Purpose of front bumper side air vents?

[henchook]

Can anyone explain the purpose of these side air vents on the front bumper of the model 3?

I know there is a motorized air intake that is used for thermal management of the battery (perhaps this is just on the S) but these have an opening in the back, and it seems like no through-opening or anything in the middle, so the air is just passing through.

So what is the purpose of these side vents?
Better horizontal stability at high speeds? Purely decorative?

 

[KenC]

Probably drag reduction. There's alot of drag created by the front wheel well opening. By diverting air from within the wheel well, via these vents, you can reduce the drag created by the wheel well opening.

 

[Zoomit]

Air curtains. It smooths the flow around the front wheel wells. They're common on many cars today to reduce aero drag

 

[jkirkwood001]

Further to @KenC 's comment, I expect they allow the nose to look "rectangular" but provide a lower aero coefficient than if they weren't there. The nose acts a bit more pointed into the air than it appears visually.

 

[szlats]

^^ These guys nailed it. The outside 'edges' in addition to being aesthetic, could be there to satisfy DoT's requirement for their definition of a wheel well. Some cars have similar vents to these for brake cooling, but those would channel air to the inside of the wheel and around the caliper. These clearly channel air around the outside.

 

[Garlan Garner]

Can anyone explain the purpose of these side air vents on the front bumper of the model 3?

I know there is a motorized air intake that is used for thermal management of the battery (perhaps this is just on the S) but these have an opening in the back, and it seems like no through-opening or anything in the middle, so the air is just passing through.

So what is the purpose of these side vents?
Better horizontal stability at high speeds? Purely decorative?

They look cool.

Much better looking than if they weren't there.

Why does everything need a functional purpose? Some people wear sunglasses at night..lol.