Case Study: Tesla Motors achieves high-quality, rapid electric-car design with Autodesk Alias Surface

Tesla Motors Reinvents the Electric Car with Help from Autodesk Software

Tesla Motors partnered with Autodesk, using Autodesk® Alias® Surface (and later incorporating Autodesk® Showcase®), to solve the challenge of designing the Model S: a desirable, high-performance electric sedan that needed to balance familiar automotive styling with revolutionary packaging and functionality, all on aggressive development timelines to change public perception of electric cars.

Autodesk delivered Alias Surface as the core design and visualization tool, enabling rapid digital surfacing, iterative CNC-milled clay prototyping with scan-back refinement, and fast 3D visualization. The Autodesk-enabled workflow let Tesla produce high-quality designs in very short periods, meet extremely aggressive timelines, and bring a market-ready Model S to life with standout exterior styling and an innovative 17-inch touchscreen interior—results Tesla credits directly to Autodesk’s tools.

Tesla Motors

Paul Lomangino

Engineering Tools Manager