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If you are thinking about Tesla then you like technology, if not love it. You are an early adopter and want to front row seats to what is shaping up to be a revolution. I'm new to the forums and patiently awaiting my three week late X. I find it strange that there are so many haters on this particular thread subject. A lot of blame and finger pointing about who is dumb and who should have been responsible or more careful. I hope this is a place for answers and good conversation about Xes. By default we are all a little biased by even signing up on TMC and believe in what they are doing so it really surprises me when there's so much anti speech with members at each other's throats. I hope my FWD doors open and close reliably. I hope they don't crush against any "unseen" objects. I hope Tesla can improve this. Doors have been produced and regret is not an option for progressive companies and people. Headaches, maybe. If Tesla had quit when there were challenges and didn't want to conform, we'd have a typical car company and most of wouldn't be on this forum, probably driving a Volt. Thanks OP for sharing and making us aware. Thanks for all the objective and even keeled discussion. The ugly passionate posts one way or other, I could have done without.
ModelXBoy
No More Door Captain of TMC! Oh Yeah Baby!
If all parts of the Model X work as they should, and you are financially strong enough to afford a Model X. My suggestion to you is to get the X without a second thought. Here is my reasons I stated in other threads as well on why you should get a Model X:
1. Car can drive itself
2. a Lamborghini styled back doors for around 80,000 (rebates and lowest configuration)
3. 0-60 at 3.2 second, faster than Ferrari Enzo (P90D Ludicrous configuration)
4. Helicopter cockpit on a car
5. Bio Defense filter to prevent pollution or maybe nuclear attack
6. Door auto presents itself and close for you (If it works)
7. Big iphone on wheel, can over the air update and has ipad styled center console
8. Green, no gas ever, no coil change for maintenance
9. Part of the group as we call it 'the pioneers" to revolutionize the automotive industry
10. Seats for 7 (with 7 seat configuration)
Thanks
ModelXBoy
I'm sold as are the kids (they're already naming it and speculating on who would win, the X or S, in a race). Wife is VERY practical and needs much convincing. It took a detailed spreadsheet, comparisons between ICE vehicles v. Tesla S, visits to dealerships, etc... to get her to even test drive it (which she enjoyed, but wouldn't admit).
Ultimately it was a minor fender bender which I believe made her agree to the S, and even then I could only convince her on the 70D. She loves it now, understands how great the car is, loves AP, and let's me drive it on weekends. Her misgivings on the X are the plethora of windows (it gets HOT here) and the complexity of the technology (FWD). She wants to sit in it, drive it and play around with it as I've already told her that the X we would get would need to be at least a 90D. She's never been inclined to buy such an expensive vehicle.
So for now, I watch the X forums, learn about the issues and wait for my local sales center to get an X to test drive. That being said, saving the cash to get ready to buy once we're ready (and hopefully decrease our expenses soon!). Hope the Boss likes the X!
Ultimately it was a minor fender bender which I believe made her agree to the S, and even then I could only convince her on the 70D. She loves it now, understands how great the car is, loves AP, and let's me drive it on weekends. Her misgivings on the X are the plethora of windows (it gets HOT here) and the complexity of the technology (FWD). She wants to sit in it, drive it and play around with it as I've already told her that the X we would get would need to be at least a 90D. She's never been inclined to buy such an expensive vehicle.
So for now, I watch the X forums, learn about the issues and wait for my local sales center to get an X to test drive. That being said, saving the cash to get ready to buy once we're ready (and hopefully decrease our expenses soon!). Hope the Boss likes the X!
CarlK
Active Member
Absolutely, even with the consideration that there might be potential issues with the FWD or you might need to pay extra attention. The simple reason is you have no better alternatives. Zero in the forseeable future.
Loved Ohmman's take on this.
Thought I'd give my take as someone who ultimately didn't buy an X.
