Considering I still don’t know whether to take the Tesla Cybertruck reveal seriously or not, Tesla has revealed a new, refreshingly reserved design sketch in an effort to recruit design talent for its plans in China.
Tesla just opened its Shanghai Gigafactory, where it plans to build the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y for the local market. With that established, the company now wants to open a new design development studio in the country as well.
The image of the previously-unseen Tesla design was featured on the company’s official WeChat account, according to abacusnews.com, in a post announcing the company would be searching for submissions for a designed-in-China model due by February 1.
It appears to be a design study for possibly some sort of Tesla hatchback or city car, likely smaller than anything we’ve seen from the company yet. It’s also possible that this could be some version of a Tesla crossover coupe, heaven forbid.
Given the context, though, I’m doubtful this is a serious Tesla design and I wouldn’t get my hopes up for a production version. Why show off a new upcoming car design if you’re asking people to also come up with a new upcoming car design? The post itself makes no mention of what the car actually is, according to Google Translate.
Regardless, it’s nice to see that for every Cybertruck, there’s a good chance we’ll get something else that’s a little more... normal. Now we just have to worry about Tesla not selling whatever designed-in-China model it settles on in the U.S.
You can check out the full open call for designers by clicking here.
Via InsideEVs.