Author: Chang Yan
When I wrote this article, the exhibition hall of Shanghai International Import Expo (CIIE) was less than one kilometer away from me. Tomorrow morning, Tesla will showcase its complete S3XY lineup here, setting a record for Tesla’s domestic exhibitions.
On the other side of the ocean, there will be a Tesla exhibition with a scale several times larger than this one, which is about to begin.
Right now, there is a small orange P sticker on my washing machine at home.
This is the ticket from the famous Petersen Automotive Museum.
The Petersen Automotive Museum is not only one of the most famous automobile exhibition halls in the United States and even the world, but also a story for automotive media people. Robert E. Petersen was an American automotive publisher. Starting from 1948, he founded many well-known automotive magazines such as Car Craft, Rod & Custom, Sports Car Graphic, and Motor Trend successively. He also published CARtoons, Guns&Ammo, SPORT, Motorcyclist, Motor Life, Hunting, Mountain Biker, Photography, Teen, Tiger Beat And Sassy Magazine, 4 Wheel and Off Road, and many others magazines. In 1994, he founded this museum.The late Mr. Petersen who passed away in 2007 did not live to see the flourishing age of Tesla, but the relationship between this museum and Tesla is particularly close.
Due to the vast collection of exhibits, many of them have inspired Musk and therefore appeared at Tesla’s product launch events. All new Tesla models, because of the close proximity, also always make their first appearance at the museum.
For example, at the Cybertruck product launch event in 2019, the DeLorean from the Back to the Future movie and the Lotus Esprit from the 007 movie that can transform into a submarine were both from the Petersen Museum. The most famous moment for the Petersen Museum among Chinese readers was in 2020 when they simultaneously exhibited the Cybertruck, Roadster 2, and the first-generation Model S prototype.
This year, the Petersen Museum has brought what I believe may be the most impressive Tesla exhibition in history.
On November 20th, the Petersen Museum announced that it will hold a large-scale comprehensive exhibition focusing on Tesla, highlighting the company’s impact on the global automotive industry. The exhibition, called “Inside Tesla: Supercharging the Electric Revolution”, will explore the company’s journey from its early days as a startup to becoming a global leader in electric vehicles, influencing almost every car company on Earth towards a transition to sustainable powertrains.
The museum will showcase the “most comprehensive collection of Tesla products to date”, displaying everything from concept cars to rare prototypes, including several of its record-breaking production vehicles.
“Tesla fundamentally changed the automotive, electric vehicle, technology, and manufacturing fields in a relatively short amount of time, posing the question, ‘how did they do it?’” said Terry L. Karges, Executive Director of the museum. “This exhibition aims to comprehensively introduce how the brand became a global phenomenon and further detail what the future holds.” The exhibition will not only display vehicles, but also a vast amount of information showcasing the company’s energy ecosystem, its manufacturing capabilities via automation, autonomous driving and full self-driving, and other examples from Musk’s companies such as SpaceX, The Boring Company, and Hyperloop.
After the above introduction, the thing everyone is actually curious about is what rare items will appear in the exhibition.
Today, the Petersen Museum has revealed a massive product lineup with 64 high-definition images (reply “exhibition” to obtain high-definition original images) featuring:
Roadster 2 Prototype# English Markdown Text:
This needs no introduction – this is arguably the coolest Tesla car to date, and the one on display here is likely the same one that appeared at the Basel Auto Show in Switzerland in 2018. What’s interesting is that the braking system seems to be absent on this car.
Cybertruck prototype
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The same needs no introduction for this display car which is also very early, likely the same as at the launch, and already has some differences in proportion and detail configuration compared to the more close-to-production version of the model recently frequently spotted in road tests.
Model X Prototype
This is an absolute rarity, which appeared in 2012. The prototype of Model 3 is very different from the mass-produced version that was finally delivered in 2016. Not only does the body part have slightly different curves (the mass-produced version is indeed more sporty and mature), but the front of this prototype also uses the "faced" front and headlight design of the first-generation Model S. On the other hand, **this car was designed with advanced electronic rearview mirrors**, which is a configuration that Tesla models have not yet been able to legally use up to now.
## Model 3 Prototype
From a styling standpoint, this Model 3 prototype is already in the later stages of development, with significant changes to the styling and design compared to the early prototypes that were unveiled at the initial launch event in 2016. However, there are still significant differences in the interior, such as the door handles and other features that are not yet present on the production model. Additionally, the large gray screen in the center console of this prototype will be replaced with a fully integrated display in the production version, which has undergone significant improvements since this early prototype was built.
## Model S Plaid Nurburgring Edition
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Petersen Museum’s Love for the Records-Breaking Car
From the number of official images, we can see how much Petersen Museum likes this exhibit. This is the car that set a record at the Nürburgring racetrack. However, through close observation, we can also see the modifications made to the vehicle’s interior. Although the central console area remains unchanged, the front seats have been replaced with racing bucket seats, and the rest of the interior has been heavily disassembled to achieve weight reduction. The vehicle’s rear is equipped with a roll bar to improve safety, and the front and rear tow hooks reflect the car’s battle scars.
Model Y One Million Production Milestone
This car is nothing special, it’s just a Model Y, but it’s also very special because it’s the one millionth car produced by Tesla, and Musk said this car will become the best-selling car in human history. We wait and see.
Cyberquad prototype
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This is not the toy car that Tesla sells, it is the one that drove into the pickup truck bed at the Cybertruck launch event. This is a real all-terrain off-road tool, equipped with carefully designed power and suspension parts, but unfortunately there is no news of it entering mass production yet.
Roadster Aerodynamic Buck
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Strictly speaking, this is not even a car, but its rarity deserves a spotlight.
This is the original Roadster mockup made of solid fiberboard used for wind tunnel testing. Typically, such models are scrapped after testing in the automotive industry. Fortunately, Tesla decided to ship it back to the United States.
The model later became a famous exhibit at the Tesla US showroom before becoming a precious collection item.
Of course, we may hope to see more fresh or rare exhibits, such as I thought we could see the participation of Semi.
This exhibition is expected to last for one year.
Hope to have the opportunity to experience it on site.
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This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.