The Tesla Model 3 is the car Elon Musk believes will bring electric vehicles to the masses – and new rumours suggest it’s going to be even more efficient than we thought. According to the website Electrek, sources close to the design process say engineers are trying to make the Tesla Model 3 as slippery as possible.
Eletreck’s sources suggest that the onus is now on Tesla engineers to deliver a design with an impressive drag coefficient of lower than 0.20. To give that some context, the Tesla Model S has a figure of 0.24, the same as Mercedes-Benz S class or C Class.
Interestingly, reducing the drag coefficient to anything lower than 0.20 will often lead to more outlandish designs: First shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show, the Mercedes-Benz Concept IAA uses an extreme, low-drag design to achieve a coefficient of 0.19.
Elon Musk is innovative – again
Although it may seem like an unusual request, Musk’s desire to enhance the Model 3’s aerodynamics once again shows his ability to think ahead. With power such a limited resource, and battery technology improving on a slow, incremental basis, hybrid and electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers must look at more and more unusual areas to improve the efficiency of their cars. Aerodynamics could be the next untapped reserve.
Read next: Why Tesla’s $35,000 Model 3 should finally make electric cars a real transport alternative in 2017.
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