2 for 1 Model X 100D - Zero compromise? What's your story?

[Letin]

Agreed, regular swinging doors are far more dangerous for hands and fingers than slowly-operating electric doors with crush sensors, like in minivans or the FWD

I'm starting to see it this way now, I mean the blunt force of a smashing swing door can crush anything. I mentioned above that I find the motorized X doors seem quite gentle

 

[Letin]

We’ve had EVs since 2010 but sold our last ICE car about 2 years ago. I have a 6 and 8 year old. Last year I was taking the kids to school and had put a couple empty Propane canisters in the back to get them filled. My younger daughter asked me what they were and why they were in the car. I told her I had to go to the gas station after I dropped them off so I could cook on the grill. She say “Oh okay... What’s a gas station?”

I just did the math, your 2 kids had no experience with any gas stations lol!

 

[xyeahtony]

this is all great information! what happens if you were to park at the supercharging stations overnight but not plugged? $110 from California to Florida it's cheaper than taking Greyhound! Just did a quick google search the fare is $208!

probably okay if nobody else needs to charge but generally its poor EV etiquette to take up a charging spot if you're not charging.

 

[Tam]

Greyhound from LAX to NYC $186!

True! Mass transit should be encouraged.

However, usually, for a cross country trip, it's seldom to be solo, so the $186 price needs to be doubled for a couple, triple for a family of 3, quadruple for a family of four and for Model X, the savings is even more maximized for 7 seater configuration!

 

[Letin]

True! Mass transit should be encouraged.

However, usually, for a cross country trip, it's seldom to be solo, so the $186 price needs to be doubled for a couple, triple for a family of 3, quadruple for a family of four and for Model X, the savings is even more maximized for 7 seater configuration!

That's my point! as per your older post, 1 per fare ($186) is 40%+ more than driving a model 3 which carries up to 5!

 

[Uncle Paul]

For 3 generations I had both a Viper and a Grand Cherokee. Served me well, as they both gave me great mobility and lots of fun and utility.

Traded both in for a Tesla X and never looked back. Great fun, super versatility, use it for everything. Still get a kick out of it every time i slide into the seat.

 

[Peteski]

True, with any car we're supposed to train our little ones with any types of doors. My wife found her thumb in the door once she almost crushed it, it happens. From my limited experience with the X in both showrooms I remember all 4 doors being quite "gentle" in terms of their weight and motorized closing.

Also, they now have an internal sensor that detects anything underneath and stops the doors closing. Only yesterday our daughter put her arm up as the FWD was closing and it stopped instantly. It wasn't even close to her, a good foot or more away. Had it continued closing, nothing bad would have happened anyway, the door panel would have just gently pushed her arm down. Really I don't worry at all about FWD safety with the kids. But I do still pay full attention when opening or closing them - but more with traffic, obstacles and people walking nearby. But again that's the same with normal swing doors - it's just that people are generally more complacent with them.

 

[Xminus6]

I just did the math, your 2 kids had no experience with any gas stations lol!

They did as we had some ICE cars up until a few years ago but I think they sort of forgot about gasoline. Even my elder made a comment recently that implied that she thought most, if not all, cars ran on electricity. It's interesting to watch through the eyes of a kid. Although they don't seem to note much difference when they ride in my Mom's Mazda 3.

 

[Xminus6]

Also, they now have an internal sensor that detects anything underneath and stops the doors closing. Only yesterday our daughter put her arm up as the FWD was closing and it stopped instantly. It wasn't even close to her, a good foot or more away. Had it continued closing, nothing bad would have happened anyway, the door panel would have just gently pushed her arm down. Really I don't worry at all about FWD safety with the kids. But I do still pay full attention when opening or closing them - but more with traffic, obstacles and people walking nearby. But again that's the same with normal swing doors - it's just that people are generally more complacent with them.

I wish the FWD always opened in slim mode though. When I am opening the doors for the kids to get into the car, the FWD always seems to swing out further than it has to. While there are no obstacles there right at that time, there are people walking by during the duration of the opening/closing. It forces me to park my car a good foot or so further away from the curb than I would usually.

