Forget the Model 3, the Tesla Model S Could Look Different Soon!
Suffice it to say the Model 3 has consumed all of the Tesla oxygen in the past few weeks, but that doesn’t mean the Model S is just going to roll over and play dead.
Sources inside the company told CNET that a changes are coming for the ground-breaking electric sedan, possible as early as next week. If true, Tesla founder Elon Musk clearly knows a thing or two about sustaining buzz.
The shadowy source claims the Model S will receive an exterior facelift and a slight move upmarket thanks to more luxurious interior trappings.
An undisclosed price bump will accompany the changes.
There’s also a move afoot to make the Model S easier to manufacture — for example, the source claims the updated Model S will borrow its front seats from the Model X to simplify things on the assembly line.
Musk will need to find as many production efficiencies as possible with his existing models, because an awful lot of capacity is going to be taken up by the Model 3, which passed 325,000 reservations in its first week of orders.
That model tentatively heads into production in late 2017.
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Real car companies refresh their cars every few years. So Tesla deserves some credit for this.
Those who say that an electric car isn't optimal for long range driving have a point, but that point only goes so far. Tesla owners love their cars. Almost all of them have another car they can use if the Tesla doesn't fit their needs for the day. Even more of them have a credit card and can rent the car they need. Going forward, I think that it is likely for some time that a range of power options will remain in the market place, but with at least some electric assist on the vast majority of ICE cars. Traditional hybrids are the easiest and cheapest way to reach CAFE goals. Batteries and electric components are coming down in price, reducing the hybrid premium. The RAV4 Hybrid received the spotlight at TTAC yesterday. The hybrid drive adds only $750 to the price and maintains the utility of the vehicle. There's room for ICE-assist electrics like the Chevrolet Volt that only carry batteries for a typical day's drive but have gas engines to handle longer drives. If I were Musk, the next thing I would do at Telsa would be to adapt the Model S's drivetrain to medium trucks. An electric-drive delivery truck with or without a diesel generator should be much more efficient than today's models.
Not a minute too soon. Model S are extremely common in Vancouver. It's hard to claim the luxury of exclusivity when you see one every other block.
The Tesla S seriously needs an interior upgrade. It does not currently have the look or feel of a six figure automobile.