Falcon doors for all models?

[Sunlight]

It seems that Tesla is putting an inordinate amount of effort into getting the signature falcon doors 'perfect' for the Model X. This must be taking a lot of time, effort and resources!

Makes me think that this effort may not only be for the Model X.............

Surely the falcon doors (in slightly modified form) could find a home on the next Roadster; in a 2+2 coupe; for the Model 'E' '2-door'; etc etc.

It could become a major iconic design feature and a 'must have' feature. Difficult for other manufacturers to 'copy' without giving even more credit to Tesla and just looking like copy-cats!

And more practical than gullwings or scissor doors - could be a pretty cool factor..........

 

[Gwgan]

....
Surely the falcon doors (in slightly modified form) could find a home on the next Roadster; in a 2+2 coupe; for the Model 'E' '2-door'; etc etc...

or the extended sedan with rotating captains chairs in the rear. Sounds nice, but getting the model 3 out is far more valuable use of the limited resources

 

[Todd Burch]

I agree that it may be a distinguishing feature on their higher end cars. Probably not Gen3 as it will introduce too much additional cost. Also, it depends on how they work out the roof rack issue.

 

[Sunlight]

Well it depends on how much of the development costs have been defrayed and how much the doors cost in production. Once the tricky bits are done the cost may be acceptable.

But yes I agree that the doors would most probably only be used on top-end models.

I would think that the types of cars they would end up on (other than the MX) are unlikely to have roof-racks as a priority.

 

[100thMonkey]

It would lead to Tesla having the unsavory distinction of being the only car manufacturer that makes cars that you can't put anything on top of. It would be a cool option, but best left as a choice, IMHO.

 

[Ben W]

Also, it depends on how they work out the roof rack issue.

I suspect that with the roof rack attached, the doors will simply open as gull-wing; i.e from the outer hinge only. I suppose we'll find out soon.

 

[Trev Page]

I suspect that with the roof rack attached, the doors will simply open as gull-wing; i.e from the outer hinge only. I suppose we'll find out soon.

This is something I was thinking about and a solution so simple popped into my head and I thought "it makes total sense". What if the Model X roof rack had an electrical interconnect with the doors such that when one door opened the roof rack would simply slide over to one side of the vehicle. Of course, only one door would be able to open at a time but it seems the simplest solution to me.

 

[AlMc]

I suspect that with the roof rack attached, the doors will simply open as gull-wing; i.e from the outer hinge only. I suppose we'll find out soon.

This is something I was thinking about and a solution so simple popped into my head and I thought "it makes total sense". What if the Model X roof rack had an electrical interconnect with the doors such that when one door opened the roof rack would simply slide over to one side of the vehicle. Of course, only one door would be able to open at a time but it seems the simplest solution to me.

The solution I and some others have proposed is allowing the door to both slide ( like van ) or Falcon wing. If you put a roof rack on the doors sense that it is present and 'slide' open. No roof rack and they falcon open.

 

[Trev Page]

I just posted an animation of what I think is the simplest solution here:

http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/show...k-Hitch-Rack-Trailer-Toys?p=680464#post680464

 

[Username]

Personally, I won't be surprised when the Model X comes out that it won't have the Falcon wing doors.
They've probably done test after test in cold climate areas and realize there is no getting over snow and ice falling into the cabin or getting crunched when the doors close above.
Too much of a headache and liability issue!
Either that or they will make the Falcon wing doors optional, especially for cold climate areas.