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Tesla Model S

Tesla shares old footage of Model S with Falcon wing prototype doors [Feature]

(Credit: Tesla)

Published

2 years ago

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Tesla shared old footage of a Model S with Falcon wing prototype doors, representing the state of the company now versus when it started. 

While seeing a Model S with Falcon wing doors is pretty awesome, Tesla won’t release its premium sedan with the Model X’s signature doors. The footage provided a glimpse of Tesla’s past when it was developing the Falcon wing doors for the Model X. Above the footage, Tesla wrote: “How it started vs how it’s going.” 

Based on the caption, the video shares more about Tesla than it seems. The footage reveals the conditions Tesla had to work in during its early days. Back then, Tesla was a smaller name, so it had to be scrappy, innovative, and work harder than legacy automakers to get the same recognition. 

Some things have changed since those days when Tesla was testing the Falcon wing doors for the Model X, but some things have not. Tesla is still scrappy, still innovative, and still works hard, albeit a little smoother. The EV manufacturer now has some of the recognition it deserves—specifically from customers and EV advocates. 

Where Tesla is Going

Now, Tesla has the S3XY lineup well underway, plus Semi production. Cybertruck production is expected to start this year as well. The only other car Tesla has technically unveiled that hasn’t made it to production yet is the Roadster, but that might still be a long way away. 

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The new Roadster may start production after Tesla refines the production of its next lineup of vehicles using its next-generation platform. Tesla began to talk more about its next-generation platform during its last earnings call after dropping tidbits about it here and there last year. At Investor Day 2023, Tesla department heads talked a lot about their work and sometimes eluded to how it would contribute to the next-gen platform. On the same day, Tesla announced that Gigafactory Mexico would be producing its next-gen vehicle.

The only other car that Tesla has mentioned but not yet unveiled is the $25,000 electric vehicle, known as the Model 2—or Model Q to some. During his interview at the Morgan Stanley Conference, Elon Musk talked a little bit about Tesla’s $25,000 car. 

“So we’re confident that long-term we can design and manufacture a compelling $25,000 electric vehicle. This has always been our dream from the beginning of the company. I even wrote a blog piece about it because our first car was an expensive sports car, then it was a slightly less expensive sedan, and then finally sort of a, I don’t know, mass market premium, the Model 3 and Model Y. But it was always our goal to try to make an affordable electric car. And I think probably, like I said, about three years from now, we’re confident we can make a very compelling $25,000 electric vehicle that’s also fully autonomous,” said Elon Musk.

The Teslarati team would appreciate hearing from you. If you have any tips, contact me at maria@teslarati.com or via Twitter @Writer_01001101. 

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Maria--aka "M"-- is an experienced writer and book editor. She's written about several topics including health, tech, and politics. As a book editor, she's worked with authors who write Sci-Fi, Romance, and Dark Fantasy. M loves hearing from TESLARATI readers. If you have any tips or article ideas, contact her at maria@teslarati.com or via X, @Writer_01001101.

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Tesla teases new color while testing refreshed Model S, X

Tesla teased a new color that could be coming to the United States with the new Model S and Model X.

Published

2 weeks ago

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May 27, 2025

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Credit: @supergeek18 | X

Tesla appears to be teasing a brand new color while it was testing the refreshed Model S and Model X, which was spotted last week in California.

Tesla currently offers six paint options in the United States, but they are all pretty basic. This has not been a problem for owners as wrapping the vehicles is a common practice, but some people would likely see more versatility from Tesla in terms of their standard paint colors.

This is especially relevant as Europe has been able to have both Midnight Cherry Red and Quicksilver, which were, at one time, exclusive to the market.

Quicksilver made its way to the United States, and Tesla did release a new Red last year with “Ultra Red,” but Midnight Cherry Red never made its way outside the walls of Gigafactory Berlin.

Last week, as the first spy images of the new Model S and Model X were taken and released by The Kilowatts, there was a very noticeable difference with the vehicle, as other changes seemed to be relatively underwhelming: a new paint color.

Many believed this was simply a wrap, but Ryan Levenson of The Kilowatts, a former Tesla employee, dispelled that rumor after several questions about it.

He said that this is absolutely a factory paint color and not a wrap:

More images were shared by @supergeek18 on X:

Tesla released a new color earlier this year, but it was just a revision to Black, now called “Diamond Black,” featuring speckles that give a reflection and refraction of light as a diamond would.

However, this new color is certainly quite different than anything Tesla has previously offered in the U.S. before. It is relatively similar to Glacier Blue, a color Tesla launched in Asia. Earlier this year, Franz von Holzhausen, Tesla’s Chief Designer, talked about bringing the color to the U.S.:

“Glacier Blue is just a color that we’ve been talking about with our team — the team is like right through that window by the way — and we were looking at the impact of silver, how do we get pigment into silver and really add a little bit of personality to it. If you look at our palette, you know it was either darks or white, and so we were looking for something in between. Blue is always a fairly popular color.”

