Motor Trend live at Gigafactory with Model 3 today!

[geoffreak]

I thought AWD is faster than RWD? The guy was saying 0-60 in less than 6 seconds. I thought that was standard. I guess if RWD is 5.9 seconds and AWD is 4 seconds it's still less than 6 seconds so technically correct.

Yeah, I think they got the two things mixed up. Under 6 seconds for the base model and AWD is available.

 

[Snow Drift]

I thought AWD is faster than RWD? The guy was saying 0-60 in less than 6 seconds. I thought that was standard. I guess if RWD is 5.9 seconds and AWD is 4 seconds it's still less than 6 seconds so technically correct.

Well, it depends on how you interpret the answer.

The MT guy asked if it was 6 seconds or less? Someone (Tesla?) responded, yes, per the reveal.

Now, the reveal said 0-60 under 6 seconds. This is true for both RWD and AWD.

At the reveal they said the AWD was faster than the RWD. That does not mean that AWD isn't 0-60 in less than 5.8 seconds (or faster). All we know is they are all less than 6 seconds.

 

[Az_Rael]

I will definitely be going with the smaller tires. I especially dont want a staggered setup - had that on my Lexus which translated to ~$1000/ year in tires since they only got about 25k on them and that's how much I drove in a year.

 

[brianman]

20'' (square?) wheels on the silver 3 they are showing.

245 front, 275 rear is what I heard.

 

[Audrey]

This article is terrible. It's poorly written and the Apple fanboy word choice brings the quality down further. Some of their "specs" and "stats" are clearly wrong, as others here have already noted. The constant "FOLLOW US" social media ads are annoying. Sure, add that to the end of the video. But a picture in the middle of the photos gallery and a three minute "teaser" just to say that? No; just no. The only nice things about this video were seeing the exterior in a well lit space and the door handles.

This article is like water in the desert. Would I accept a drink from the devil? Probably. But I wouldn't have to be happy about it!

 

[HanSolo]

It was hard to get past all of the typos in that article. I had no idea the Gigafactory was that huge. I hope to see more pictures once it is finished and making batteries.

 

[Boourns]

Some things I noticed from the updates in the written article:

On the Gigafactory:

We were going to livestream the vehicle exiting the building, but the doorway – a standard double office doorway – is a pretty tight squeeze. The move required Tesla employees act as spotters, and we were asked not to get their faces on camera, so we did the next best thing: move to the roof for a better vantage point.

Stepping off the carpet onto hard concrete, we entered a huge room with only a regular arrangement of posts to break up the volume. This shared space appeared to combine the factory floor and office area. A few conference rooms and high-top tables separated by dividers – ostensibly for meetings large and small – sat at one side of the building next to rows of low-walled cubicles. Just beyond began the aisles of workstations set aside for manufacturing – with no separation from the beeps and buzzes for the cubicle dwellers.

On our way to the elevator that would take us to the roof, we walked through this light manufacturing area and saw workers assembling what appeared to be refrigerators – presumably the industrial-use Powerpack battery units. Instead of automation or fancy robots, we saw carts, drills, and good-old-fashioned American elbow grease being applied.

We strolled slowly across the vast white rooftop, while waiting for our eyes and minds to adjust to the seemingly unending plain in from of us.

“Unless you’re up here you don’t really know what it is,” said our PR guide. “People say it looks like a salt lake.” That is exactly what it looks like.

The crazy part is this immense field represents only 14 percent of the area of the finished Gigafactory roof. It is every size superlative in the dictionary. You can’t really appreciate the immensity of the building until you see the scale model down in the lobby. For reference, we chatted with another employee who said that some Tesla workers exercise by running around the building, doing “Giga laps.” A current Giga-lap measures 1.4 miles – but will be closer to a marathon when the project is complete.

The Gigafactory is currently is only about 14 percent complete, yet its footprint so far is about 800,000 square feet, with 1.9 million square feet of manufacturing space spread across four stories, according the local newspaper, the Reno Gazette-Journal. When completed in 2020, the Gigafactory’s footprint will be 5.8 million square feet, or about the same area as 100 football fields.

