Author: Chang Yan
Looking forward to, looking forward to, the east wind is coming, and the footsteps of spring are approaching.
All walks of life have come to the time to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new and show off their achievements. Pet owners bask in the sun, cultural enthusiasts show off their treasures, and for those in the automotive industry, it naturally means showing off their new cars.
After Tesla released its 2022 financial report, everyone in the industry is concerned about when Tesla will release new products. This not only affects the landing of Tesla’s core technological innovations but also means that it will bring more fierce impacts to the market. Although more mysteries still need to be revealed at Tesla’s annual shareholder meeting on March 1 (US time), it’s quite a coincidence that almost all the new dynamics of Tesla’s entire product line have been revealed intensively within less than 20 hours.
Cybertruck in Full Form
When the time just entered 2023, someone couldn’t wait to give it the title of “Year of Cybertruck”.
This fully reflects the consumers’ eagerness for the official debut of this vehicle.
For a long time, Cybertruck has maintained a high level of mystery. We could only see the new car’s spy photos either during a TV program shooting or in a mysterious corner of the Tesla workshop. This time, the latest model of Cybertruck runs straight through the core area of Silicon Valley.
In Palo Alto – the city that has many connections with universities and star companies in Silicon Valley, many people saw a Cybertruck driving by. It’s clearly not the earliest prototype concept car, but rather the same version that has been captured twice in Giga Texas and Fremont factories, which is already in mass production.
This time, the rearview mirror of Cybertruck looks different. After saying goodbye to the SUV-style universal outer rearview mirror that looked like an industry standard product, Cybertruck now has a very unique and independent triangular outer rearview mirror, which perfectly matches the sharp exterior style of the vehicle.
It is known that the mass-produced Cybertruck will be slightly smaller than the prototype. From the perspective of the video, the height of the vehicle has also been adjusted, and the overall posture of the vehicle on the road is more harmonious and less aggressive.
In addition, at a glance, this version also retains the control button design placed on the upper side of the tail box of the prototype, which is quite science-fiction.
This picture instantly became popular among Tesla enthusiasts in the United States, and Musk subsequently retweeted the related video on Twitter, indicating that he did not mind this “leak” and hoped to attract more attention.
He also added that this car is already very close to the final production version, but still needs to make some minor optimizations. Meanwhile, he revealed some information regarding the rearview mirror – consumers can remove the rearview mirror by themselves.
The Masked Model 3
Although Model 3 is still one of the coolest and most technologically advanced products in many people’s minds, it is actually 7 years old.
Since the shocking news of the Model 3 redesign by Reuters appeared at the end of last year, coincidentally, there have been more and more Model 3s around Tesla headquarters with camouflage.
According to the leaked information, most of the changes in the Model 3 upgrade are focused on the “inner beauty” configuration. The main upgrade areas include the autonomous driving core components and battery capacity, which also ensures that the design and production of the Model 3 body do not require major changes.
From the pictures of the upgraded Model 3 that have been leaked, there are not many detailed changes in the body. Almost all of the painted surfaces of the vehicles maintain the status of production cars. The more substantial camouflage is concentrated at the front and rear of the vehicle. A bold guess would be that the current testing is focused on autonomous driving sensors, and the lights may also be modified.
Perhaps in Q3 of this year, we will be able to see the new and improved Model 3, which may be familiar, but “stronger than ever.”
Model S Plaid, even more powerful
It’s not just Tesla that has spy shots. Around the same time, someone discovered that Porsche is preparing to update its product line on a large scale.
One of the vehicles that has been spotted multiple times is a Taycan that has clearly been enhanced for performance. More complex aerodynamic components and an unprecedentedly huge rear wing indicate that this is a performance beast more powerful than the Taycan Turbo S. There is internal information that suggests this car may be equipped with a 3-motor system and have a peak power of over 1,000 horsepower.
Last year, the current Taycan Turbo S already broke the Nürburgring lap record previously set by the Model S Plaid, and the even faster Taycan will undoubtedly put more pressure on the Plaid.So, there have been speculations about whether Plaid will release an even more extreme version.
The car that was caught testing today is apparently equipped with Plaid Performance Kit, which includes carbon-ceramic brakes and larger wheels. However, upon closer inspection, the car appears to be noticeably lower in height than the current Plaid.
With Porsche stopping Tesla in their tracks from the front and Lucid as their rear pursuit, it’s time for Tesla to step up and create an even faster car.
One More Thing
Yes, the Model X has arrived.
During the just-concluded earnings conference call, Elon Musk openly acknowledged the existence of the HW 4.0 self-driving hardware. As it will soon be installed on this year’s mass-produced Cybertruck, it’s now in the final stage of testing. Following Tesla’s traditional style, the other cars on sale will also gradually be updated to the latest smart driving platform.
Previously, it was almost a daily occurrence to see testing cars equipped with lidar come and go, as they were used to compare and correct Tesla’s pure visual solutions with different types of sensors.
And today’s Model X, with new changes in the quantity and layout of the test sensors on the roof, is estimated to adapt to updated test projects.
“Spring is like a newborn baby, everything is new from head to toe, and it continues to grow.”
Looking forward to the day of Tesla’s new product eruption.
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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.