It would be a refreshing addition to the options Tesla currently offers, and a breath of fresh air for those who have been wanting a different look altogether.

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Tesla’s new Model S and X spotted, but they leave a lot to be desired

The Model S and Model X testing mules spotted by The Kilowatts have few minor visual changes.

Published

3 weeks ago

on

May 23, 2025

By

Credit: Tesla

Tesla has been hinting for a few months now that the flagship Model S and Model X would be getting some attention in 2025 as the vehicles continue to be sold in extremely low volumes.

Both models seem to be under the knife, especially as their newest versions were spotted in California earlier this week.

However, images of the vehicles seem to show that Tesla is not planning a major overhaul, which begs the question: why even do it in the first place?

Tesla makes a decision on the future of its flagship Model S and Model X

The Model S and Model X are grouped with the Cybertruck in Tesla’s quarterly delivery releases, and Q1 saw just 12,881 units of the three cars delivered. The Cybertruck likely made up the majority of this number, as some outlets reported around 6,400 deliveries of the all-electric pickup in Q1.

This is unconfirmed.

The Model S and Model X have stuck around for “sentimental reasons,” according to CEO Elon Musk, who said back in 2021:

“I mean, they’re very expensive, made in low volume. To be totally frank, we’re continuing to make them more for sentimental reasons than anything else. They’re really of minor importance to the future.”

However, the cars seem to be in need of a serious refresh. As Tesla changed up the exterior aesthetic on both the Model 3 and Model Y, recent images captured of the Model X by The Kilowatts seem to show this is not the strategy with the Model X or Model S:

As we can see, the overall aesthetic of the X, if this is what Tesla plans to release, has literally no changes from a purely visual standpoint. There is the addition of the front bumper camera, which was first implemented on the Cybercab unveiled in October 2024, and then on the new Model Y this year.

There are some new 20″ wheels, and the interior has been fitted with ambient lighting.

The Model S looked to be relatively the same, other than these few hardware changes, including a rear diffuser on this Plaid that was spotted:

While these changes are welcome and should be beneficial, they don’t seem like they will encourage major sales growth, which might be something Tesla is okay with.

Admitting the two cars are low volume and not contributors to the company’s long-term goals, Musk is likely willing to just upgrade things to make these more compatible and better functioning with the Full Self-Driving suite.

Earlier this year, VP of Vehicle Engineering Lars Moravy said the S and X were not going anywhere and would get “some love” before the end of 2025:

“Just give it a minute. We’ll get there. The upgrade a couple of years ago was bigger than most people thought in terms of architecture and structure of the car got a lot better, too. But, we’ll give it some love later this year and make sure it gets a little bit…you know, with the stuff we’ve been putting in 3 and Y. Obviously, with 3 and Y, the higher volume stuff, you’ve gotta focus there.”

It seems these strategies have held true — the S and X appear to be getting what the 3 and Y got with the ambient lighting and front bumper camera (at least on the Model Y).

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President Donald Trump buys a Tesla at the White House – Here’s which model he chose

Published

3 months ago

on

March 11, 2025

By

Credit: cb_doge | X

U.S. President Donald Trump was greeted by a convoy of Tesla electric vehicles today at the White House after he said last evening he would be buying one of the company’s cars in support of Elon Musk.

A variety of Tesla EVs, including the Model S, Cybertruck, and Model Y, all arrived in Washington on Tuesday around lunch time where the President sat in, examined, and mulled over which car he would choose. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters today that President Trump would be paying “full market price” for the vehicle.

CEO Elon Musk was alongside Trump to help make his decision:

Which Tesla did President Trump Choose?

After mulling the decision for several minutes, President Trump seemed to have gravitated toward the Tesla Model S Plaid in Deep Red, the company’s quickest and most luxurious offering, suitable for the leader of the U.S.

Trump said:

“The one I like is that one (Model S). And I want that same color. I’m going to give [Tesla] a check. I don’t want a discount.”

According to images shared from Washington, it seems Musk brought two Model S vehicles — one in Deep Red and another in Deep Blue Metallic — knowing that the President would probably choose that vehicle, but was unsure about the color.

Tesla makes a decision on the future of its flagship Model S and Model X

President Trump’s Comments on Tesla and Elon Musk

President Trump has truly gained a meaningful working relationship with Musk, who he has called “a genius” and “brilliant” on several occasions. Regarding Tesla, the President said:

“Tesla’s a great company; They’re American cars, it’s American made. He employs thousands of people. He has the most modern plants in the world.”

In regards to the Tesla lineup, President Trump said:

“I know people that have these cars; It blows them away. They love them.”

When talking about the polarizing design of the Cybertruck, he said:

“In terms of imagination, and I think I have a pretty great imagination, who else but this guy would design this and everybody on the road is looking at it. As soon as I saw it, I said, ‘That’s the coolest design.’ You gotta give him (Elon) credit.”

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