Where is the Model X Test Mule? Is there one?

[Gwgan]

...I don't see any differences in them compared to the prototypes they've already shown.../QUOTE]
I see Longer lower snout with lower lights, a longer front door, canted B pillar, much wider C pillar, (part of the door) and overall more S resemblance. I would like to see a view from the back to compare to the early shots like the one in Elon's garage.

 

[eye.surgeon]

That front windshield is going to be both the most expensive and most difficult to replace of any vehicle on the market I suspect. I sure wish manufacturers would put more consideration into cost of ownership issues like that at the design and engineering stage.

I can't help but feel the lambo doors are an expensive and difficult engineering parlor trick rather than a real solution to a problem.

 

[ecarfan]

That front windshield is going to be both the most expensive and most difficult to replace of any vehicle on the market I suspect

Hmm...why do you think that?

 

[BornToFly]

Hmm...why do you think that?

Because it is the biggest piece of glass of any auto windshield. In the Rockies, where they salt/sand the roads all winter, windshields get pretty badly pitted after a couple years, if they don't chip/crack first.

 

[Aljohn]

I was thinking about the same thing today. The Model X basically does not have a roof. The windshield extends all the way over the driver to the B pillar, then you have the falcon wing doors extending back to the C pillar, and finally you have the rear hatch that comes all the way up to the C pillar and rear of the falcon wing doors. You'd have to have some sort of electrochroamatic dimming option to act as a sun visor since there's no place to mount a conventional visor.

It would seem a nice feature, but not likely. Modifying the windshield tent in most states is not allowed. It can not be darkened or tented in any way. Hopefully, Tesla already has a solution approved for certification by the NHTSA.

A manufacturer of new vehicles must certify that the glazing used in its vehicles conforms to the requirements of Standard No. 205. Any person who manufactures or sells a new vehicle which does not conform to any safety standard is subject to civil penalties and recall action under the Vehicle Safety Act. Thus, all windows required to driving visibility, whether clear or tinted, must meet all of the requirements of the standard, including those on light transmittance and abrasion resistance. The agency considers all windows in a passenger car, and the windshield and windows to the immediate right and left of the driver in trucks, buses and multipurpose passenger vehicles, to be requisite for driving visibility.
Likewise, if a dealer or other person places tinting film on glazing in a new vehicle prior to the sale of the vehicle, that person must certify that the glazing continues to meet the requirements of Standard No. 205. Thus, for example, the light transmittance through the combination of tinting film and the glazing must be at least 70 percent in the case of glazing used in windows requisite for driving visibility. Similarly, the combination must also meet the abrasion resistance and other requirements in the standard.

 

[sjoshuaj]

gotta love photoshop

 

[MikeL]

gotta love photoshop

I have always liked those wheels, but I think they have only ever existed as computer art.
Now can you get rid of those unsightly side mirrors ?! :smile: They're soooo last millennium.

 

[andrewket]

I still don't see how 3 rows are going to fit.

 

[anticitizen13.7]

I still don't see how 3 rows are going to fit.

At the Model X concept reveal in 2012, Elon claimed that adults could fit in the rear bench, and engineers who rode onstage in the concept actually did exit the third row.

My concern is how much headroom is actually available due to the sloped roof.

 

[andrewket]

At the Model X concept reveal in 2012, Elon claimed that adults could fit in the rear bench, and engineers who rode onstage in the concept actually did exit the third row.

My concern is how much headroom is actually available due to the sloped roof.

Yeah, that's what I meant. A real third row for adults and not just kids ala model S.

 

[felixtb]

Yeah, that's what I meant. A real third row for adults and not just kids ala model S.

there is a lot already written about this in one of the MX threads dedicated to the usefulness of the third row seats. I was sitting in these seats at the reveal and was fine both with head and leg room. I am 6'2". hope this helps answer your imediate question. but we will obviously have to see when we are able to sit in the finished product.