 

[mal_tsla]

I wish the FWD always opened in slim mode though. When I am opening the doors for the kids to get into the car, the FWD always seems to swing out further than it has to. While there are no obstacles there right at that time, there are people walking by during the duration of the opening/closing. It forces me to park my car a good foot or so further away from the curb than I would usually.

I don't think they need more space than a traditional swinging door. In fact, I think they need less -- even in "no obstacles" fast open mode.

I think passer-bys are more likely to be struck by a normal door opening than a FWD. Anyone measured this?

 

[Xminus6]

I don't think they need more space than a traditional swinging door. In fact, I think they need less -- even in "no obstacles" fast open mode.

I think passer-bys are more likely to be struck by a normal door opening than a FWD. Anyone measured this?

Technically I believe you're right but traditional doors get narrower toward the top and most of them don't reach head height for adults. FWDs definitely pass by head height, especially if the person is standing/walking on the curb, and the bottom edge of the door extends out rather far. I like the FWDs, but their operation isn't quite perfected yet. I see no reason why they shouldn't open in close-proximity mode all the time.

The other thing I don't understand is why they stop ¾ the way up when they sense an obstruction to the side but not one at the top. If you park close to a car in an open air parking space, the doors will clear the car next to you, then stop at a height that makes it very awkward to exit the car on that side.

 

[mal_tsla]

Technically I believe you're right but traditional doors get narrower toward the top and most of them don't reach head height for adults. FWDs definitely pass by head height, especially if the person is standing/walking on the curb, and the bottom edge of the door extends out rather far. I like the FWDs, but their operation isn't quite perfected yet. I see no reason why they shouldn't open in close-proximity mode all the time.

The other thing I don't understand is why they stop ¾ the way up when they sense an obstruction to the side but not one at the top. If you park close to a car in an open air parking space, the doors will clear the car next to you, then stop at a height that makes it very awkward to exit the car on that side.

The first part, I think mostly we are more cognizant of the FWD doors whereas people throw their doors open without even looking for passers-by without a second thought.

The second part is due to sensor blindness as the door pivots upwards. Think of it this way -- before the door starts to move, it estimates the distance to the object next to it. Now, it models a box only that wide, and opens the door without ever crossing the plane it has defined as the safe boundary. Due to limited range of motion of the elbow joint, the door cannot open any higher without crossing that plane, so it stops. This will keep it from hitting, say, a brick wall...

The door cannot see "high", it doesn't know it has cleared a car next you. It stops because maybe the car is very tall and it might hit it.

I do wish it had more sensors or a more flexible elbow joint

 

[Xminus6]

The first part, I think mostly we are more cognizant of the FWD doors whereas people throw their doors open without even looking for passers-by without a second thought.

Hmm. I don't really believe this to be the case. I'm around 6'2" and I have to lean back pretty often when the FWD is opening because there's a sharp point of the door passing right by my face. Of all the cars I've owned in the past I've never had a door that had a protrusion that was that high up and that far out from the main body of the car. Most rear doors have an edge that tapers downward from the top meaning there's less protrusion as head height.

If measured strictly from a horizontal clearance specification, you're probably right that it takes less space than normal doors. But in practice you have to be more aware of where the door is compared to a traditional door.

 

[mal_tsla]

Hmm. I don't really believe this to be the case. I'm around 6'2" and I have to lean back pretty often when the FWD is opening because there's a sharp point of the door passing right by my face. Of all the cars I've owned in the past I've never had a door that had a protrusion that was that high up and that far out from the main body of the car. Most rear doors have an edge that tapers downward from the top meaning there's less protrusion as head height.

If measured strictly from a horizontal clearance specification, you're probably right that it takes less space than normal doors. But in practice you have to be more aware of where the door is compared to a traditional door.

Ahhhh... One (of few) advantages of being short (5'8)! Door is above my head before it opens "out"

More elbow joint range of motion would help, right? Maybe next version.