Currently no cells or batteries are being produced at the Gigafactory, they’re shipped in from Tesla’s Fremont, California facility. Workers at the Gigafactory are assembling Tesla Powerwall battery packs (for home use) and Powerpacks (for industrial use).

On the 3 itself:

Reynolds and social media lead Chris Bacarella inform me that this is the same Model 3 that was used for rides at the Tesla Design center reveal.

“It looks much better in person; pictures don’t do it justice,” said Motor Trend staff photographer Robin Trajano, without one trace of irony. “The proportions don’t really work in picture but in person looks really good. I wouldn’t mind owning one.”

 

[Skotty]

Gigaroof!

 

[bmenius]

We would need to know what size floor tiles they are.

They are 12" x 24". Unfortunately, none of the indoor photos are from an angle which would allow us to figure the hypotenuse of the triangle made by the 3 relative to the 90° angle in the floor tiles. A photo from a balcony or terrace would have been the “money shot.”

 

[TEG]

Do you say Tesla (with an S sound) or "Tezla" (with a soft Z)? Seems Elon and the guy talking now say Tezla.

Elon has a residual bit of South African aczent...

 

[TEG]

Pretty sure he has access to a G-V.....

G-V = Gulfstream-V ?

He has a Falcon 900...
http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/photos/5/1/1/1243115.jpg

 

[plug]

If anyone is on social media with Motor Trend, could you have them take some measurements of the length and width and settle the question (or at least take a perfect side profile shot with something for reference in size)?....

I put one at post #133 in the Dimensions thread for this very reason. Somebody with good measuring tools could get a good guesstimate using the wheels for reference.

 

[LaCostaRacer]

I thought AWD is faster than RWD? The guy was saying 0-60 in less than 6 seconds. I thought that was standard. I guess if RWD is 5.9 seconds and AWD is 4 seconds it's still less than 6 seconds so technically correct.

The motor trend guys really didn't know much. We all heard the base model will be under 6 seconds a couple weeks ago. The AWD variant is not base and will be much quicker. That's when I lost my confidence in their reporting abilities. They seemed to be very interested in the door handles though!

Seems like they should have thought about either using a tap measure or walk foot-to-foot to get the length of the car. Tesla seems an expert at frustrating our efforts on determining the length of the car.

 

[vortexz]

I like the front end more and more !

 

[Wolfsburg]

Well the current front end still isn't quite a slamdunk for me but I have to say my opinion of it has improved! I also have to reverse my opinion that the Tesla mustache would look better. No it wouldn't. Additionally, I tend to find silver cars rather boring and bland, but the Model 3 certainly wears the color well. I had ruled out silver as a color choice for me, but I may have to revisit that too. That photoshoot has definitely made me re-evaluate some opinions I had.

 

[Xminus6]

After the video I think I've changed my mind and the front end is great as is.

I agree. The front ends lines flow better when viewed from regular eye level rather than straight on at a low point of view.

 

[larmor]

I like the front end more and more !

That is some serious access time for MT!

 

[Jeff4155]

I would definitely go with 18" wheels, the 20" looks great, but not at all practical given our South African roads and judging the 3/5 series BMW they all have standard rims from 17-18" so I would think Tesla would do the same, including the AWD version would be a nice to have, but not necessary in a country that gets half an inch snow once every 3 years, then again if it makes a positive difference to the distance the car can travel I am sure it would be the top seller.

 

[Zoltrix77]

Noticed the front guards (fenders) are directed connected to the A pillars, would be very surprised if that made it to production, probably just body filler for looks at the moment.

Rear bumper also seamless with body, it's by far from production.

 

[ModelNforNerd]

G-V = Gulfstream-V ?

He has a Falcon 900...
http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/photos/5/1/1/1243115.jpg

Nice. He could have made it out he wanted to. Lol