Photo: Thomas Preisler
We're less than two months away from the official reveal of the most anticipated Tesla model yet - and one that could turn out to mark a pivotal moment in the history of the automotive industry as a whole - and one of the few unknowns left is the vehicle's interior.
The release candidates spotted by the occasional amateur spy photographers haven shown cabins in various stages of completion, so it's almost impossible to get a definitive impression. But for all the changes that can still occur, one thing is certain: it's going to have one of the cleanest dashboards that have ever adorned the inside of a car.
Whether that's a good or a bad thing, only the market can decide, but it definitely is very different from what we've become accustomed to. Even those interiors that were considered simplistic up to this point look busy by comparison.
Elon Musk said that Model 3 controls would be "space-ship like," something that has generated a lot of speculation. Given there is no apparent instrument cluster - and projecting important information such as the instant speed on the central display would hurt the ergonomics - everyone (ourselves included) thought about a head-up display.
Well, Musk has never confirmed that (nor has he denied it, to be fair), and every Model 3 spotting so far hasn't shown anything to suggest that were the case. At least not the type of HUDs we've been treated to by the rest of the automakers.
This set of images posted by Thomas Preisler on the Tesla Model 3 Facebook group shows a silver release candidate that was parked on top of Mount Hamilton together with two other. Unlike other instances where people were not allowed to take photos of the inside, Thomas was free to approach the vehicle and take an unobstructed shot of the interior.
The ease with which he managed to photograph the car - as opposed to others being more secretive - might suggest this particular vehicle had nothing to hide since its interior was pretty much in the same state as on the prototypes used during the presentation in March 2016. And looking at the picture, you do get the sense it isn't exactly finished, even though that might be down to our fixed perception of what a dashboard should look like.
Either way, the Model 3 is rapidly headed toward the start of its production run, and the growing number of vehicles spotted testing can only support that. Musk says everything is on track and we should get the official reveal in July, with first deliveries to begin (a lot) later this year.
Whether that's a good or a bad thing, only the market can decide, but it definitely is very different from what we've become accustomed to. Even those interiors that were considered simplistic up to this point look busy by comparison.
Elon Musk said that Model 3 controls would be "space-ship like," something that has generated a lot of speculation. Given there is no apparent instrument cluster - and projecting important information such as the instant speed on the central display would hurt the ergonomics - everyone (ourselves included) thought about a head-up display.
Well, Musk has never confirmed that (nor has he denied it, to be fair), and every Model 3 spotting so far hasn't shown anything to suggest that were the case. At least not the type of HUDs we've been treated to by the rest of the automakers.
This set of images posted by Thomas Preisler on the Tesla Model 3 Facebook group shows a silver release candidate that was parked on top of Mount Hamilton together with two other. Unlike other instances where people were not allowed to take photos of the inside, Thomas was free to approach the vehicle and take an unobstructed shot of the interior.
The ease with which he managed to photograph the car - as opposed to others being more secretive - might suggest this particular vehicle had nothing to hide since its interior was pretty much in the same state as on the prototypes used during the presentation in March 2016. And looking at the picture, you do get the sense it isn't exactly finished, even though that might be down to our fixed perception of what a dashboard should look like.
Either way, the Model 3 is rapidly headed toward the start of its production run, and the growing number of vehicles spotted testing can only support that. Musk says everything is on track and we should get the official reveal in July, with first deliveries to begin (a lot) later this year.
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