What kind of Rear Trunk do we expect on the T≡SLA Model ≡?

[Brad_NC]

You all are so funny. You are talking about a car that is currently at the high level conceptual stage. There is no prototype and no drawings of the car. Just a concept. Based on the Tesla's past performance they are usually 3-4 years late on delivery. Deliveries will probably not start until 2019/2020. That is 3-4 years from now and you are talking about details like how big the trunk will be, whether it will have rear facing seats and how far it will go. Do you understand this is all conceptual now and Tesla doesn't even know the answers to these questions. Come back in two years and there may be a prototype.

I agree with Darryl (based on my past posts, you can tell, right? :wink. We haven't seen any pictures or spy shots of the Model ≡ yet. Surely a physical prototype cannot possibly exist. I mean think about it... there is no possible way that Tesla could keep their lips closed that tight. For that matter, I don't believe in anything that I have not seen in person... Obama does not exist, the Eiffle Tower does not exist, a Million Dollars does not exist (these things are just figments of my imagination... don't make jokes about my imagination).

But just to clear something up, Darryl, if Tesla is "usually 3-4 years late on delivery," why are you suggesting that the Model ≡ will be delivered in "2019/2020?" That's only 2-3 years late. Your math doesn't add up.

 

[ZAKEEUS]

You all are so funny. You are talking about a car that is currently at the high level conceptual stage. There is no prototype and no drawings of the car. Just a concept. Based on the Tesla's past performance they are usually 3-4 years late on delivery. Deliveries will probably not start until 2019/2020. That is 3-4 years from now and you are talking about details like how big the trunk will be, whether it will have rear facing seats and how far it will go. Do you understand this is all conceptual now and Tesla doesn't even know the answers to these questions. Come back in two years and there may be a prototype.

Their past performance was a proof of concept vehicle, followed by the first vehicle they ever built from the group up, and then the model X which they have admitted that they put too much new stuff in. The model 3 should be a different ballgame.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Is there absolutely zero chance of rear facing seats? I know, I know...20% smaller and all that, but 0% it will seat more than 5? If there was some way to make it happen, that would sure be great for a large number of middle-class families who aren't going to spend money on S and X, but want seating for more than 5 and want a Tesla for safety, convenience, etc. I haven't seen any discussion on if it were possible, so this thread seemed appropriate to ask if WERE possible to have them in the back. Thus far, Elon has been great in catering to families.

No chance. Chance of a 3rd row option with the Y, I think, since that'd have more appeal elsewhere in the world.

 

[Twiglett]

I agree with Darryl (based on my past posts, you can tell, right? :wink. We haven't seen any pictures or spy shots of the Model ≡ yet. Surely a physical prototype cannot possibly exist. I mean think about it... there is no possible way that Tesla could keep their lips closed that tight. For that matter, I don't believe in anything that I have not seen in person... Obama does not exist, the Eiffle Tower does not exist, a Million Dollars does not exist (these things are just figments of my imagination... don't make jokes about my imagination)..

Thing is - how many "spy shots" did we get of the Model S or X before the initial reveal. Pretty much nothing.
Which is exactly what to expect. Spy shots come from road testing, something that doesn't occur with prototypes.
On both launches they had folks taking controlled test drives, no reason to expect anything different here - apart from a huge dose of pessimism maybe.
For some folks the bucket is half full, has a hole in the bottom and is pouring water over their feet

 

[Brad_NC]

Thing is - how many "spy shots" did we get of the Model S or X before the initial reveal. Pretty much nothing.
Which is exactly what to expect. Spy shots come from road testing, something that doesn't occur with prototypes.
On both launches they had folks taking controlled test drives, no reason to expect anything different here - apart from a huge dose of pessimism maybe.
For some folks the bucket is half full, has a hole in the bottom and is pouring water over their feet

I agree with everything you said. You might not have caught my sarcasm... I realize it's hard to interpret that in text.

I truly expect that by now they have been through multiple drivable prototypes, and that we will see someone (probably Elon) delivered to stage via Model 3 Autopilot (I think they'll have lines painted on the stage to accomplish it).

 

[Twiglett]

I agree with everything you said. You might not have caught my sarcasm... I realize it's hard to interpret that in text.

I truly expect that by now they have been through multiple drivable prototypes, and that we will see someone (probably Elon) delivered to stage via Model 3 Autopilot (I think they'll have lines painted on the stage to accomplish it).

