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What will separate S from 3?

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Folks with same attitude as newtman, you are dreaming if you think Tesla would limit the range of the Model 3 merely to satisfy Model S owners. Tesla has and will have EV competition with possibly the single most important feature being range. They'd be shooting themselves in the foot.

You're putting words in my mouth. The S has far more room for a battery and with a much higher price point it's more economically feasible for tesla to put larger/more exotic batteries in it. It has nothing to do with artificially limiting range.
 
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Ironically, GM has the popular Mokka design, but chose to go with a Toyota front on the Bolt:

2560px-Opel_Mokka_1.4_Turbo_ecoFLEX_Innovation_%E2%80%93_Frontansicht%2C_20._Oktober_2012%2C_Heiligenhaus.jpg
 
Agreed... Or at least the S will lose a far greater share. I and several Tesla owners have discussed buying a model three versus a model S all of us plan to buy a model three. I personally think it looks better with sharper lines and that awesome Glass windshield plus it will be much lighter and therefore have better range given the same battery size. I just don't see why I would buy a model S base price that is double the price of the model three when they are very comparable currently.

The market for the S/X is just as big as for the other cars in the same price range. Audi sells A8s even though you could buy a A4 for half the price, why would it be different with the Model S/X compared to Model 3/Y ?
 
The market for the S/X is just as big as for the other cars in the same price range. Audi sells A8s even though you could buy a A4 for half the price, why would it be different with the Model S/X compared to Model 3/Y ?

It's a platform question. Cars of similar wheelbase will be built on the same platform. The model S was pretty much designed by 2010.

The model X is presumably the premium platform that continues on. The oldest platform will get dropped a year or two after Tesla assures buyers that they have no plans to drop the current model S.
 
The S has far more room for a battery and with a much higher price point it's more economically feasible for tesla to put larger/more exotic batteries in it.
lol, the only thing that makes sense in that argument is physical room for the battery. You'd use the exact same tech across platforms of course. That does not increase production cost! And people would readily pay for the increased capacity as that's the #1 option upgrade.
 
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lol, the only thing that makes sense in that argument is physical room for the battery. You'd use the exact same tech across platforms of course. That does not increase production cost! And people would readily pay for the increased capacity as that's the #1 option upgrade.

How does the height of the model S battery pack compare to the height of the model 3 battery pack?
 
Ironically, GM has the popular Mokka design, but chose to go with a Toyota front on the Bolt.

That's the strange thing, why don't they make a car that they know everybody will like ? Just take a look at the Toyota Mirai/Prius, two of the ugliest cars ever created.

The only reason i can think of that makes any sense is that they'd rather sell other more profitable cars instead.
 
The S is available with the larger rear motor that puts down a lot more power to the ground. The 3 employs an iteration of the S's smaller front motor. It's unknown whether the "P" trims of the Mod3 will be equipped with the larger rear motor as well, or just tweaked versions of the stock motors.
 
That's the strange thing, why don't they make a car that they know everybody will like ? Just take a look at the Toyota Mirai/Prius, two of the ugliest cars ever created.

The only reason i can think of that makes any sense is that they'd rather sell other more profitable cars instead.

The locally unpopular Bob Lutz explained: A group of 50-something senior auto execs are poor at guessing what 20-somethings think is cool.
 
Nope. Straubel gave the stat on the number of parts shared between the vehicles. They built a new skateboard, and the car primarily share dash components.
I would be interested in reading your source for that information, because everything I've seen says the Model X is built on the Model S platform.

From the Car & Driver link;

"Built alongside the Model S in Fremont, California, the X shares much with that hatchback, including significant parts of the chassis and the aluminum structure, plus the electric motors and the battery pack."
 
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Unknown at this point, however it would've been in Tesla's best interest to maximize the available storage space. They have learned some things in battery storage/placement design since the Model S, and I'm sure these were factored in.

You "lol", yet you don't know the answer? You have also forgotten pack energy density. The pack is structural, so has Tesla improved available cell volume within a given pack volume?

My guess is that the gen 2.5 platform, the model X, was designed to accept the new R&D that is going into the model X. The model S was born well before Tesla knew what they were doing with the model 3.

If Tesla wasn't willing to tweak the model S platform to make the model X, how much effort is Tesla willing to put into the current car? The answer probably depends on model S sales after the model 3 release.

The Tesla ideal is probably a new Model SX on the model X skateboard. But Tesla likely has some hard choices to make due to limited development capacity. They simply can not develop every model and model progression that makes good sense.
 
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The locally unpopular Bob Lutz explained: A group of 50-something senior auto execs are poor at guessing what 20-somethings think is cool.

But as you said, GM makes the Mokka. And Nissan/Renault makes the Clio. And yet we get the Bolt, Leaf when they choose to make an electric car.

I have some understanding for the Leaf since it came out some time ago and the Prius was the "green car" to beat at that time. They might have thought that a electric car needs to be a bit different, something that identifies directly as an electric/environmentally friendly car. The Bolt is another matter.
 
The model X is presumably the premium platform that continues on. The oldest platform will get dropped a year or two after Tesla assures buyers that they have no plans to drop the current model S.

The platform itself might be discontinued, i'm guessing that f.e the Mercedes S class platform is not the same as it was 10 years ago. But that doesn't mean that they will drop the Model S. It might even makes sense to move the Model S to the Model 3 platform at some point in the not to distant future. Elongating the wheelbase of a skateboard chassi should be a really simple thing to do.
 
They simply can not develop every model and model progression that makes good sense.
Hmm not sure that is a compelling business practice. They have the advantage of knowing how the market responded to other auto manufacturer's decisions in this regard. They can see the trends. So Tesla kind of has a "sure thing" in many segments if they can perfect their core technologies.
 
I acknowledged that the physical space available would be the factor. But that is unknown.

It's unknown and i would argue also not that interesting by itself. And there's a very small difference in wheelbase between the 3 and the S:

full

Then add that the 3 has lower Cd and is narrower then the S so it will need a much smaller battery then the S to get the same range. So i doubt that the physical space will be the limiting factor for the Model 3s range vs Model S.
 
I lol at the notion that "it's more economically feasible for tesla to put larger/more exotic batteries" in the Model S. That is absurd as it has nothing whatsoever to do with cost! I acknowledged that the physical space available would be the factor. But that is unknown.
I lol people who think the S will be dropped in favor of 3. Lots of people don't even flinch to drop $100k-$150k in a car. Why would Tesla ignore that market segment. All manufaturers want to be in that segment which has the highest profit margins. A larger more expensive car is always more prestigious than a smaller car. That's why we have S, 7, A8, LS. It doesn't cost manufacturers that much more to build a larger car but they sell them for more hence larger profits.
 
I think this question is late to the game because it has already been answer by the concept Model 3. 20% smaller than the S would have ended to questions for me. If you need the size then the S is the one but if you do not need a car that big then go with the 3.