Elon Confirms S & X Are Chopped Liver

[tomas]

Undeniably many people who have the money to buy luxury cars replace them every few years. I’ve done this in the past, and I guess it was because after a few years the thrill wore off. With the S/X, the why escapes me. I’ve got 7 years on my 2012 and it still looks and drives like new. And I don’t know what else I’d buy. Another S probably. As much as people threaten, I think very few of us could go back to ICE.

 

[CarlK]

Are you suggesting I’m not a real owner?

Small numbers are real whiners too.

 

[Cosmacelf]

Undeniably many people who have the money to buy luxury cars replace them every few years. I’ve done this in the past, and I guess it was because after a few years the thrill wore off. With the S/X, the why escapes me. I’ve got 7 years on my 2012 and it still looks and drives like new. And I don’t know what else I’d buy. Another S probably. As much as people threaten, I think very few of us could go back to ICE.

I just upgraded my 3 1/2 year old X. It was a major upgrade. New more comfortable seats, much smoother suspension, significantly longer range, AP 3.0 with navigate on AP, faster display computer, etc. well worth the upgrade.

 

[VikH]

I get different strokes for different folks; but The falcon wing doors on Model X was one of the major reasons I got the car in 2017. Been loving them especially since we have kids in car seats. I guess objectively there were some teething pains at the beginning with the paint rubbing around the door sill; but that's been resolved with the door bumper redesign at this point. The biggest downside is the attention they draw when you open them! I don't mind explaining usually; but sometimes you just want to fly under the radar. Other than that; no issues with them. I wouldn't want to give them up (unless there is a good sliding door design perhaps? Thats the only way they might be better as they can get slightly in the way when opening; a sliding design might work better?.)

Anyways, just curious how the doors aren't working out for you.

Agreed. They are functional for young kids in car seats and entering/exiting 3rd row. The biggest disadvantage for me is flashiness.

They are not the best for teenagers. Besides being a bit slow, they can be a bit flashy for high school drop offs/pick ups. We've had our lanky teens bump their heads on the edges of them several times in egress/ingress.

Also with darker color paint trims, on hot days it's a known issue that it "sees" a phantom object so they don't open even though there's nothing obstructing. Had them serviced to redo the sensor adhesive more than once. Like the window squeaking, it fixes for a few weeks then returns. Really annoying. I have video in case anyone doesn't believe - that loud BEEP when they won't open all the way for no reason is beyond embarrassing and ends up having the opposite effect the FWDs are supposed to have.

For us the novelty wore off pretty fast.

Outside of that, sure. They're great....

You have the phantom issue on a Raven? I have had a phantom object issue maybe once or twice in my 1.5 years of owning my X. I open my FWDs at least 2-3 times a day and they have worked extremely well. I did have the window squeak, but had my SC applied Gummi Pfledge to the windows and it has not reoccured since (been about 12 months). I would recommend applying Gummi Pfledge (you can purchase on Amazon).

Sometimes I think I got the sweet spot in MX production when they did not have much going on, so they built my car carefully

 

[TIppy]

As Tesla reduces its options and combinations, many have speculated there is no more build-to-order but rather a process of matching an order with a build.

I think I can put that speculation to rest. The local Tesla store just took delivery of the exact configuration of the car I ordered 17 days ago, and they still haven't started building my car. If they were matching orders, they couldn't have had a closer match.

 

[ohmman]

Small numbers are real whiners too.

My guess is you don't carry passengers in the back often. If I didn't, I probably wouldn't have much to say about the doors. Do it every day, and you get annoyed, as everyone (except you) has agreed upthread and offline. I merely take issue with your stating that real owners don't have problems, which is demonstrably false. Not that you want that to get in the way of your dismissiveness.

 

[Mrcook4590]

I had thought that most Tesla owners have known from the start that the high end cars were made to pay for bringing electric to the masses. That they are slowing production of these to focus on the ones that will make the company more money is no surprise to me. Personally, I would be extremely sad to see the X or S go the way of the 3. I don't like driving the 3 as much as my X despite the longer range and newer AP. I have to put the steering wheel quite low in it so I don't see the road between the steering wheel and the dash because it makes me get motion sickness. It takes me forever to find how to turn on the windshield washers or find things that are easily at hand on my X or S. I usually put it on AP if I have to hunt for a/c controls, and I really don't like the look of the interior of it (dash, one screen). Getting into the X or the S, I feel like the luxury is already there. I love having the dual screens as well. I don't like having to try to remember where to look for my speed. That all being said, I will take the cheapest 3 over any ICE car in a heartbeat.

