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Tesla Model X Sightings and Spy Shots Gallery

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Elon Musk has confirmed that first deliveries of the Model X to early reservation holders will take place by September. However with the Tesla Model X design studio not yet available, and with no official announcement that the Model X has even reached the final design phase, we thought it would be fun to create an ongoing list of recent sightings and spy shots of the Model X.

Join in on the fun and share your photos of the Model X (and any news from the rumor mill) through the comments section below. Or email us at Teslarati.com Leaf Logo tips@teslarati.com.

 

  • Location: Palo Alto, CA
  • Date: August 29, 2015
  • Description: A very first close up look at the Tesla Model X as caught on cell phone. A brave pedestrian courageously approaches the, previously covered in white transport wrap, blue Model X, and attempts to film around the vehicle, nearly catching a glimpse of the interior before it takes off from the traffic light.
  • Source: YouTuber Missy P

 

  • Location: San Jose, CA
  • Date: August 27, 2015
  • Description: A black Tesla Model X with falcon wing door, partially ajar, is seen driving down Hwy 85 in San Jose, CA. Illuminated rear brake lights seen on the retractable rear spoiler.
  • Source: Submitted by Sameet via tips@teslarati.com

 

  • Location: Palo Alto, CA
  • Date: August 17, 2015
  • Description: The first sighting of a blue colored Tesla Model X with protective plastic wrap. See the video.
  • Source: Submitted by Instagram user SiliconValleyTeslas
[Source: SiliconValleyTeslas via Instagram]

[Source: SiliconValleyTeslas via Instagram]


 

 

  • Location: Palo Alto, CA
  • Date: July 31, 2015
  • Description: A rare sighting of the Model X next to a Model S is spied on Page Mill Rd. near Tesla headquarters.
  • Source: Submitted by Instagram user SiliconValleyTeslas

Model-X-S-size-comparison

 


  • Location: Palo Alto, CA
  • Date: July 31, 2015
  • Description: Model X Falcon Wing doors begin to take shape as delivery nears. See spy photos of the Model X leaving Tesla Headquarters.
  • Source: Submitted by Lee

Tesla-Model-X-Palo-Alto-07312015-1

 

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  • Location: Gilroy, CA
  • Date: July 22, 2015
  • Description: Tesla Model X hauling a dump trailer with unidentified freight down Hwy 101 Northbound in Gilroy, CA. Read more
  • Source: Submitted by Darin

Tesla-Model-X-Towing-Freight-Gilroy-2Tesla-Model-X-Towing-Freight-Gilroy-1

 


  • Location: Chandler, AZ
  • Date: July 20, 2015
  • Description: Video of a dirt covered Model X sparks rumors that Tesla is performing off-road testing of the electric crossover. Read more
  • Source: YouTube

Tesla-Model-X-Off-Road-HitchTesla-Model-X-Off-Road-Tires2 Tesla-Model-X-Off-Road-Tires Tesla-Model-X-Off-Road-Hitch2

 


  • Location: Berkeley, CA
  • Date: July 21, 2015
  • Description: New images (and video) surfaces of the Model X being tested with an active rear spoiler. Active spoilers and active aerodynamics have been used by performance carmakers for decades as a way to reduce drag coefficient by way of smoothing out airflow across the contours of the vehicle, but also as a way to increase downforce for added performance. The Model X is said to have range equivalent to the Model S and in order to achieve that goal, especially on a heavier and larger vehicle, Tesla will be outfitting the X with the new 90kWh battery pack and presumably the best possible aerodynamics in its class through the use of the active spoiler. Lower drag equates to less energy needed to propel the car forward at a given speed, and ultimately ensures maximum battery range.>>>> [VIDEO] Digital Wind Tunnel Technology Behind Tesla Model S Aerodynamics

Model-X-Active-Spoiler
Model-X-Active-Front-Sensor Model-X-Active-Spoiler2

Fair warning: The owner of the cell phone video shot it while rotating the device making the video a little difficult to watch.

 


  • Location: San Jose, CA
  • Date: July 15, 2015 @7:15 pm
  • Description: Randy Frei was driving down 280 South in San Jose, CA, near the Stevens Creek exit, when he came across the Tesla Model X. This is the first sighting of the Model X, submitted exclusively to TESLARATI, which shows testing equipment attached to the front contours of the vehicle. Other points worth noting are the taped gaps between the front body panels and the sharper nose design.
  • Source: Randy Frei

 

Model-X-Sensors-San-Jose Model-X-Sensors2-San-Jose Model-X-Front-San-Jose

 

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  • Location: Petaluma, CA
  • Date: June 18, 2015
  • Description: A side by side size comparison of the Model S and pre-production Model X posted by a member of Stocktwits.
  • Source: User TslaUp via Stocktwits, Facebook

Model-X-Petaluma-size-comparisonModel-S-vs-X

 


  • Location: ???
  • Date: June 13, 2015
  • Description: The Model X falcon wing door is seen opened on the same test mule car that’s been spotted testing across Tesla headquarters. According to a reddit user (account has since been deleted by the user), presumably a contracted engineer working on the Model X, the user writes “Spent some time behind the wheel of a Tesla Model X today!”
  • Source: Reddit

Updated June 26, 2015: The picture has been removed at the request of the user who originally posted the image.