I'd love to see that happen
I know I have an optimistic view of what the reveal will be - I just don't think Tesla will waste the opportunity.
They have something up their collective sleeve that they aren't sure they want to release, but its not going to be what the thing looks like.
From the JB comments it sounds more like the option level they can fit into the base model, and given that they are trying to turn the regular car sales model on its head I would suspect something that is usually a high margin option becoming part of base.
I would love that to be AP, but its very hard to tell at this stage. We all know Elon said there would be fewer "toys" but I don't think he sees AP as a toy, it's much more fundamental to him.

 

[S'toon]

You all are so funny. You are talking about a car that is currently at the high level conceptual stage. There is no prototype and no drawings of the car. Just a concept. Based on the Tesla's past performance they are usually 3-4 years late on delivery. Deliveries will probably not start until 2019/2020. That is 3-4 years from now and you are talking about details like how big the trunk will be, whether it will have rear facing seats and how far it will go. Do you understand this is all conceptual now and Tesla doesn't even know the answers to these questions. Come back in two years and there may be a prototype.

Stop Assuming Tesla's Model 3 Will Be Late

The initial Roadster was delayed several times due to production challenges, and there was even a price increase that didn't sit too well with early customers who had already put money down to reserve the electric sports car. Relatively speaking, the Model S was mostly on time, although the production ramp took a lot longer to build and lower-capacity variants were delayed. Model X was arguably the worst offender of the trio, launching a full 2 years late after numerous delays.

This track record of tardiness is largely why some analysts, investors, and consumers are expecting the forthcoming Model 3 to similarly be late. Here's why that assumption could be misplaced.

Three's company
First off, you need to consider why each of Tesla's past three vehicles have been delayed in order to assess whether those underlying reasons are even relevant to the Model 3.

<snip>

Simply put, no one had ever built a car like the Roadster before, Tesla had to learn how to ramp manufacturing with the Model S, and the Model X was overly ambitious. None of the above apply to Model 3.

<snip>

Full article at:
http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/02/13/stop-assuming-teslas-model-3-will-be-late.aspx

 

[mikevbf]

Darryl has been posting the same pessimistic message across multiple threads today. Whether he is right or wrong in assuming that, it is just a matter of 4 weeks before we find out. I'd expect Musk to tease everyone on Twitter a day or two prior to the reveal, though.

Coming to the trunk, the Cd requirements of the design will have a huge impact on the trunk design. It is easy for us to predict the rough shape of it. It will be a replica of Model S trunk. This is because the most aerodynamic rear for a vehicle is when the roofline slopes down to the back of the car, while the sides (between the B & C pillars) of the upper half of the car progressively get narrow leading back (subtler than roof slope). You see both of these design characteristics on the Model S rear. There is no reason not to use the same effective shape for the rear of the Model 3. If anything, it is probably part of Tesla's design philosophy at this point, as you see the same characteristics on Model X as well.

+1 Tesloid

 

[EcoHeliGuy]

I agree the roadster was a proof of concept, the Model S was proof of Tesla and manufacturing, the Model X was proof of scalability. The Model 3 has all that behind it. Model 3 is proof of the Masses.

Do remember during the Model S, tesla had to produce the car and factory and distribution. Really the car was no the only part of what was late. The model X was late because they needed gear up manufacturing of a new model on the same assembly line as the Model S without effecting the model s production. This was a large feat that they get 0 credit for. All those robots needed to be programmed for 2 different cars.

The Model 3 gets its own production line and already has a company and distribution behind it. Final cost is what will delay a model 3

 

[Twiglett]

The Model 3 gets its own production line and already has a company and distribution behind it. Final cost is what will delay a model 3

Hence the reason that the higher optioned cars being delivered first. They will have to get the numbers up to be able to economically deliver a stripped base model.
They pretty much said that in the earnings call.

 

[Darryl]

I agree with everything you said. You might not have caught my sarcasm... I realize it's hard to interpret that in text.
I truly expect that by now they have been through multiple drivable prototypes, and that we will see someone (probably Elon) delivered to stage via Model 3 Autopilot (I think they'll have lines painted on the stage to accomplish it).

During Elon's speeches in both Paris and Hong Kong over the last month he said there will NOT be a prototype at the March release only high-level conceptual drawings. He also said the car will be a luxury sedan (vs the Bolt which is a sub-compact) 20% smaller than the Model S. It will not be financially feasible to make them out of aluminum therefore they will be heavier and not have the torque of the current Tesla. He also tweeted today saying the car's base price without any ootions will be $35k and will go 200 miles. Based on Tesla's past performance for all three cars they have produced to date and considering they are not at the prototype stage I would expect they will be delivered two to three years past the end of 2017 date. More like 2019 or 2020.