To address why I think sales have slowed down: Fear. People are afraid Tesla is really going under this time. My mom has test driven my X but is too afraid to buy one at this point. We are very close to getting a new X. Fear isn't our problem though. Just our timing at the moment.

 

[CarlK]

My guess is you don't carry passengers in the back often. If I didn't, I probably wouldn't have much to say about the doors. Do it every day, and you get annoyed, as everyone (except you) has agreed upthread and offline. I merely take issue with your stating that real owners don't have problems, which is demonstrably false. Not that you want that to get in the way of your dismissiveness.

We of course do. It's really just a (simple) learning curve although I have to agree not everyone has the ability to learn even pretty simple things in life. It became a second nature for me, and wife, to take a quick glance to asses the situation, mostly people inside or outside near the car before opening the door. Regular passengers all learned how to use it pretty quickly too. Why don't you share with us what you think is so hard to handle?

 

[john85775]

You have the phantom issue on a Raven?

Not yet! My understanding is the flaw was a switch to a lesser adhesive. So the "fix" is to reapply sensors using the stronger adhesive.

Hopefully the Raven won't have this issue, but there's a lot of summer left...

 

[ohmman]

We of course do. It's really just a (simple) learning curve although I have to agree not everyone has the ability to learn even pretty simple things in life. It became a second nature for me, and wife, to take a quick glance to asses the situation, mostly people inside or outside near the car before opening the door. Regular passengers all learned how to use it pretty quickly too. Why don't you share with us what you think is so hard to handle?

Cute underhanded personal attack. I assure you, I'm quite capable of learning.

• We cannot get out of the car simultaneously. You have to wait for one or the other to go first. This is less convenient than normal doors, even if it's manageable.
• In my garage and most parking garages as well as narrow parking spaces, the falcon wing door stops with the corner edge at face level. It's impossible to pass until the door has been closed again. If one of my kids tries to open the falcon wing door while I'm getting out, the door won't open because of me being an obstruction. This situation cannot exist with normal doors because of the hinge placement.
• New passengers require an education on the door. I just had guests in town and one kept standing in the way of the door in parking lots. I told her, oh, you have to push the handle, back up out of the way, let it open, then come back into it. They found it awkward, because it is.
• When parallel parking, I always have to be concerned about street signs. The sensor doesn't do a good job of identifying them. I've already had my son open his door into one, which dented and scraped the door. With a normal door, it's obvious where to stop. The part that hits the door is the sign, not the post. The door raises into it. I'm not the only one to complain about this issue on TMC.

I could list plenty of situations, but I've known you on here long enough to realize you aren't going to see my point of view, which is fine. I'm glad you and your daily back seat passengers are having a great time with the doors. We aren't, and every owner I know in real life agrees with me. So consider yourself a lucky guy!

 

[john85775]

We love our X in spite of the FWD, not because of them.

 

[VikH]

Cute underhanded personal attack. I assure you, I'm quite capable of learning.

• We cannot get out of the car simultaneously. You have to wait for one or the other to go first. This is less convenient than normal doors, even if it's manageable.
• In my garage and most parking garages as well as narrow parking spaces, the falcon wing door stops with the corner edge at face level. It's impossible to pass until the door has been closed again. If one of my kids tries to open the falcon wing door while I'm getting out, the door won't open because of me being an obstruction. This situation cannot exist with normal doors because of the hinge placement.
• New passengers require an education on the door. I just guests in town and one kept standing in the way of the door in parking lots. I told her, oh, you have to push the handle, back up out of the way, let it open, then come back into it. They found it awkward, because it is.
• When parallel parking, I always have to be concerned about street signs. The sensor doesn't do a good job of identifying them. I've already had my son open his door into one, which dented and scraped the door. With a normal door, it's obvious where to stop. The part that hits the door is the sign, not the post. The door raises into it. I'm not the only one to complain about this issue on TMC.

I could list plenty of situations, but I've known you on here long enough to realize you aren't going to see my point of view, which is fine. I'm glad you and your daily back seat passengers are having a great time with the doors. We aren't, and every owner I know in real life agrees with me. So consider yourself a lucky guy!

Agreed they suck in parking garages (fire sprinklers pipes and low concrete crossbeams give me nightmares) and they require new passenger training. However, I have found the advantages (access to 3rd row and car seats in 2nd row) to be worth the "cost" since I do not park in a parking garage on a regular basis and I do not have new passengers often. Also to mitigate the risk of damage in the above scenarios, I stand outside and open the door so I can determine if it needs to be stopped or solve passenger confusion.

