The fact that it fits so well with everything around it suggests everything around it is production spec, as well.
3s-a-charm
Active Member
bonnie
I play a nice person on twitter.
NigelM
Recovering Member
Could it be that the models we are currently seeing are actual pre-production cars that Tesla has modified with camo and tweaked the alignments of panels to make it look less like a pre-prod and more like a mule?
For all we know these cars could be 98% of what the final car will look like.
If they don't have pre-production cars now then any hope of deliveries in 2015 goes out the window in my opinion.
For all we know these cars could be 98% of what the final car will look like.
If they don't have pre-production cars now then any hope of deliveries in 2015 goes out the window in my opinion.
brucet999
Active Member
It is odd that the car cover in pic one actually shows up aspects of the shape better than the uncovered car. I hadn't noticed before that the door-to-roof transition is not rounded over but sharp, and the A pillars seem to stand proud of the windscreen by an inch or so; maybe for aerodynamic reasons.
I'm confident that they'll deliver first cars end of September / first week of October. Otherwise EM wouldn't have confirmed that X is on track, just a couple of days ago during press telefone conference.
Exciting countdown in the next 10 weeks ahead!
satheesh.net
President | Tesla Owners Club Norway
Rear end
Nice pics! If the rear looks anything close to this, it's fine by me ... :biggrin:
[EDIT:]
Oh, and the green dot looks it's a little to the right from the center. Either there are two (one on each side) or this is some kind of extra sensor they attached for some purpose.
Nice pics! If the rear looks anything close to this, it's fine by me ... :biggrin:
[EDIT:]
Oh, and the green dot looks it's a little to the right from the center. Either there are two (one on each side) or this is some kind of extra sensor they attached for some purpose.
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