Tesla Sneaks Clever Easter Egg Into Model Y Announcement
No one ever accuses Tesla of not having a sense of humor.
The company knows it has the attention of alternative vehicle enthusiasts and their own enthusiastic fanbase in the ongoing run-up to the launch of their much-anticipated Tesla Model Y and they used the buzz to sneak in an amusing Easter egg that was invisible to all but the most astute observers, Clean Technica reports.
The company, as sleek technology and automotive companies tend to do, sent out a slick and suspenseful invitation to the unveiling. The email invitation included a dramatically darkened image that teased the overall shape of the new vehicle, with the lighting just barely suggesting the exterior shape of the car.
With much speculation and no real leaks regarding what the new vehicle will look like, fans and journalists alike eagerly pounced on the invitation in hopes of picking up design elements or other hints as to what the final product will look like prior to the planned March 14 unveiling.
The image practically begged viewers to crank up the brightness on their monitors in hopes of revealing just a little more of the shape of the Model Y.
Tech-focused YouTuber Marques Brownlee took that idea a step further, popping open his image editing program in an attempt to further brighten the photo.
The Model Y, Tesla's new SUV, will be unveiled on March 14 https://t.co/hMNAPWEuNh pic.twitter.com/sEvYTD0DjT
— CNET (@CNET) March 3, 2019
It turned out that Brownlee was right: there was more to see. But it wasn’t exactly what he expected or was hoping for. Instead of being able to crank up the image brightness and catch a shadowy glimpse of the front bumper or other design elements, Brownlee caught a glimpse of just the front license plate of the vehicle, which seemed to reveal that Tesla, or at least their social media team, knew exactly what he was up to.
“Nice try,” read the plate, revealing nothing further.
Ok well played @elonmusk @Tesla pic.twitter.com/7VeYtw6eke
— Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) March 9, 2019
“Ok well played @elonmusk @Tesla,” Brownlee tweeted, sharing a brief video of how he manipulated the image and what the amusing punchline turned out to be.
Since posting the video, the tweet has been like tens of thousands of times and created an amused buzz across social media.
The viral Easter egg represents just one small piece of an overall excited buzz around the upcoming release of the Model Y, with fans and analysts waiting with anticipation as the March 14 release date approaches. The preorder and reservation process has not yet been revealed, though Clean Technica has suggested that prospective buyers could be able to reserve their Model Y for $1,000 once ordering goes live.