Also note that in my garage, I have it set to always open fully which they have done (knock on wood). I assume you do as well, so not sure why it would open partially.

 

[ohmman]

We love our X in spite of the FWD, not because of them.

This is a sentiment I tell people all the time.

Also note that in my garage, I have it set to always open fully which they have done (knock on wood). I assume you do as well, so not sure why it would open partially.

Mine cannot open fully without hitting the ceiling/garage door due to the height of my garage ceiling. This, despite the fact that I removed my double doors and old openers and installed a wall mount opener for a single door to get more clearance. All for the X.

You also raise a good point about the 3rd row. We have a 6 seater, and my kids almost always use the third row when it's necessary. So they just climb through the middle. We don't really get any 3rd row access benefits because of the way we use it.

 

[CarlK]

Cute underhanded personal attack. I assure you, I'm quite capable of learning.

OK. Then let's see what you're not capable of learning.

• We cannot get out of the car simultaneously. You have to wait for one or the other to go first. This is less convenient than normal doors, even if it's manageable.
• In my garage and most parking garages as well as narrow parking spaces, the falcon wing door stops with the corner edge at face level. It's impossible to pass until the door has been closed again. If one of my kids tries to open the falcon wing door while I'm getting out, the door won't open because of me being an obstruction. This situation cannot exist with normal doors because of the hinge placement.
• New passengers require an education on the door. I just had guests in town and one kept standing in the way of the door in parking lots. I told her, oh, you have to push the handle, back up out of the way, let it open, then come back into it. They found it awkward, because it is.
• When parallel parking, I always have to be concerned about street signs. The sensor doesn't do a good job of identifying them. I've already had my son open his door into one, which dented and scraped the door. With a normal door, it's obvious where to stop. The part that hits the door is the sign, not the post. The door raises into it. I'm not the only one to complain about this issue on TMC.

Is that all? All car functions need some getting use to. Have you ever had it happened that passengers in the back seat could not figure out how to open a regular door? Or when you yourself are in the back seat in some of those cars for example ones with sliding doors? You just figure it out and have it done with. That lady passenger, if she's older than twelve, I would have think this is not the biggest problem she'd face in her life. BTW if that was me I would never pick them up again after they told me it's "awkward" even if the really believed so. Sounds like a bunch of unappreciative jerk.

I could list plenty of situations, but I've known you on here long enough to realize you aren't going to see my point of view, which is fine. I'm glad you and your daily back seat passengers are having a great time with the doors. We aren't, and every owner I know in real life agrees with me. So consider yourself a lucky guy!

Let's just say I'm a better learner, or a worse whiner, than you are.

 

[ohmman]

Let's just say I'm a better learner, or a worse whiner, than you are

I’ll go with a worse whiner.

 

[CarlK]

I’ll go with a worse whiner.

I'll give you that, a great whiner with no peer.

 

[jerry33]

Is that all? All car functions need some getting use to. Have you ever had it happened that passengers in the back seat could not figure out how to open a regular door?

About one in five people struggle to figure out how to open the MS front doors (at shows). Fortunately, not many sit in the back, so I don't have an idea about that. Kids under twelve never have a problem.

I reckon it's somewhat like being married. After a bit, say three to five years, small things become real irritants until you just learn that's the way it is and don't stress over it (or you get divorced).

 

[ohmman]

I'll give you that, a great whiner with no peer.

I’ll keep this link on hand for the thousands of times I get called a fanboy here.

 

[jerry33]

the thousands of times I get called a fanboy here.

My experience has been that anyone who is positive about something is called a fanboy by those who are not. If everyone liked the same thing, there would only be one of each.

 

[CarlK]

About one in five people struggle to figure out how to open the MS front doors (at shows). Fortunately, not many sit in the back, so I don't have an idea about that. Kids under twelve never have a problem.

I reckon it's somewhat like being married. After a bit, say three to five years, small things become real irritants until you just learn that's the way it is and don't stress over it (or you get divorced).

Not sure about others but I'm happily married and always a fanboy of my significant other half. I'm also a fanboy of the company I work for and most everything I have in life. Why would I want to marry someone, work at some place or buy a certain car if I'm not going to be happy with it? That's just me though.

I'm an engineer and most of people I associate with are technology literate. That could make some difference of course. Either way I can't think of a reason anyone under the age of, say, 50 in this tech world would have a tough time to learn those things. No offense to people over 50 since I am one of you too.