A little about me. I had a deposit on the X for well over a year. Been reading about tesla and lurking here for a really long time. I'm a Silicon Valley techie guy. Not "too old" (I hope). Have two ~3 and ~5 yr old boys (who aren't exactly careful with cars. I'm not the kind of person who generally pays *so* much for cars, yet I love cars, and I pay cash when I do buy. I like to think that for me, value is the trump card. Which is why all things considered I ended up buying a used, fully loaded P85 instead of the X.
Now, I'm not a single issue voter. Which is why I can't say that the FWD made or broke this decision. But, it's very interesting to me how far I've swung on this particular topic.
I started out loving the FWDs when they were just a concept. I used to think I'd feel really cool driving a car with FWDs. After I went to the reveal, my lanyard with the picture of the X was thrown into my back seat, and my at the time 2yr old found it and got so excited, held it up and in his 2 year old vocabulary exclaimed "daddy! Dis car have wings!! Dis car FLYING!". Lol, I was like, oh ho ho! Just you wait kid until I get one of those it's gonna be so fun. I also have colleagues who would look at me and scrunch their faces and say stuff like, don't you think Teslas in general are a bit ostentatious? And then those FWDs, isn't that kind of too over the top, do you really want to be one of those people? And I came up with this (joking!) response that they all had "reverse pride". It's like, a lot of people are "too proud" to get the best car, aka the smarter more sensible or whatever car (maybe a minivan) - the car that's the most right for them, because instead their pride makes them get the flashy thing that's ultimately worse for them and their pocketbook. Well "reverse pride" is when someone really needs to just suck it up, and get the super expensive and flashy car because it happens to be the most practical for kids (FWDs!) AND the best for the planet. So I was pretty excited. And I guess I told myself that FWDs were a mere engineering problem and it was simply a matter of solving that problem sufficiently. I'm not saying this still isn't my opinion. I'm maybe just not as confident that tesla has solved it.
But, as time wore on, so did my view of the FWDs. At the reveal event, the car we were supposed to get into had one FWD fail in a half open state right in front of us and the X had to be wisked away. Then reports kept coming about the production delays linked to the doors. i started to worry more about long term reliability. I started to think about some of the very real negative trade offs (i.e. Roof storage). I imagined a parallel universe where tesla simply never mentioned FWDs, just made good old doors like every other SUV has, and nobody was ever the wiser and loved the car anyway. And, slowly but surely, my sense of how I'd feel, opening and closing those doors every day at preschool started to change. I mean, honestly, it's not like I hate them. One can't help but marvel at them. But when I really started to picture myself owning all the good and bad things about them, I'd say for sure it reached neutral at best.
I should add, our kids are getting easier to put in the car, and I only have 2. My last car of 8 years was an SUV and I really never thought I'd go back to a sedan, but it's funny how when you're in the thick of things with small kids, you think it's never gonna change, but then it does.
So, sorry, I wanted this to be shorter.
But I'm just one data point who ultimately couldn't believe I didn't buy an X. Like I said, FWDs weren't the only issue. Part of it was paying half price for a <3 yr old totally loaded P85 including the ESA so 5.25yrs / 67k miles warranty. It's got more range. Is way faster (than an X75D), is tried and tested, it even has a couple tiny imperfections so I don't feel the need to yell at my kids when they step on the seats. It's my super awesome beater tesla for less than the price of some Bmw i3s.
I do think here on this forum we're in a bit of a bubble. I'm not sure if it's right to take a random sample of just X owners and say look, 95% of them love FWDs, hence they are a success. It's like, most people who buy unique things probably love them. Most people who bought delorians probably loved them and preached the advantages of heavy stainless steel.
I feel like the balance of public opinion of people who might actually be in the market for an X is kind of hung in the balance. It will be interesting to see what tips the scales.
Thought I'd give my take as someone who ultimately didn't buy an X.