 


  • Location: Hwy 280N, Los Altos, CA
  • Date: June 5, 2015
  • Description: According to YouTube user kenken830, “Spotted on Hwy 280N in Los Altos Hills, California on June 5th, 2015 6:39 PM PD. No camouflage.”
  • Source: kenken830

 

 


  • Location: CA
  • Date: May 27, 2015
  • Description: A white Model X is seen testing on the streets with, what appears to be, new body panels. It’s questionable as to whether this will be the final version of the electric crossover, slated to go into production in a few months.
  • Source: 60grayev

White-Model-X-Testing-052715
White-Model-X-Side-052715
White-Model-X-Side2-052715


  • Location: Foothill Expwy and Page Mill Rd. near Tesla Motors HQ in, Palo Alto, CA
  • Date: May 8, 2015
  • Description: A quick glimpse of the Model X interior shows that it’s largely the same design as the Model S. The large center touchscreen has been recessed under the protrusion of the center dashboard, identical to that of the Model S.
  • Source: nbkagzw13

 

 

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  • Location: Rt 101 @ “near the University exit” by Palo Alto, CA
  • Date: May 4, 2015
  • Description: The contours of the Model X seen from the picture closely resembles that of the Model S. According to Ron’s comment from his Google+ page, the Model X “looks like a Model S with a pug nose. And the front had the classic black oval from the Model S.”
  • Source: Ron Tailan

Black-Tesla-Model-X-Palo-Alto

 

 


  • Location: I-280 near Palo Alto, CA
  • Date: Exact date unknown. Approx. Apr 21, 2015
  • Description: Tesla Model X appears to be testing a lane departure system which automatically steers the car away from the shoulder and back into the lane.
  • Source: Yann Kerhervé

 

 


  • Location: I-280 near Palo Alto, CA
  • Date: Exact date unknown. Approx. Apr 3, 2015
  • Description: This appears to be the same test mule seen across much of Northern CA near Tesla Motors headquarters. Worth noting is the misaligned falcon wing doors, blacked out rear windows, fender flares and the trailer hitch.
  • Source: Reported on imgur.

Tesla-Model-X-Sighting-I280

 

 

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  • Location: Palo Alto, CA
  • Date: Mar 19, 2015
  • Description:
  • Source: YouTube user nbkagzw13 spotted the Tesla Model X testing on the streets near Tesla’s headquarters in Palo Alto, CA.

 

 


  • Location: TBD
  • Date: Mar 10, 2015
  • Description:
  • Source: Instagram user >@moriahdanielle

Model-X-Black-Wheels


  • Location: Arastradero Road leading to Tesla Motors HQ in Palo Alto, CA
  • Date: Feb 26, 2015
  • Description: “Tesla Suv out for a ride on 280, aka the test track.”
  • Source: Twitter user @JKDmobile

 

 


  • Location: CES 2015 Las Vegas, NV
  • Date: Jan 5, 2015
  • Description: Tesla Model X sighting at the Panasonic booth at the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. [See the video]
  • Source: YouTube TechVideo channel

Tesla Model X sighting at CES 2015 (falcon wing doors)

Tesla-Model-X-Seating-CES-2015Tesla-Model-X-Interior-CES-2015 Tesla-Model-X-Touchscreen-Display-CES-2015

Elon Musk

Tesla reveals it is using AI to make factories more sustainable: here’s how

Tesla is using AI in its Gigafactory Nevada factory to improve HVAC efficiency.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has revealed in its Extended Impact Report for 2024 that it is using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enable its factories to be more sustainable. One example it used was its achievement of managing “the majority of the HVAC infrastructure at Gigafactory Nevada is now AI-controlled” last year.

In a commitment to becoming more efficient and making its production as eco-friendly as possible, Tesla has been working for years to find solutions to reduce energy consumption in its factories.

For example, in 2023, Tesla implemented optimization controls in the plastics and paint shops located at Gigafactory Texas, which increased the efficiency of natural gas consumption. Tesla plans to phase out natural gas use across its factories eventually, but for now, it prioritizes work to reduce emissions from that energy source specifically.

It also uses Hygrometric Control Logic for Air Handling Units at Giafactory Berlin, resulting in 17,000 MWh in energy savings each year. At Gigafactory Nevada, Tesla saves 9.5 GWh of energy through the use of N-Methylpyrrolidone refineries when extracting critical raw material.

