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Comment by manav | Hacker News Reader

I'm actually going to reduce my reservation to one car now. Pretty disappointed at the design, it looks like a Prius.

For the price point, I would obviously still buy one... but the hatchback style is not as appealing for a mid level luxury car that may compete with a MB C-class or BMW 3-series.

They could have made it look like an Audi A4 sedan, with an available hatchback, but I think that would cannibalize Model S sales to some extent.

Tesla also announced they are going to increase Model S prices starting this month. This could be part of their strategy to increase Model S sales now, before they release revisions in the future.

What's also interesting is that Tesla cleared all CPO inventory at the beginning of the year. On their Pre-Owned site, they had used Model S going for less than 50k. They cleared it all out early in the year and now only offer recent models as inventory for lease/purchase.

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You can't make a car with low drag without it being a hatchback. And low drag is key to reasonable battery size.

Yep, the design is called a K-tail. I've really started getting used to it and don't mind it at all any more.

True. Some design elements still seem strange to me, but perhaps it was optimized for efficiency?. There is no front grille for instance. While there is no need for one on an electric car, the Tesla still has an indent for one.

I think part of the front end design was shaped by laws requiring a human safe zone in the front of the car. My understanding is that every car on the road must not push a human under the car but up and over the hood. Maybe that's why the front end has that indent.

I believe you, but can you provide a source or explanation for that insight?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kammback#Aerodynamics

The optimum subsonic shape is a hemisperhical nose with a long tail tapering to a point ( like an ice-cream cornette on its side, with the dome of ice-cream heading into the wind ).

The K-tail is an abbreviation of that impractical-for-cars long tail which gives most of the effect for much less effort.

The Tatra T77 was an attempt to implement the optimum form though even then the tail was somewhat abbreviated:

http://tatra77.com/

Drop of water is the best comparison, as its shape is a direct result of aerodynamic optimisation.

The drop of water is not teardrop shaped.

http://pmm.nasa.gov/education/articles/shape-of-a-raindrop

http://water.usgs.gov/edu/raindropshape.html

It's a shame it's not a hatchback. It looks like it would make a very natural one.

Taste is of course subjective, but when looking at good pictures of the car it looks pretty sweet:

http://imgur.com/a/V0BxU

I think the front is very clean, and seen from above and behind the large rear window makes it look great. In my book this is way better than a Prius.

Almost all the pictures in that set are renderings, not actual cars. Personally, I don't much like the way it looks from the "real car" pictures taken at the show - the windows seem too large and the whole thing just looks misproportioned.

Hatchback? It's neither technically a hatchback, nor does it look like a hatchback.

When you open the trunk on the Model 3, none of the rear window glass opens up, the trunk hinges behind the glass. So technically, it's a sedan.

Looks wise, it's a fastback.

So to someone with typical American sensibilities, it's got the worst of both worlds: the looks of a fastback, but without the cavernous rear opening you get with a fastback or a hatchback.

Luckily, I've got more European sensibilities and much prefer the looks of hatchbacks, fastbacks and wagons to boring sedans.

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