‘Tesla town’ visualised

A new study by car and van leasing company Vanarama has visualised a fictional city designed by Tesla using artificial intelligence (AI).

Vanarama used common design features from Tesla, as well as their real-world projects, to prompt the AI image generator to create the cities.

The study was inspired by Toyota’s Woven City, a living laboratory at the foot of Mount Fuji that could welcome its first residents as early as next year.

There was also Fordlandia, created in 1928 by American manufacturer Ford, to capitalise on South American rubber for vehicle parts.

Tesla’s city is an imagined evolution of Snailbrook, a town set up by Tesla chief executive Elon Musk to bring together all of his ventures – namely Tesla, SpaceX, and The Boring Company – near Austin, Texas.

Its present population is estimated at less than 20, but this vision fast-tracks it to a metropolis of modern architecture and tech.

Vanarama’s version of Snailbrook leans on the smooth shaping of Tesla cars, while the glass ovals on either side of the road are reminiscent of the panoramic windshield and roof on many models.

 As a centre for the next stage of EV development, the roads are also capable of wireless charging, with magnetic coils below the asphalt transmitting current to a coil on the EV’s underside.

View the full study to see cities inspired by BMW (based around the German brand’s high-rise headquarters on the north side of Munich, which represents engine cylinders), Lamborghini (based on Monaco as a luxury coastal resort), and Dacia (reimagining Dacia’s base in Mioveni, Romania).

Vanarama used Midjourney to generate initial images from language prompts around specific features from cars to create the cities for the four auto manufacturers.

With these initial images, Vanarama then included additional features and expanded upon the prompts to create futuristic and realistic city landscapes.