Delay in model X launch?

[Trev Page]

If the doors were hydraulic on the prototype then we'd most likely hear pumps but I can't hear any in any of these videos taken at one of the stores when the X was displayed a few years ago.

Tesla Model X Door Opening - YouTube

Tesla Model X Doors Closing - YouTube

 

[tenstringer009]

Was reading Motor Trend last night and came across their overview of the Model X. It says that it'll arrive 'in the next couple of years'. I sure hope that Motor Trend doesn't know something that we don't. :wink:

 

[smac]

Was reading Motor Trend last night and came across their overview of the Model X. It says that it'll arrive 'in the next couple of years'. I sure hope that Motor Trend doesn't know something that we don't. :wink:
View attachment 92336

That looks out of date. It says it has 691hp

 

[hockeythug]

Sick burn with the cool fact.

 

[Crowded Mind]

Sick burn with the cool fact.

Haha, exactly what I was thinking. So "cool".

 

[Hugh Mannity]

No squirrel, but this might be a new pic.

oh behave :biggrin:

 

[trialcritic]

I can understand the problem Tesla has with the Model X. On one hand, it cannot delay it anymore. On the other hand, it depends on it for growth and must be perfect (especially after the Consumer Reports rating of the Model S last week). A major mess up and Tesla can be toast in the stocks. Tesla is probably one of the most advanced car companies in technology. They are possibly the largest car company invested in artificial intelligence and cryptography. Considering the size of Tesla compared to the other car companies, that should give you something to ponder over.

 

[scottf200]

<snip>
Tesla is probably one of the most advanced car companies in technology. They are possibly the largest car company invested in artificial intelligence and cryptography.<snip>

You can't possibly believe this. They are playing catch up in just about EVERY area except electric drivetrains for*cars and possibly UIs in cars. Other companies have demonstrated and implemented most sophisticated systems. This has been talked about over many threads.

 

[anticitizen13.7]

You can't possibly believe this. They are playing catch up in just about EVERY area except electric drivetrains for*cars and possibly UIs in cars. Other companies have demonstrated and implemented most sophisticated systems. This has been talked about over many threads.

In some areas I do believe it.

Name one other company that issues OTA patches on a regular basis to its vehicle firmware. Most car companies have made network security an afterthought.

It's definitely a fair point that Mercedes Benz and Google implement self driving more completely than Tesla does at the moment. However getting there first isn't always the best thing. I've read a fair bit from Honda and Acura owners who find the self driving assistance stuff to be poorly implemented and even annoying.

 

[smac]

I can understand the problem Tesla has with the Model X. On one hand, it cannot delay it anymore. On the other hand, it depends on it for growth and must be perfect (especially after the Consumer Reports rating of the Model S last week). A major mess up and Tesla can be toast in the stocks.

Completely agree on this bit.

Being blunt about it, the delays are hurting the S too in some ways. The delays in the X have been causing Tesla (IMO) to rush out changes to the S to keep sales momentum. (The original road map looked like RWD Model S -> AWD Model X -> AWD Model S.)

The flux in the line up is actually quite worrying. Right now I wouldn't buy a new Model S when the risk of it almost immediately being superseded is pretty high. (I'm not in the market for an SUV)

For me I'd really like a period of stability. There is highly likely to be a face lift* S in the not too distant future after the X Launch to re-invigorate Model S sales as they've already played the AWD card, so until then I'll sit on the sidelines.

(*At a minimum I think cabin improvements from the X will trickle down to the S, it makes a lot of sense from a production and supply POV, and addresses one of the S's biggest complaints in the luxury sector)

 

[hpham007]

Name one other company that issues OTA patches on a regular basis to its vehicle firmware.

They issue ota updates because they often sell cars with features promised but not ready. My first car I bought with tacc was in 2007. Never needed a ota update for that because it worked from the moment I bought the car.

 

[Sad]

They issue ota updates because they often sell cars with features promised but not ready. My first car I bought with tacc was in 2007. Never needed a ota update for that because it worked from the moment I bought the car.

To be fair, they also added features OTA that had never been announced/promised, e.g. creep, hill assist, reverse lines, improved performance for 85D... Autopilot is the big exception, but is also unfortunately a feature that Tesla over-advertised and in a way which can be misleading, for example it's not immediately clear on the website which features are already available and which aren't. They could have limited the announcement to TACC, which became available fairly quickly and which was the one thing sorely missing from the MS compared to other luxury sedans.

 

[scottf200]

In some areas I do believe it.

Name one other company that issues OTA patches on a regular basis to its vehicle firmware. Most car companies have made network security an afterthought.

It's definitely a fair point that Mercedes Benz and Google implement self driving more completely than Tesla does at the moment. However getting there first isn't always the best thing. I've read a fair bit from Honda and Acura owners who find the self driving assistance stuff to be poorly implemented and even annoying.

You are certainly right about the OTA. Some of that is in the UI I was referring to but one of the points I really like about Tesla is there willingness to do OTA. GM actually started that on the Volt but I don't think it made it out of an alpha state. There were reports of early people having it done. Now I have to go get a USB drive stuck in my car (2011 Volt). But that is for modest fixes and not enhancements per se. A great thing I like about Tesla. Of course some of the big car companies meet dates AND they put out a more finished product.

 

[Matias]

27 is the highest reported reservation number which is able to configure. So that speaks for a very limited number of cars manufactured in September.

 

[CmdrThor]

27 is the highest reported reservation number which is able to configure. So that speaks for a very limited number of cars manufactured in September.

Which is consistent with the outlook provided by the Q2 shareholder letter.

 

[AnxietyRanger]

Returning to the claim by Eds of ongoing design changes to Model X (being allegedly a root cause for ramp-up volume delays) that included door opening mechanism to change from hydraulic to electric, we now have new pictoral data from the Model X design studio - indeed showing a physical change in the door opening mechanism, not only compared to the 2012-2013 prototype but also compared to the spring 2015 mule leak from Michigan:

 

[hockeythug]

Could just be a pretty housing so it looks better.

 

[AnxietyRanger]

Could just be a pretty housing so it looks better.

But it is not merely a housing for the tube, also the points on the lower and upper end, especially the latter, have new designs/different parts - and it seems to attach to a different point on the lower end (although only the opposing side is visible) - suggesting more than a cosmetic alteration. Perhaps in place of pneumatics there, Tesla has added electrically extending rods.

Aside from my speculation, given Eds' track record so far with insight into supplier issues vis-à-vis the CC, I would say this with the new picture suggests there may have been something to his/her info on the falcon wing design changes as well. It would seem like the simplest explanation.

 

[CarlK]

They issue ota updates because they often sell cars with features promised but not ready. My first car I bought with tacc was in 2007. Never needed a ota update for that because it worked from the moment I bought the car.

What car that would be? I bet I can find a million things it does not do that you had to live with forever.

 

[ludicrousspeed]

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/639180971418320896

Elon just tweeted that the first production X deliveries will be on September 29th at the Fremont Factory. Also noted that the base price for the X will be $5K higher than the S, which addresses all the misleading articles floating around today. Great news.