Tesla Model S/X sales crashing

[hmp10]

. . . they probably should have changed the exterior [of the Model S} when they did the interior refresh but opted not to.

That was the odd thing. The 2021 Model S update shared almost no exterior body panels or components with the outgoing Model S. That required extensive engineering and testing, factory retooling, etc.

It was obvious the fenders bulged more on the new car to accommodate the wider 21" wheels. However, the rear hatch areas looked identical upon cursory examination between our 2015 and 2021 Model S, but when I tried to transfer the rear-window pop-in sunshade from the old car to the new I found the dimensions a couple of inches off in both directions.

The decision to stay with the decade-old exterior design was apparently more a stylistic decision than one aimed at avoiding engineering and manufacturing changeover costs. One of the main consequences of this was to retain the cramped interior of the older design. The auto press had already been inside the Lucid Air prototype in late 2016, so what could be done to grow interior room with clever powertrain packaging was obvious five years before Tesla introduced the Model S update -- a car of virtually identical exterior dimensions to the Air but with a far less accommodating interior.

Now knowing more about the personal enmity between Musk and Rawlinson, the Model S refresh seems to me more Musk trying to give Rawlinson the finger by saying, "my 10-year-old design is still better than anything you can come up with".

 

[michel]

That was the odd thing. The 2021 Model S update shared almost no exterior body panels or components with the outgoing Model S. That required extensive engineering and testing, factory retooling, etc.

It was obvious the fenders bulged more on the new car to accommodate the wider 21" wheels. However, the rear hatch areas looked identical upon cursory examination between our 2015 and 2021 Model S, but when I tried to transfer the rear-window pop-in sunshade from the old car to the new I found the dimensions a couple of inches off in both directions.

The decision to stay with the decade-old exterior design was apparently more a stylistic decision than one aimed at avoiding engineering and manufacturing changeover costs. One of the main consequences of this was to retain the cramped interior of the older design. The auto press had already been inside the Lucid Air prototype in late 2016, so what could be done to grow interior room with clever powertrain packaging was obvious five years before Tesla introduced the Model S update -- a car of virtually identical exterior dimensions to the Air but with a far less accommodating interior.

Now knowing more about the personal enmity between Musk and Rawlinson, the Model S refresh seems to me more Musk trying to give Rawlinson the finger by saying, "my 10-year-old design is still better than anything you can come up with".

Given the head of vehicle development was fired, it could also be the team is not ... very good (or was too busy bringing the Cybertruck to life.. and we know how stellar a job they did there /s)

 

[jbawden]

We strongly considered an S for a replacement for our 3 but Lucid was always on the list. It seemed like a "safe" choice since we had prior experience (and it was fine), home charger, and the supercharger network. The supercharger access will be resolved in 6 months, I have an adaptor to use our existing home charger, and the S interior space was only marginally bigger than the 3 (specifically rear seat room).

At any given traffic light here in NorCal, out of 10 cars, 3-4 will be a model 3, so I grew totally fatigued by the design language of the 3/S. Also, the brand is more polarized than ever now, so seemed like a good time to step out of the ring and into something fresh. I don't need to tell anyone here about how good the Air is. !Viva Lucid!