What purpose does the cavity behind the front "T" serve?

[Requiem]

I think that is the gun port location when in 007 mode.
View attachment 103686

And we have a winner!

No but seriously though, my money is on cooling/aero. Interested to see what happens to snow and ice in there during the winter, but if there is a heat-emitting radiator down there it probably won't be a problem. After all, most ICE vehicles have an open radiator in the front. Some with bigger openings than others.

 

[Vitold]

Mistery solved

Breathe Easy
Model X is the world’s cleanest SUV on the inside, too. The front fascia is designed with a functional duct that pushes air through the first true HEPA filter system available in an automobile allowing medical-grade air to fill the cabin, no matter what is going on outside.

 

[ecarfan]

@Vitold, you beat me to it. [emoji3] Was going to post that just now. For those who want to know where that quote came from, see Model X Press Kit | Tesla Motors
So now we know what that gap is for. It's not for cooling or aerodynamics (unless it also is and Tesla simply isn't mentioning those additional functions). But my guess is it is strictly for the cabin filter. If you don't pay for the HEPA filter option it's probably still used for the standard cabin air filter.

 

[DDG!]

For those who want to know where that quote came from, see Model X Press Kit | Tesla Motors

Reading through the landing page of the Press Kit, it's clear that Tesla doesn't differentiate between features that are options versus features that are standard on all versions of the X.

That's going to get them into trouble at some stage.

They need to learn the words "available" or "optional," etc.

 

[trils0n]

Here is a decent picture I took today, after a tour with this X's owner. The chrome part is about 3 inches deep, and then behind that there are 3 flat, verticle objects (plates? heat exchangers?) with space in between each with tops that look like the same brushed zinc/aluminum as the interior trim. The cavity is fairly deep -- my hand would have fit entirely in there.

 

[Spidy]

If you don't pay for the HEPA filter option it's probably still used for the standard cabin air filter.

I wouldn't be surprised if the primary air filter is the same on all cars and just the 2nd one is the HEPA filter.

Here is a decent picture I took today, after a tour with this X's owner. The chrome part is about 3 inches deep, and then behind that there are 3 flat, verticle objects (plates? heat exchangers?) with space in between each with tops that look like the same brushed zinc/aluminum as the interior trim. The cavity is fairly deep -- my hand would have fit entirely in there.

Probably to get a better flow and maybe direct it. It will be interesting to see if they actually manage to spread the air over the whole surface of the big filter.

 

[jerry33]

My question is how often are you going to have to clean it out and how easy is it. I can see it filling up in a couple of drives.

 

[sigurdi]

What purpose does the cavity behind the front "T" serve?

Lokking forward to the winter when it get cloged by snow. ;-)

 

[Vitold]

Lokking forward to the winter when it get cloged by snow. ;-)

Since nosecone is slanted down I expect for more air (compared to regular vehicle) to go around the car instead of up, over the hood so the clogging may not be as severe you you predict

I would be more concerned about cats and squirrels...

 

[goneskiian]

I would be more concerned about cats and squirrels...

And small birds.

 

[sigurdi]

Since nosecone is slanted down I expect for more air (compared to regular vehicle) to go around the car instead of up, over the hood so the clogging may not be as severe you you predict

I would be more concerned about cats and squirrels...

I am not sure where you are driving in the snow, I drive on narrow roads and get wet snow thrown up in the lower part og my car form cars in the oposite direction.
We have license plate in the front and it always get clogged with wet snow when the condition is right.
Dry powder snow gets everywhere on and inside any opening on the vehicles, when driving behind a car or a truck.
Some years ago my BMW stopped because the air filter was clogged by snow and yes this was under the hood. ;-)

 

[ecarfan]

Since nosecone is slanted down I expect for more air (compared to regular vehicle) to go around the car instead of up, over the hood so the clogging may not be as severe you you predict
I would be more concerned about cats and squirrels...

A week ago I had the privilege of seeing Bonnie's new X up close. I felt inside the gab below the hood lip next to the Tesla logo. There are slats in there that would prevent any animal larger than a small mouse from getting inside.

 

[bwa]

A week ago I had the privilege of seeing Bonnie's new X up close. I felt inside the gab below the hood lip next to the Tesla logo. There are slats in there that would prevent any animal larger than a small mouse from getting inside.

This means that, among other things, the spaces people park their X's in should be relatively free of creatures equal to or smaller than a small mouse. Otherwise it could be a Raiders of the Lost Ark moment or other type of event. I'm still not certain if other parts of the vehicle have something like a "cockpit zone" that has more comprehensive barriers that are safer from this.

This dovetails nicely into my theory that all EV car garages should become "more interior than they used to be as ICE garages": more sealed from the elements, more insulated, more sanitary, more air conditioned to room temperature. The car will like it better (faster and more kosher battery operations), you will like it better (faster, more predictable, and more comfortable operations), and it keeps the theory of Snakes and Mice relatively constant with the interior of the house. I still maintain there needs to be an air barrier between garage and home, to avoid off-gassing of various car components (batteries, electronics, drivetrain & tires, latent ICE leechings) from entering the habitated part of the house, such as a good heat recovery air ventilation system (Heat recovery ventilation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia), something you should also consider for ventilating other parts of your home (since I count at least 3 places that need dirty air expelled: bathroom, kitchen, and the new air conditioned EV garage). Of course, I see this as easy since I'm in construction; this means that EV owners will have to put this further down on their "wish lists" than I would, but it should be there nonetheless, in my opinion. Otherwise, these "small creatures" (of all types) will just willy nilly come in from the regular garage large venting areas (garage door, etc.), and make refuge/habitat/etc. Hopefully, I'm completely off base here and this is not a problem at all, and you won't end up with Finch eggs in your frunk (or other things).

 

[bwa]

Reading through the landing page of the Press Kit, it's clear that Tesla doesn't differentiate between features that are options versus features that are standard on all versions of the X.

That's going to get them into trouble at some stage.

They need to learn the words "available" or "optional," etc.

Agreed. One of the dangers of pricing options after designing the features.

Having said that, is there much insulation from press kit claims being applied to sales contracts (implied or explicit)? I'm always on the "false advertising" claim bandwagon if a claim has been made that it constitutes a part of the sales contract because it is "as advertised" and part of the whole chain of purchase; I hate it when lawyers say you can "write away" false advertising because to me an advertisement is a statement of product specifications that when purchased will equal the advertised claims. There has to be some room for saying "yes that is available as advertised but you can get bigger or smaller options for bigger or smaller prices", but it can't be a bait-and-switch kind of thing like many corrupt thieving companies are guilty of. Of course, all of this stuff is pushing various boundaries to some extent or other, and at some point you just sort of have to deal with the world as is. They don't document the potholes in San Jose, but perhaps they should, but if they didn't, it is a point where the car company can be allowed to say that the pot holes aren't in Palo Alto and Fremont or something like that, so they failed to recognize the San Jose potholes in the advertising of how it drives along the roadways. There have to be practical limits to these theories: there's only 8,000,000,000 living people in the world to work on these problems, so not everything will be solved simultaneously.