Perhaps the most interesting way Tesla is conserving energy is through the use of AI at Gigafactory Nevada, as it describes its use of AI to reduce energy demand:

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“In 2023, AI Control for HVAC was expanded from Nevada and Texas to now include our Berlin-Brandenburg and Fremont factories. AI Control policy enables HVAC systems within each factory to work together to process sensor data, model factory dynamics, and apply control actions that safely minimize the energy required to support production. In 2024, this system achieved two milestones: the majority of HVAC infrastructure at Gigafactory Nevada is now AI-controlled, reducing fan and thermal energy demand; and the AI algorithm was extended to manage entire chiller plants, creating a closed-loop control system that optimizes both chilled water consumption and the energy required for its generation, all while maintaining factory conditions.”

Tesla utilizes AI Control “primarily on systems that heat or cool critical factory production spaces and equipment.” AI Control communicates with the preexisting standard control logic of each system, and any issues can be resolved by quickly reverting back to standard control. There were none in 2024.

Tesla says that it is utilizing AI to drive impact at its factories, and it has proven to be a valuable tool in reducing energy consumption at one of its facilities.

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Elon Musk

Tesla analysts believe Musk and Trump feud will pass

Tesla CEO Elon Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump’s feud shall pass, several bulls say.

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The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
President Donald J. Trump purchases a Tesla on the South Lawn, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (Official White House Photo by Molly Riley)

Tesla analysts are breaking down the current feud between CEO Elon Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump, as the two continue to disagree on the “Big Beautiful Bill” and its impact on the country’s national debt.

Musk, who headed the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under the Trump Administration, left his post in May. Soon thereafter, he and President Trump entered a very public and verbal disagreement, where things turned sour. They reconciled to an extent, and things seemed to be in the past.

However, the second disagreement between the two started on Monday, as Musk continued to push back on the “Big Beautiful Bill” that the Trump administration is attempting to sign into law. It would, by Musk’s estimation, increase spending and reverse the work DOGE did to trim the deficit.

President Trump has hinted that DOGE could be “the monster” that “eats Elon,” threatening to end the subsidies that SpaceX and Tesla receive. Musk has not been opposed to ending government subsidies for companies, including his own, as long as they are all abolished.

How Tesla could benefit from the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ that axes EV subsidies

Despite this contentious back-and-forth between the two, analysts are sharing their opinions now, and a few of the more bullish Tesla observers are convinced that this feud will pass, Trump and Musk will resolve their differences as they have before, and things will return to normal.

ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood said this morning that the feud between Musk and Trump is another example of “this too shall pass:”

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Additionally, Wedbush’s Dan Ives, in a note to investors this morning, said that the situation “will settle:”

“We believe this situation will settle and at the end of the day Musk needs Trump and Trump needs Musk given the AI Arms Race going on between the US and China. The jabs between Musk and Trump will continue as the Budget rolls through Congress but Tesla investors want Musk to focus on driving Tesla and stop this political angle…which has turned into a life of its own in a roller coaster ride since the November elections.”

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Tesla shares are down about 5 percent at 3:10 p.m. on the East Coast.

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Tesla scrambles after Musk sidekick exit, CEO takes over sales

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is reportedly overseeing sales in North America and Europe, Bloomberg reports.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla scrambled its executives around following the exit of CEO Elon Musk’s sidekick last week, Omead Afshar. Afshar was relieved of his duties as Head of Sales for both North America and Europe.

Bloomberg is reporting that Musk is now overseeing both regions for sales, according to sources familiar with the matter. Afshar left the company last week, likely due to slow sales in both markets, ending a seven-year term with the electric automaker.

Tesla’s Omead Afshar, known as Elon Musk’s right-hand man, leaves company: reports

Afshar was promoted to the role late last year as Musk was becoming more involved in the road to the White House with President Donald Trump.

Afshar, whose LinkedIn account stated he was working within the “Office of the CEO,” was known as Musk’s right-hand man for years.

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Additionally, Tom Zhu, currently the Senior Vice President of Automotive at Tesla, will oversee sales in Asia, according to the report.

It is a scramble by Tesla to get the company’s proven executives over the pain points the automaker has found halfway through the year. Sales are looking to be close to the 1.8 million vehicles the company delivered in both of the past two years.

Tesla is pivoting to pay more attention to the struggling automotive sales that it has felt over the past six months. Although it is still performing well and is the best-selling EV maker by a long way, it is struggling to find growth despite redesigning its vehicles and launching new tech and improvements within them.

The company is also looking to focus more on its deployment of autonomous tech, especially as it recently launched its Robotaxi platform in Austin just over a week ago.

Tesla officially launches Robotaxi service with no driver

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However, while this is the long-term catalyst for Tesla, sales still need some work, and it appears the company’s strategy is to put its biggest guns on its biggest problems.

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