[Lee Howard]

So it will not be "Model E" after all. (Thanks, Ford.) Bring on the Model III...



“We were going to call it model E for a while and then Ford sued us saying it wanted to use the Model E – I thought this is crazy, Ford’s trying to kill sex! So we’ll have to think of another name.


“The new model is going to be called Model III, we’ll have three bars to represent it and it’ll be S III X!”

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/tesla/87867/tesla-model-iii-to-challenge-bmw-3-series-world-exclusive

 

[Edd Beesley]

Interesting info on the roadster upgrade in there too!

 

[Jason Wallace]

Another lovely looking car from Tesla. Problem with it is having to wait until 2017

 

[Paul]

Surely they will put the three lines horizontal or the "joke" is lost?

Interesting news about the Roadster, wonder what the upgrade cost will be, that sounds terrific.

I remember MINI/BMW reportedly having a similar issue years ago, the MINI Clubman is a Traveller in all but name, but another motor company has that name wrapped up, so Clubman it was.

Strange how the world works sometimes.

 

[flipper]

Another lovely looking car from Tesla. Problem with it is having to wait until 2017

The pics only show the S, X and Roadster... no pic of the III as far as I can see

 

[jontracey]

I dont think we will see picture of the Gen III until the grand unveil, Elon has a bit of PT Barnham about him

 

[Andy]

The pics only show the S, X and Roadster... no pic of the III as far as I can see

I think it's just Auto Express having a crack at rendering what they think the III will look like by shrinking down the Model S so it's hard to tell the difference although it does seem to work better with the smaller dimensions, I quite like the rear end.

 

[flipper]

I think it's just Auto Express having a crack at rendering what they think the III will look like by shrinking down the Model S so it's hard to tell the difference although it does seem to work better with the smaller dimensions, I quite like the rear end.

Ah, I stand corrected, some of those pics (the blue car) are labelled "Model III" - but read the article and they say "our image shows how it could look" - which is AutoExpress speak for "we've taken an existing car, tweaked it a bit in Photoshop, and guessed at the result". It most definitely is not an official Tesla picture.
I've yet to see a launched model that bears even a passing resemblance to their mock-ups (did you see their mock-up of the i5? It was laughable - they took an i3 and stretched it a bit. Dreadful).

 

[knoxie]

Yes great news! more choice! yay, Roadster upgrade is nice however the folks on here that have them dont seem to have any battery degradation worth mentioning so would only be useful for those looking for more range? Still nice of them to offer it although I am sure that supercharging was what many were hoping for?

Tesla are moving in the right direction though, still not being tempted by fuel cells (we know what Elon thinks about them) and are not going hybrid either, I cant see this company failing ever if they keep this up.

 

[Paul]

NEVER believe AutoExpress Photoshops, NEVER. Ever.



Ever...



Ever..

 

[Edd Beesley]

Yes great news! more choice! yay, Roadster upgrade is nice however the folks on here that have them dont seem to have any battery degradation worth mentioning so would only be useful for those looking for more range? Still nice of them to offer it although I am sure that supercharging was what many were hoping for?

Tesla are moving in the right direction though, still not being tempted by fuel cells (we know what Elon thinks about them) and are not going hybrid either, I cant see this company failing ever if they keep this up.

We could speculate if they are changing out the battery and BMS then maybe the charger needs to go (different pack voltage...?) and the cooling/heating system needs to be swapped out too, then why not change the connector on the car and enable supercharging at the same time..... That would be a small part of the cost compared to a new ~85kwh pack. I mean, the old cells will perhaps go into stationary storage projects (for SC's themselves, or gridd buffering projects with solar city) so have some intrinsic trade in value, and maybe the "new" pack is not -brand- new, since it seems common to replace a whole pack from a car with a fault, even if the fault is in one module (better customer experience, the complete pack swap is quicker than remove, diagnose, rebuild, refit) but does mean there's plenty of "almost new" modules floating about.

It will be interesting to see more details arrive, long live the ≡ !

 

[Andy]

Roadster upgrade is nice however the folks on here that have them dont seem to have any battery degradation worth mentioning so would only be useful for those looking for more range?

Did you see Kevin's tweets from yesterday ?

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/489077583427153920

 

[Lightwave]

The announcement about the Roadster upgrade reminded me of one of the early criticisms of Tesla's EV model (which I haven't heard mentioned for a while) which is that the battery pack would need replacing every 8-10 years at a present-day cost of about £10k or something.

This made me think though, if Tesla can offer Roadster owners a battery upgrade at the point at which they require replacing, it might be possible that when Model S owners need a new battery pack every 10 years there may be some option for bringing the battery technology up-to-date; increasing the range, decreasing the cost? The gigafactory should help with the latter.

It sure would take the sting out of those pesky replacement costs.

 

[Jason Wallace]

Indeed. Expect the ability to swap in and out significant components in the future.

If I was in the EV designing arena I would design battery packs which were 1U or 2U in shape and dimension and upon removal would be rackable for future use. I would also make major components such as motors easily removeable and be able to offer upgrades at a later date.

 

[Lightwave]

Indeed. Expect the ability to swap in and out significant components in the future.

If I was in the EV designing arena I would design battery packs which were 1U or 2U in shape and dimension and upon removal would be rackable for future use. I would also make major components such as motors easily removeable and be able to offer upgrades at a later date.

Sounds good. Do it.

 

[Lightwave]

What I meant @Jason Wallace is I think that sounds like a good idea and I support the concept. Perhaps you could suggest it to Elon.

The Auto Express article speculates that the Model ≡ (or whatever notation you like - I like this one) will compete with the BMW 3 Series. However, it also mentions 'The new car is rumoured to be about 20% smaller than the Model S' which if we consider length alone - as a relatively standard measurement of car size - would make the Model ≡ just under 4m in length.

The BMW 3 Series is 4.6m (and the Model S almost 5m) so at that size it wouldn't compete in the slightest. That would make it smaller than a 1 Series and 50% more expensive. In fact smaller than a Fiesta but larger than a Ka.

I think it's more likely the car will compete with the 3 Series on size and be closer to 10% smaller than a Model S. Until it's unveiled though, '20% smaller' just doesn't jive.

 

[flipper]

What I meant @Jason Wallace is I think that sounds like a good idea and I support the concept. Perhaps you could suggest it to Elon.

The Auto Express article speculates that the Model ≡ (or whatever notation you like - I like this one) will compete with the BMW 3 Series. However, it also mentions 'The new car is rumoured to be about 20% smaller than the Model S' which if we consider length alone - as a relatively standard measurement of car size - would make the Model ≡ just under 4m in length.

The BMW 3 Series is 4.6m (and the Model S almost 5m) so at that size it wouldn't compete in the slightest. That would make it smaller than a 1 Series and 50% more expensive. In fact smaller than a Fiesta but larger than a Ka.

I think it's more likely the car will compete with the 3 Series on size and be closer to 10% smaller than a Model S. Until it's unveiled though, '20% smaller' just doesn't jive.

20% smaller by volume, perhaps? Which would be, what ~7% shorter (assuming all dimensions reduce by the same amount)?

 

[Lightwave]

20% smaller by volume, perhaps? Which would be, what ~7% shorter (assuming all dimensions reduce by the same amount)?

Maybe that's what they mean. The 3 Series is indeed ~7% shorter than the Model S.