SwedishAdvocate
Active Member
What do you gals & guys think? How likely is it that this will be their solution to this dilemma?
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Model X Falcon Doors
- Thread starter Robert.Boston
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- falcon wing doors Model X
bonnie
I play a nice person on twitter.
I have no idea if this will be their solution. But my point is that there ARE solutions. I'm sure they'll pick one.
Erleichda
Member
I think they will have multiple solutions. Honestly, most SUVs or vans use a roof rack for a few things. I'm sure there is industry data such as how many types of different racks Yakima or Thule sell.
Bike racks actually work better as a tow hitch attachment, easier than lifting up top. Skis and snowboards are usually roof items, but I also think a hitch attachment though hard to find is even better. I bet the third item usually up there is a rocketbox for extra storage. Again, hitch mounted options for storage exist and are great for vehicles like a Jeep. Occasionally strapping down something to move, just rent. Biggest issue I see is longboards and paddle boards, kayaks or canoes. I just can't see any solution there.
Then again, that's why our family has a Tesla model S with jump seats for the every day kid duty and care used most while Dad drives this:
Bike racks actually work better as a tow hitch attachment, easier than lifting up top. Skis and snowboards are usually roof items, but I also think a hitch attachment though hard to find is even better. I bet the third item usually up there is a rocketbox for extra storage. Again, hitch mounted options for storage exist and are great for vehicles like a Jeep. Occasionally strapping down something to move, just rent. Biggest issue I see is longboards and paddle boards, kayaks or canoes. I just can't see any solution there.
Then again, that's why our family has a Tesla model S with jump seats for the every day kid duty and care used most while Dad drives this:
Well not if your driver falls asleep at the wheel. And then starts driving in the median for about a mile. Before you get back on the road. Bikes on hitch rack on the van left in tact? None. Bikes on roof racks in tact? All 9. Not that you would use that as a selection criteria. But if you plan on doing any serious off-roading (intentional or unintentional) then roof racks are the way to go. Just watch out for the range hit, and don't hit garages!
As someone who has had a roof rack on their car basically continuously (Thule you really need a fit kit for the Model S, I am about to buy a Yakima rack). I really see there being options to mitigate the problem. It might be pricy though, and would probably preclude a 3rd party system (unless Tesla pulls a VW/MB and pairs with Thule/Yakima to make their solution).
I don't see the lower half of the door articulating out. The hinge is supposed to articulate in to keep it close to the vehicle. Plus articulating out would require some interesting glass maneuvering.
But if there was a way to have my bike racks up there and open both back doors. I would be fine with only having one open when stuff is on the roof.
But I'll take my Model S with a roof rack. It's big enough as it is.
What if the passenger front seat pivoted forward to allow ingress/egress from the front passenger door? I wonder if that would be good enough?
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Or pivoted to the left (to the middle of the car). That should give enough space for ingress/egress with stuff on the roof.
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Or pivoted to the left (to the middle of the car). That should give enough space for ingress/egress with stuff on the roof.
JRP3
Hyperactive Member
I can't quite agree here, since I've gone off roading with a hitch rack on a Jeep. Bikes on the roof would have quickly been swept away by tree branches. All depends on the situation.
Newscutter
Member
Windy here today.
Wonder what would happen to a MX door opened into the wind... having seen normal car door hinges bent/knocked out of alignment by wind gusts.
Hmmm.....
Hopefully all will be answered next month at http://www.naias.com/ ??
Wonder what would happen to a MX door opened into the wind... having seen normal car door hinges bent/knocked out of alignment by wind gusts.
Hmmm.....
Hopefully all will be answered next month at http://www.naias.com/ ??
Haven't done thorough testing, but opening the rear hatch on the S in the wind hasn't been an issue. It's powered on mine, and I assume the X will be as well.
That is a good point. It should be workable thanks to the second hinge, but it may be an issue.
Even if it is an issue, you may be at less rollover entrapment risk in a model X than in most cars, due to the low center of gravity, and the fact that regular doors can be damaged in a crash too.
I guess we'll have to see how it plays out.
There is the metal roof edge runner there separating the 2 glass panels, side & top. So yeah, could be. I figure this one issue is a serious ongoing headache for some brilliant 'designgineers' there.
If I get a rack, which I doubt, it will go in the receiver hitch on the back.
unless, of course, they really come up with something brilliant! We know they have been working on it.
If I get a rack, which I doubt, it will go in the receiver hitch on the back.
unless, of course, they really come up with something brilliant! We know they have been working on it.
Engineering suicide doors, as well as production, would be much harder then designing a robust rack or sensor-block for the falcon doors. I get the kayak wanting to be on the roof, but I'll use the hitch for everything like bikes, extra cargo (big BBQ) or skis.
BTW, @sjoshuaj, nicely done!
Plus... Even with the doors, they're at more than 10k reservations (better than the S?)
No need to complicate things
No need to complicate things
Maybe so, but so much of what I like about the S is that it's design is practical and beautiful. The X feels like style at the expense of practicality. Aside from wanting to put stuff up top, I simply can't imagine opening the back doors in this wind and rain we've been having lately without large quantities of water making into the car. Some aspects of Tesla's designs seem a bit sunny California centric. One of the subtler issues here is the difference in style. the northwest, as you know, is a bit more casual and toned down, the falcon doors are rather overly attention drawing for the social norms here. having a regular door or suicide door option would allow folks to pick and choose based on the various climates and tastes throughout the country. The cost in engineering would, IMHO, be well worth the additional sales. I'm quite convinced that the X would have a much wider market if a more typical door were offered. I just don't see the sense is keeping the options limited to the realm of super exotic.
There will be a number of cancelled reservations once details, pricing, etc. are released.
Do the Tesla stores still require a reservation down payment for a test drive? When I did my MS drive over a year ago, they did.
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