[sokoloff]

I tried to find "truly new" models (rather than generation refreshes or name changes). The first five I thought of were the Lexus RX SUV, the Fiat 500, the Mini Cooper, the 1965 Mustang, the 2015 Mustang (a ground-up re-platform, not a restyling effort).

It would be possible to argue that Tesla outproduced the Mini Cooper (depending on how exactly you shade the first year of production).

The others handily beat them, with the 1965 Mustang crushing Tesla...

[kidsnow]

Which year Lexus RX are you referring to? The Lexus RX SUV has been around a long time, and was originally based on a car platform which I believe was the Toyota Camry / Lexus ES platform.

[chemmail]

The RX was released in 98 but was really a rebadged Toyota Harrier and came out a year prior in JDM.

[chemmail]

You could argue the '65 Stang was a cheap Falcon. So they had everything in place, just changed up the bodywork.

[sokoloff]

Is the Model 3 just a cheaper Model S by the same argument?

(It's a genuine question. Yes, the Mustang was based in part on the prior Falcon platform. Wouldn't Tesla sensibly base the 3 in part on the S in the same way Ford continued to sell the Falcon alongside the Mustang? If Tesla is sharing literally nothing across models, that seems like a non-sensical way to run a car company to me.)

[peeters]

They're sharing what they can obviously, but the platform will be different. There are a lot of cars that are like 90% similar, especially sedans and crossovers sharing the same platform. To that extent, the Model X apparently used the Model S platform as its starting point (but no idea if it's still shared). The Model 3 however is a mid-sized sedan compared to S's full-size, so the sharing would mostly be limited to tech and components, but not platform.