We all know that car and motorcycle design studios are packed with supercomputers. But they still rely heavily on low-tech, life-size models too, produced by skilled clay sculptors. And that?s even true of cutting edge companies like Tesla.
Richard Mitchell is a clay sculptor for Tesla: he?s responsible for fine-tuning the complex shapes of world?s best-selling plug-in electric cars. ?I love creating something unique that you can see and touch, all from a two-dimensional drawing.?

He?s helped design some of the most futuristic cars on the road, but he?s also got a thing for classic and custom bikes. In his early 20s he started getting into vintage motorcycles?and specifically English marques like BSA, Triumph, Norton and Vincent.
?For years I?ve kicked around the idea of building one,? he tells us. ?The only bike I?ve built before was a mildly custom 1971 Honda SL-125. And although I?m mechanically inclined, there were skills I lacked.?
Those feelings of doubt slowly faded after Richard moved to Los Angeles in 2010 and began working for Tesla.
It was an exciting time: the company was still small in those days, so Richard found himself rapidly skilling up to handle occasional welding, fabrication and painting duties for the prototypes.

?But outside of work, I was bored?and wanted a personal project for my free time,? he says. So he placed a Craigslist ad, looking for a BSA motorcycle ?and/or parts.?
Within hours Richard got a message from a guy with a BSA Thun...