 

[bluenation]

Honestly, I've been watching all this speculation on Model X and the beta vehicles that have been spotted in the wild and I don't see any differences in them compared to the prototypes they've already shown. Nose cone is still there, lines are the same, headlights even though cammod look the same. The only difference is of course the lower fog light area that are the same as the current Model S. I think all the changes are inside the car.

yep, i agree.

as i've been suggesting all this time:

after all these years, every sneak pic piles more evidence that....almost nothing has changed in styling from its earliest public prototype. some ppl kept saying "just wait till the real reveal, this is just the pre-alpha (or whatever the new terminology)" but we just see the same beluga whale.

I still don't see how 3 rows are going to fit.

At the Model X concept reveal in 2012, Elon claimed that adults could fit in the rear bench, and engineers who rode onstage in the concept actually did exit the third row.

My concern is how much headroom is actually available due to the sloped roof.

i've a feeling you will have to .... redefine the definition of 'adult' or 'comfortable headroom' in order to properly use those 3rd rows.

 

[satheesh.net]

Maybe they still use the "old" body on their test mules that are out on the road and the public? They have wind tunnels and everything (I'm guessing), so testing the finished body could be done indoors. And going to a remote place where nobody is as well ...

Since there are so many sightings nowadays, and they still talk about how much better the final car looks like, maybe they still haven't shown 'all their cards' yet. Which they refer to all the time.

Besides, driving around in public will get peoples attention no matter how cautious you try to be. Especially if it's something new and something that stands out. And let's be honest; a Tesla always stands out.

Anyways, all my speculations will surely be answered at some point. Problem is that my mental psyche is nearing its limit ... :wink:

 

[vigge50]

Mod note: deleted as per users request

 

[Matias]

That would meen that they aren't yet testing the final version. And they will ship first cars in 6 months. I believe either they miss that deadline or they are definitely testing the final version at the moment.

 

[vigge50]

Maybe they are testing the new car under the old body and could test the new body either in the factory or out on the test track they have outside there factory?

 

[AnOutsider]

Maybe they are testing the new car under the old body and could test the new body either in the factory or out on the test track they have outside there factory?

I thought that was the general consensus, yes. Reading some of these posts... guess not.

 

[Trev Page]

Maybe they are testing the new car under the old body and could test the new body either in the factory or out on the test track they have outside there factory?

Sometimes the simplest answer is the truth. Model X mules being tested are the betas with real body panels. All the changes are inside the car.

Go go look at the Model S prototype revealed in 2009. You'll see some slight differences compared to the production model but it's all in the front facias. Its the inside that changed.

 

[vigge50]

Sometimes the simplest answer is the truth. Model X mules being tested are the betas with real body panels. All the changes are inside the car.

Go go look at the Model S prototype revealed in 2009. You'll see some slight differences compared to the production model but it's all in the front facias. Its the inside that changed.

It's wasn't that I mean, according to him there have been large changes on the outside to but that is not shown on this cars. So the cars we see has probebly the new technology and the new inside but it's the old chassi

 

[gavine]

This is not the final design according to a quit good source. In a Swedish forum there is one that had the opotiunity because different reason to visit the tesla factory for some mounts ago. He could just see the new version at a distance and a 3d model on a computer and according to him the picture that have come up in this thread and this video is just different alpa versions and the final version is still not shown. He say that it will shock us when the final version is shown so we just have to wait. Of course he have writh under that he is not aloud to tell much about the final product but he have let slip some information. He did confirm long before tesla did that the Model X will have a hitch, he have also said that even if you don't count the falcon doors and the special seats at the second road whatever it's with them it will be some things in Model X that have never before been in a car so it's quit exiting to see the final product.

+1. I predict that the final product is going to be VERY different than what we have seen so far. Not just facia, etc. but the actual body is going to be a different shape. I'm not willing to bet my Model S on it, but I feel very confident in that prediction. I hope I'm right, not just for bragging rights, but more because I was never fond of the prototype looks. Granted, I never saw it in person which I'm sure makes a difference.