Tesla's Secret Palladium Project To Spawn New Model S And Model X

Updated S and X? Tesla needs to fully replace the S and X with designs that are down to the skateboard new. The S needs to cast aside its bloated Fusion look for something more in line with being an S Class competitor. The X need to ditch the parakeet doors and look like something worthy of consideration against the GLS or X7.

Tesla doesn't do skateboards, the battery is fully integrated into the frame as a structural member, the front and rear motors are on subframes.

Well, on fairness they have displayed in their mall stores a type of skateboard. It was just the motors with a battery between the two ends. That's what some might consider a skateboard. Not that Tesla has something similar to the VW MEB platform, when almost any body can be placed over the base "skateboard". Tesla's is still apparently model-specific.

Turns out that optimizes the vehicle in reducing weight, maximizing interior space, and speeding up assembly. The cutout Tesla used to display was of the original RWD Model S and one of the amusing aspect was the air suspension towers sticking up in the air attached to nothing as that part of the frame wasn't there. Neither was the battery beneath the floor pan.

Vdiv is just being a pissy little bitch as always and his splitting of hairs. It is Tesla that pioneered the skateboard concept and it really makes no difference whether the skateboard is "structural" or a "base" on which different hats can sit, the fact is that Tesla does skateboards

Although the S is a well-proportioned and attractive design, it's been around a long time now and definitely needs a new look. And finally move on from that tail light design, which has long been a weak point of an otherwise solid design language.

The battery isn't truly structure.

The S was designed to enable a quick battery swap, that was never never used or needed.

Munro teardown of the 3 pointed out the lack of use of battery as structure.

Exciting news! I wouldn't expect it to look much different than the current S. It may be slightly taller, wider, and have updated LED lights around it (maybe OLED). They will probably use the newer cell chemistry and a cell-to-pack arrangement. With torque vectoring of 3 motors and a weight reduction, they could hit 450 miles of range with the same size pack that exists today and the performance would get a big boost as well.

Not sure what they would do to the Model X, but making it look sleeker would be a plus.