- Drone footage shows Tesla is benchmarking other automakers' EVs.
- Two are very likely Polestar 3s, and another two are probably Volvos while the covered sedan could be an Audi E-Tron GT.
- Seeing Tesla benchmark a group of competing vehicles is unusual since it used to be the OEMs that were benchmarking Teslas.
Tesla is very different from the traditional automakers, but in one key way it’s exactly the same: it buys competitors’ vehicles to benchmark them and reverse-engineer their innovations. A recent drone video shows eight cars under white tarps parked in a line outside the Fremont, CA factory test track, and likely that none of them are Teslas.
The drone video uploaded by Met God in Wilderness (and spotted by Electrek) shows eight cars covered by white tarps. Seven of them are crossovers, and one looks like a low-slung car, possibly a sedan or a fastback. Upon closer inspection, at least two of the crossovers are definitely appear to be Polestar 3s, based on the shape of their roof.
Another two might be Volvo EC40s, which have a more pronounced fastback-like rear end but also appear more squared off in the rear compared to a Tesla Model Y.
It would make sense to have vehicles from both Volvo and Polestar, which use the same platforms and powertrains in different vehicles. Regarding the low-slung car, our best guess is that it could be an Audi E-Tron GT or a Porsche Taycan, both of which were refreshed this year with a lot more power, range and bigger batteries.
We don’t think any of the crossovers are the Model Y “Juniper” refresh since that won’t change the shape of the body to such an extent. The rear end looks a lot more square than the tapering fastback-like roof of either the Model Y or Model X.
Tesla is reportedly working on a new platform internally designated NV9X, which will be used to underpin several future vehicles. The first of these is a crossover currently only known as Project Redwood, but Tesla would likely do a better job of keeping a Redwood prototype out of sight. The same platform will likely underpin the Model S replacement if one is even coming, but we doubt that’s the car under the tarp.
The fact that all these covered cars were spotted next to the test track further strengthens the idea that they were brought there for benchmarking purposes. Tesla is likely analyzing the competition, which has become much stiffer over the last few years, and the EV segment is only going to get more competitive. Back in April 2022, a Lucid Air was spotted doing laps of the Fremont test track fully uncovered.
Automakers do this all of the time; this year alone, the InsideEVs staff has seen a few Chinese EVs at the facilities of Detroit's Big Three automakers.
However, that was one of the rare instances when Tesla was caught benchmarking another manufacturer’s car. It was usually the other way around: other manufacturers were seen benchmarking Teslas, drawing knowledge for their own EV projects. However, now that so many manufacturers are producing EVs that not only rival but even surpass Tesla’s own, seeing the tables turn isn’t the least bit surprising.
