Tesla Hires Porsche Mission E Interior Designer - Resistance Is Truly Futile

A car that can register over 300,000 orders during the first week of its unveiling (and 18 months ahead of its actual release) is enough to make anyone competing with this particular vehicle worried. Sure, put in the wider perspective, the 300,000 Model 3s are nothing more than the proverbial drop in the ocean when compared to the whole international car market, but it's still a sign of things to come.

And the traditional car makers aren't ready for what the Model 3 is foreshadowing, so they need to act quickly. The automotive industry landscape has changed dramatically over the last five years, and a lot of the companies involved have failed to adjust. There are now very potent names such as Google and - reportedly - Apple joining in, with plenty of cash and a different know-how that today's younger car enthusiasts find very appealing. Yes, for those of us still in love with the internal combustion engine, calling those who care more about the infotainment system than the actual engine "car enthusiasts" seems like sacrilege, but not if you ask them.

So even though the established names of the industry still have the technical upper hand when it comes to developing a car, that's not an immovable asset. There's nothing that keeps newcomers such as the two mentioned before or even Tesla from hiring experienced executives from brands such as Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, or you name it, to fill in the gaps where their knowledge is less than what it's expected. They certainly don't lack neither the cash, nor other incentives that could convince these people to join them.

Now, according to electrek, the lead interior designer of Porsche's Mission E, Félix Godard, has switched boats and is working for Tesla since last week. This seems like a pretty big move, but it gets even more interesting once you dig into it. For one thing, it is one more proof that Tesla can attract senior figures from other companies when it really wants to. Secondly, the Mission E looks absolutely stunning both inside and out, so Tesla has hit gold here. And finally, it's worth noting what it is exactly that Félix Godard is best known for.

During his time at Porsche, Godard has filed patents for new instrument clusters and head-up or holographic displays. Funny how this is exactly what that barren Model 3 dashboard is missing right now, don't you think? Elon Musk refused to divulge too many secrets on the way the driver will receive the necessary information, but he did say that the dashboard is pretty much production-ready. Meaning that it won't get any important physical modifications. But maybe, just maybe, it could be equipped with something similar to Mission E's holographic dashboard, coupled with an advanced gesture control system. If that's the case, there'll be a lot of arm waving while driving the Model 3.

Here is the Porsche Mission E's interior presentation (starts at 3:10) and a possible glimpse at what we could expect from the Model 3. Porsche's performance EV is also slated to enter production, but it should come almost two years after the first Model 3 reaches its new owner.