A little about me. I had a deposit on the X for well over a year. Been reading about tesla and lurking here for a really long time. I'm a Silicon Valley techie guy. Not "too old" (I hope). Have two ~3 and ~5 yr old boys (who aren't exactly careful with cars. I'm not the kind of person who generally pays *so* much for cars, yet I love cars, and I pay cash when I do buy. I like to think that for me, value is the trump card. Which is why all things considered I ended up buying a used, fully loaded P85 instead of the X.
Now, I'm not a single issue voter. Which is why I can't say that the FWD made or broke this decision. But, it's very interesting to me how far I've swung on this particular topic.
I started out loving the FWDs when they were just a concept. I used to think I'd feel really cool driving a car with FWDs. After I went to the reveal, my lanyard with the picture of the X was thrown into my back seat, and my at the time 2yr old found it and got so excited, held it up and in his 2 year old vocabulary exclaimed "daddy! Dis car have wings!! Dis car FLYING!". Lol, I was like, oh ho ho! Just you wait kid until I get one of those it's gonna be so fun. I also have colleagues who would look at me and scrunch their faces and say stuff like, don't you think Teslas in general are a bit ostentatious? And then those FWDs, isn't that kind of too over the top, do you really want to be one of those people? And I came up with this (joking!) response that they all had "reverse pride". It's like, a lot of people are "too proud" to get the best car, aka the smarter more sensible or whatever car (maybe a minivan) - the car that's the most right for them, because instead their pride makes them get the flashy thing that's ultimately worse for them and their pocketbook. Well "reverse pride" is when someone really needs to just suck it up, and get the super expensive and flashy car because it happens to be the most practical for kids (FWDs!) AND the best for the planet. So I was pretty excited. And I guess I told myself that FWDs were a mere engineering problem and it was simply a matter of solving that problem sufficiently. I'm not saying this still isn't my opinion. I'm maybe just not as confident that tesla has solved it.
But, as time wore on, so did my view of the FWDs. At the reveal event, the car we were supposed to get into had one FWD fail in a half open state right in front of us and the X had to be wisked away. Then reports kept coming about the production delays linked to the doors. i started to worry more about long term reliability. I started to think about some of the very real negative trade offs (i.e. Roof storage). I imagined a parallel universe where tesla simply never mentioned FWDs, just made good old doors like every other SUV has, and nobody was ever the wiser and loved the car anyway. And, slowly but surely, my sense of how I'd feel, opening and closing those doors every day at preschool started to change. I mean, honestly, it's not like I hate them. One can't help but marvel at them. But when I really started to picture myself owning all the good and bad things about them, I'd say for sure it reached neutral at best.
I should add, our kids are getting easier to put in the car, and I only have 2. My last car of 8 years was an SUV and I really never thought I'd go back to a sedan, but it's funny how when you're in the thick of things with small kids, you think it's never gonna change, but then it does.
So, sorry, I wanted this to be shorter.
But I'm just one data point who ultimately couldn't believe I didn't buy an X. Like I said, FWDs weren't the only issue. Part of it was paying half price for a <3 yr old totally loaded P85 including the ESA so 5.25yrs / 67k miles warranty. It's got more range. Is way faster (than an X75D), is tried and tested, it even has a couple tiny imperfections so I don't feel the need to yell at my kids when they step on the seats. It's my super awesome beater tesla for less than the price of some Bmw i3s.
I do think here on this forum we're in a bit of a bubble. I'm not sure if it's right to take a random sample of just X owners and say look, 95% of them love FWDs, hence they are a success. It's like, most people who buy unique things probably love them. Most people who bought delorians probably loved them and preached the advantages of heavy stainless steel.
I feel like the balance of public opinion of people who might actually be in the market for an X is kind of hung in the balance. It will be interesting to see what tips the scales.
aesculus
Still Trying to Figure This All Out
To summarize some of the points about the Model X's FWD I see here (now that this thread has gotten a bit off topic):
- There is an absolute possibility that these doors (and the front doors too with PUP) can interact with objects in a not so satisfactory way.
- The FWD have been a part of the car since it's inception - if you did not think they were necessary, then why did you reserve one?