 

[Peteski]

Hmm. I don't really believe this to be the case. I'm around 6'2" and I have to lean back pretty often when the FWD is opening because there's a sharp point of the door passing right by my face. Of all the cars I've owned in the past I've never had a door that had a protrusion that was that high up and that far out from the main body of the car. Most rear doors have an edge that tapers downward from the top meaning there's less protrusion as head height.

If measured strictly from a horizontal clearance specification, you're probably right that it takes less space than normal doors. But in practice you have to be more aware of where the door is compared to a traditional door.

I would agree with this, FWD does get much closer to your face than a normal door following a totally different trajectory i.e. outward and upward, vs swinging outward only. Passers by or first time passengers getting in the car would also not be expecting a door to open like that, so you always have to warn them to stand back. Our girls understand this now and automatically keep out of the way, but for anyone else it's a totally new experience!

But people can be very careless and complacent in opening normal car doors - plenty of cyclists and pedestrians get hit every year by car doors being opened as they pass. At least FWDs give you a reason to take more care than you might otherwise do. I know I take them very seriously on opening and closing. It's not a bad thing IMO.

As an improvement, it would be good if they could actually sense pedestrians stood in the way, rather than rudely pushing them out of the way on opening! (note that I've only tested this on myself, not any unsuspecting pedestrians, lol)

 

[mal_tsla]

Do they often sense stationary people in the way. But passers-by is hard.

Usually when the door starts moving up it gets a lot if attention and anyone nearby is unlikely to be caught off guard

 

[Peteski]

Do they often sense stationary people in the way. But passers-by is hard.

I'm fairly sure mine doesn't detect anyone standing outside in the way. If I stand right in front of it on purpose, I get biffed out of the way (obviously it would stop if I resisted). Although it does detect parked cars that are too close. The internal detector however senses anyone stood underneath it when open and won't close on them. Mine is a Feb 2018 car with the additional internal sensor.

 

[mal_tsla]

I'm fairly sure mine doesn't detect anyone standing outside in the way. If I stand right in front of it on purpose, I get biffed out of the way (obviously it would stop if I resisted). Although it does detect parked cars that are too close. The internal detector however senses anyone stood underneath it when open and won't close on them. Mine is a Feb 2018 car with the additional internal sensor.

Ours is an old Dinosaur 2016. It doesn't *always* detect people, I think because bags of water are hard to see reliably with ultrasonics placement on the door. But, I've seen it, where I am sitting in the driver's seat and my wife is standing outside the passenger side of the car, and I can "see her" on the screen -- red arcs shown next to the FWD indicating something is close and they will may not open normally. In these cases, if I go to open the door (or sometimes she does so, by pressing the button on the door), the door will open very slowly and very conservatively. Ironically, that's never what we want -- we want the door to open HELPFULLY, not fearfully, and 100% of the time it ends with us overriding the door -- the dreaded beep and super slow opening to a useful height. I guess I wish this function didn't work at all haha

 

[Xminus6]

Ahhhh... One (of few) advantages of being short (5'8)! Door is above my head before it opens "out"

More elbow joint range of motion would help, right? Maybe next version.

Yeah. I don’t have a good sense for what the solution is. Perhaps it’s also the shape of the door. That front corner could be rounded or perhaps taper in more. When I open the driver’s side FWD and my door at the same time, which I do multiple times a day, I have to step out of the car but be aware of where the pointy front corner of the FWD is at all times. It passes right by my face if I get out too early.

 

[Letin]

For 3 generations I had both a Viper and a Grand Cherokee. Served me well, as they both gave me great mobility and lots of fun and utility.

Traded both in for a Tesla X and never looked back. Great fun, super versatility, use it for everything. Still get a kick out of it every time i slide into the seat.

coming from a viper owner! I always thought EVs were "boring" cars, and only for people looking for practicality, my view has shifted the more Teslas I see on the road and how they manage to make the S & X, now the 3 gorgeous to look at. I'm glad to hear you're enjoying the X every time you drive it, very looking forward to taking delivery next month! Thanks for your story