On a technical engineering forum they indicated the current batteries have reached maximum compactly. At most they could squeeze another 5% making the max 95 vs the 90 today. The Model 3 will have to use the new battery they will be developing at the Gigafactory. The Gigafactory is over a year late and will not startup for at least 12-18 months. The batteries for the current Tesla's are made at the Feemont factory on the upper floor.

 

[gregincal]

During Elon's speeches in both Paris and Hong Kong over the last month he said there will NOT be a prototype at the March release only high-level conceptual drawings.

Point to one quote where he said there will be no prototype. I bet you can't, you will point to some vague statement that you choose to interpret that way (like the France one where a questioner asked when pictures of the Model 3 would be available, and he stated that they would be available when it was revealed). We'll see what happens, but the whole thing of "high level conceptual drawings" you are making up out of thin air.

 

[S3XY]

Point to one quote where he said there will be no prototype. I bet you can't, you will point to some vague statement that you choose to interpret that way (like the France one where a questioner asked when pictures of the Model 3 would be available, and he stated that they would be available when it was revealed). We'll see what happens, but the whole thing of "high level conceptual drawings" you are making up out of thin air.

Sort of a high level conceptual belief of high level conceptual drawings. :biggrin:

 

[EcoHeliGuy]

Point to one quote where he said there will be no prototype. I bet you can't, you will point to some vague statement that you choose to interpret that way (like the France one where a questioner asked when pictures of the Model 3 would be available, and he stated that they would be available when it was revealed). We'll see what happens, but the whole thing of "high level conceptual drawings" you are making up out of thin air.

Yup, Elon has stated he is unsure if they will show the car, or keep their cards close. That means there are rolling prototypes. And because they are electric, they can be rolling indoors.

 

[Model 3]

Yup, Elon has stated he is unsure if they will show the car, or keep their cards close.

No, he did not say that. He said that he was unsure on if they should show all the cards at once March 31st or keep some of the cards close (when the do unveil/show us the car) until later. E.g. they will show us the car, but they may still have some surprises for us for later. Just like with the Model X.

 

[Twiglett]

During Elon's speeches in both Paris and Hong Kong over the last month he said there will NOT be a prototype at the March release only high-level conceptual drawings. He also said the car will be a luxury sedan (vs the Bolt which is a sub-compact) 20% smaller than the Model S. It will not be financially feasible to make them out of aluminum therefore they will be heavier and not have the torque of the current Tesla. He also tweeted today saying the car's base price without any ootions will be $35k and will go 200 miles. Based on Tesla's past performance for all three cars they have produced to date and considering they are not at the prototype stage I would expect they will be delivered two to three years past the end of 2017 date. More like 2019 or 2020.

On a technical engineering forum they indicated the current batteries have reached maximum compactly. At most they could squeeze another 5% making the max 95 vs the 90 today. The Model 3 will have to use the new battery they will be developing at the Gigafactory. The Gigafactory is over a year late and will not startup for at least 12-18 months. The batteries for the current Tesla's are made at the Feemont factory on the upper floor.

He didn't say there would not be a prototype - talk about a deliberately negative spin on things
He answered a question that asked "when will we see pictures of Model 3" he replied at the "March release" - answering the asked question, not saying the they would only release pictures.
At the earnings call he said they were undecided what to keep close the their chest and what to show - again, no reference to not showing a prototype.
Gigafactory is not a year late and will not have delayed startup because its already been producing powerwalls which have been delivered, so not even slightly 12-18 months behind schedule, more like ahead of schedule.

 

[Brad_NC]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"If you could make God bleed, people would cease to believe in Him. There will be blood in the water, the sharks will come. All I have to do is sit back and watch as the world consumes you." -Ivan Vanko[/FONT]


[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Dang, you guys are kicking Darryl when he's down. I only meant to poke him for fun... y'all are giving him a serious beating over his understanding / belief of Tesla's current position with he Model ≡'s state of design / completion.[/FONT]

 

[EcoHeliGuy]

In today's world of the Information Age, you need to bring facts to the table [emoji851]

 

[Brad_NC]

So true!

 

[EcoHeliGuy]

Anyway back to the OP's question. I would not be surprised it there isn't a trunk. VW Beatle didn't have one and I think that may have been the most sold vehicle for awhile?