Tesla is a forerunner in the electric automotive industry, especially when it comes to innovation and invention. Elon Musk, himself, is in a league of his own, and his creations make all of our jaws drop. These electric vehicles are a huge source of inspiration for designers all over the world, and so they’ve come up with some unique and breathtaking Tesla-inspired automotive concepts of their own. Dive in, and get ready to have your minds blown!
The Model B forms a bridge between conventional bicycles and road-vehicles, with a design that, like cars, is designed to be safer, more efficient, and less energy-intensive. The Model B’s sleek frame comes with forward, side-facing, and rear proximity and LiDAR sensors that scan the surroundings to create a protective bubble around the rider, alerting them of any obstacle. Each wheel comes with its own dedicated motor, forming the Model B’s dual-drive system. Spokes on the wheels are replaced by shock-absorbers, helping keep your ride smooth.
The conceptual Model P 2019 is a brilliant exercise in brand and form semantics… that’s a fancy-design-jargon way of saying that it looks exactly like something Tesla would launch. With the beautiful razor-thin headlamps and taillamps, the absence of a radiator-grille on the front (thanks to its electric build), and aesthetic features and detailing that are just innately Tesla, the conceptual pickup truck looks both fast and dominating together. It comes with a four-door setup and a pretty high ground clearance.
Designed as a part of his thesis project, Fábio Martins’ conceptual Tesla Pod system is pretty intriguing and especially makes sense, given that Musk is launching the Boring Tunnel project that will only work with a handful of cars that are compatible with the underground travel system. The idea for the Pod is simple. The electric powertrain base is common to all modes of transport, while the upper part alternates between three different pods that serve three different purposes… one for public transport, one for private transport, and one for commercial transport. The platforms and pods/modules are produced independently, and a large robotic arm helps in mounting and unmounting the modules from the platform base.
Meet the Tesla Model M… designed to make electric bikes more of the status quo, the Model M comes with a unique aesthetic that deliberately chooses to create a negative space in its design where the fuel-tank would be, almost poking fun at its fuel-guzzling ancestors. The bike’s curvy outer body harks to the curvilinear design-language of its sedans like the Model X and Model S, and a massive dashboard occupies a significant amount of space where you’d expect the fuel tank’s inlet – giving you a whole host of data from your speed and battery level to the bike’s performance and even a detailed map to help you navigate.
Created by automotive designer Alex Baldini Imnadze, the SpaceTruck is a concept created as a dream collaboration between Tesla and SpaceX. Unlike Tesla’s original semi-truck, the SpaceTruck is more situation-specific, designed to transport rocket parts and the Dragon crew around and between facilities. Citing Syd Mead as his primary source of inspiration, Baldini says the SpaceTruck was created as an effort to embrace ‘Astro-design’, creating a vehicle that visually represented the space-age we’re currently in. The SpaceTruck’s design language mimics the Dragon Crew Capsule, with a similar white and black color combination.
While this Cyber Supra looks right down the alley of the much-hyped RPG game, I’ll refrain from making any references, even though I so desperately want to! Keeping my imagination under check, and not treading those realms, while still making it interesting for all you design heads. Alright, coming back to the core essence of this very sharp automotive design inspired by the most luxurious SUV on the planet – ‘Karlmann King’, it looks absolutely bonkers – fit for a Cybertruck lover. Even though the core inspiration for this concept is the $1 million upwards, bulletproof SUV – the name itself suggests it has that Tesla Cybertruck spirit brewing inside. Called the Cyber Supra, it is a Toyota Supra morphed into a hybrid Karlmann King and Cybertruck clone as far as looks are concerned.
Originally designed for the Michelin Design Challenge, the Tesla T1 is a conceptual Le Mans racecar with an electric drivetrain powered – in part – by the wind hitting against your vehicle when you drive at high speeds. The car comes with specially designed wheels that have independently rotating turbines in them that begin to generate power to the four individual drivetrains, along with a massive turbine right behind the driver that rotates more the faster you drive, generating power for the car. It’s an incredibly ambitious concept, but so was landing all three boosters of the Falcon 9, digging a tunnel under the ground to circumvent traffic, and creating a brain-to-machine interface.
Spinner 44 might oscillate somewhere between Blade Runner’s flying car and a Tesla Model X, both cars of tomorrow in their own right. Operable as a ground-based or airborne vehicle, Spinner 44 appears as a two-seater with an additional back compartment in the trunk. Spinner 44’s dual front wheels are given a proper smoothing, which stretches over the whole car, giving an overall slick, leatherback look. The shape of Spinner 44 resembles the great black wasp, with the front wheels being the wasp’s mandibles and the angular, licked rear, the wasp’s stinger. Lunarpunk looks, like its mirror glaze finish and jet black coating, slide over the whole vehicle, for incognito night drives, into the chiaroscuro backdrop of the Blade Runner‘s City of Angels.
The LandTraveler doesn’t just look futuristic – it even scores high on the camping trailer aspect. It is well equipped with all the necessities for a night well spent in the outdoors. The camping trailer is made from composite aluminum on the outside and comes complete with a bathroom, a kitchenette, dining cum sleeping area, and lots of skylights to ensure the compact interiors are well lit throughout the day and present a panoramic view by the night. For some off-grid capabilities, the LandTraveler is fitted with roof-top solar panels, a 100-liter water tank, and a heater to keep you warm when away from home.
The Toadi uses 4K cameras to ‘see’ the way humans do. She accurately differentiates between grass, gravel, cemented paths, and even identifies and avoids objects like animals, toys, flower-beds, and fences. Using a sensing and tracking system that’s much more superior to the LiDAR sensors and GPS chips found in home-cleaning robots, the Toadi effortlessly moves around the lawn on her own, mowing in straight lines, crossing over to other parts of the lawn if need be, avoiding flower-beds, objects, or pets (and other garden animals), and staying clear of fences. In fact, her camera sensors are so advanced, the Toadi even serves as a surveillance device, allowing her to spot intruders in your yard at night.
Tesla-fan and LEGO-whiz BrickinNick created a scaled-down model of the Tesla Cybertruck made entirely out of LEGO bricks. The resemblance is admittedly uncanny, so much so that I’m beginning to think the automotive design team at Tesla probably used LEGO pieces to conceptualize the design (I’m kidding, don’t cancel me). Probably as indestructible as the real thing (have you ever seen a lego brick break??), the Cybertruck currently sits in LEGO’s Ideas forum, gathering votes from the public