Next-Gen Tesla Model S Goes All-In on Performance in Optimistic Rendering

The all-electric sedan from Tesla is going to be ten years old this June (granted, it would have been even older if it weren't for the company's classic policy of delaying releases, something it has apparently been doing since day one) and even though it's had two so-called facelifts along the way, you can still clearly see the 2012 design when you look at it.

I guess its saving grace is that it has had a pretty solid design to begin with - is this what people tend to call "timeless"? - and the two revises it’s had, even though discreet, have done their job, but at some point, it stops being about how outdated the car looks and switches to "give us something new even if the current model is still relevant enough."

Well, you might get different answers depending on people from which side of the Tesla fan divider you ask, but we can all agree that letting a car fester on the market for more than ten years is borderline lazy, even if it does happen to be the quickest production vehicle one can buy. Some will tell you they don't care what the car looks like as long as it can push them to 60 mph in under two seconds, but what these people fail to realize is that they could (and should) have that on top of a cool, new design by now.

Apart from getting it right the first time, there's another reason why Tesla is lingering with the current S: a lack of real reaction from the market. Usually, that's what pushes a manufacturer to come up with something better and more attractive, but since the other companies have seemingly failed to do so for so long, the S only required minor tweaks to remain the top dog.

Now, the Lucid Air is threatening to come perilously close (and even beat the Tesla for the all-important maximum range), and even though looks are by definition subjective, there's no denying the newcomer is a good-looking car. Better looking than the Model S, some might say.

Does that mean we should expect Tesla to make a move soon? The company doesn't necessarily play by the rules and, considering the latest update came as soon as last year, I can't really see anything major for the Model S on the horizon. Plus, there are three vehicles Tesla should have launched by now that are still some way from making their commercial debut - the Semi, the Cybertruck, and the Roadster - so this potential new Model S will have to wait.

Say what you want about Tesla and Elon Musk but giving this aging model a record-beating powertrain was a very clever move to keep the Model S relevant during times when the company's more affordable options were starting to dip their fingers in the larger sedan's sales pie. The Plaid is a big part of what's keeping the S alive, and it might have to continue doing so for a few more years.

However, if Tesla were to respond to Lucid's Air, the Model S would have to morph into something a little more luxurious. Sure, we can't talk about luxury without mentioning the glaring quality issues associated with Tesla throughout the years. If nothing were to change there, a sexier cabin with better materials would be nothing more than putting some makeup on a pig, but there is more about making a car feel limousine-like than just high-quality leather and real wood trim.

We're talking size, ride quality, and, just as importantly, those little details that make the difference - like the Lucid Air's soft-close doors or power frunk. OK, so you can't really see the latter two in a design sketch, but the size of the vehicle is immediately apparent and this entry from Georgian designer Giorgi Tedoradze seems to miss the opportunity.

His imagined 2024 (which also makes it hopeful) Tesla Model S doesn't seem to be any bigger than the current one - well, at least not where it matters. Yes, the Lucid does have a massive frunk compared to the S, but that doesn't mean the new Tesla needs a longer hood. The whole idea of EVs is that you can move the cabin forward and thus, depending on your goal, either increase interior space or just make the vehicle more compact. Since reaching a more limousine-like feel is the objective here, the former of those applies perfectly.

If Tesla decided to ignore the direction chosen by Lucid for the Air and stick to using the Model S as its halo car (and if the new Roadster doesn't materialize, that may very well be the case), then keeping the same proportions - as per Giorgi's rendering - would make total sense.

We doubt Elon Musk's company would ever sanction a frontal design like that, though, even if the emphasis were to remain on performance. That strip running the entire width of the car's front end feels like a step back after the manufacturer's cleanup of that area back in 2016. Yes, it's a light strip that's very hip with modern vehicles (Lucid Air included), but would Tesla really play by somebody else's rules? The obvious answer is "no".

The most ridiculous part of this design has got to be the thirteen tiny lights underneath the license plate. I don't know if that's intentional, but they look like those shark mouths painted on fighter jets except instead of conveying an aggressive image, it makes it all seem childish. However, let's not forget Tesla's "fart mode", so if there's one company out there who could come up with shark moth nose art, it's definitely Tesla.

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