- There are clearly refinements needed in the operation of the FWD and it's sensor's, or lack thereof
- In the meantime there are operational capabilities (ie lower default door settings) that can minimize your exposure that will require a little more manual intervention to raise the doors completely after you insure clearance is adequate
- The Model X may be Tesla's gen 2.5 vehicle, but the doors pushing it way beyond the .5 domain. If you are looking for a stable production vehicle, probably best to move on or wait.
- The debate continues on what level of 'completeness' these doors should obtain to be production ready. Perhaps it's now or perhaps it's in the future and some cars may need upgrades
Moved some posts to Discussion re: the Dislike Button (and some of them should have gone to snippiness). Let's try to stay on-topic folks and not attack our fellows.
Yes, and to make it clear since some of my posts were moved that had some important points within their 'snippiness'...ANYONE WHO IS USING THIS FORUM FOR DOING DUE DILLIGENCE ON WHETHER OR NOT THEY SHOULD BUY AN X OR NOT SHOULD REALLY CONSIDER THE MODEL X FACEBOOK GROUP AS A BETTER SOURCE. On there you get more genuine response/feedback as people are naturally more accountable for what they're saying when their identities are being revealed as part of their feedback. Plus there are many more pictures/videos shown on FB which I personally like to see as well when I'm trying to envision whether a new technology/product is right for me and my family or not.
Goodluck!
Funny that @Superloud and I went opposite directions. Thanks for the post, I enjoyed reading it and agree with a lot of your reasons for making the decision you did.
I realize reading my long post that I didn't include this - as of now, falcon wing doors included, I'm glad we got the X. I don't have any regrets. But that's for my family, and I understand that everyone else has their own criteria (as @Superloud pointed out so well above).
The falcon wing doors have another indirect benefit, which is one of my favorite things about the car. More on that later.
I realize reading my long post that I didn't include this - as of now, falcon wing doors included, I'm glad we got the X. I don't have any regrets. But that's for my family, and I understand that everyone else has their own criteria (as @Superloud pointed out so well above).
The falcon wing doors have another indirect benefit, which is one of my favorite things about the car. More on that later.
I am hoping they'll put a bit of padding on the beam, so the next X that parks there won't be damaged.
This is the success I am accustomed to seeing in the garage. I have been trying to figure out a way to simulate a padded beam and experiment with overhead locations. I think I can see how it would happen - the center proximity sensor doesn't see things right above the glass.
ModelXBoy
No More Door Captain of TMC! Oh Yeah Baby!
Beautiful car! Same color as mine. Can't wait to get mine back. I missed my little "ModelXBoy"
We had one of the FB member's, you're referring to, posting here that Falcon Wing Door will crash into front door when opened or closed at the same time. So I would take your recommendation with a grain of salt.
No grain of salt needed, I'm just suggesting people should use the FB model X group as a more reliable indicator of owners experience and satisfaction or dissatisfaction with their X....of course I agree if a lot of X owners complain about some aspect of the X (e.g. FWDs) in the Facebook model X group then that should carry a lot more weight than what goes on here is all I'm saying
EV-lutioin
Active Member
Bummer! Well, it takes courage to invent something new and to create something people say can't be done.... isn't that what Tesla is all about? Isn't that why we love the company and its products? The FWD works perfectly well most of the time, but Tesla will have to do more work to ensure that it works 100% of the time and I am confident they will. I am impressed how little damage there is to the door, it must have stopped opening immediately upon impact.
Trivia tech tip:
When I have clearance issue in a garage, for whatever reason, and I need to locate the car precisely, I tied a string and a small stuffed animal from the ceiling. I adjust it to hit the middle height of the windshield right at the top center of the steering wheel.
You pull forward until the animal moves.
When I have clearance issue in a garage, for whatever reason, and I need to locate the car precisely, I tied a string and a small stuffed animal from the ceiling. I adjust it to hit the middle height of the windshield right at the top center of the steering wheel.
You pull forward until the animal moves.
