Model X Falcon Doors

[bonnie]

The doors will need to move in a different way or the roof rack will have to be accessible in a new way ... I've hesitated from pointing out the obvious, but uhhh, you will only be able to load the top with the doors closed, because if they're open, they're blocking access to the roof rack that you're trying to load.

Which of course is not the end of the world. But I've stood on the interior floor of a vehicle to gain another foot or so, just to adjust loads or tighten tiedowns. On the other hand, I'm not one of the people who wants a roof rack, so I haven't spent a whole lot of time worrying about this.

 

[JRP3]

A number of good solutions in this thread. http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/7717-Model-X-Roof-Rack-Hitch-Rack-Trailer-Toys

 

[Electroman]

Folks are spending disproportionate amount of time trying to find a solution for a marginal use case. Here at DFW I hardly see anything loaded on the roofs on any luxury crossover SUVs.

 

[bonnie]

A number of good solutions in this thread. http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/7717-Model-X-Roof-Rack-Hitch-Rack-Trailer-Toys

Many of those are mine . With time, we'll find out what Tesla is going to do. But the speculation is fun.

 

[Barry]

Folks are spending disproportionate amount of time trying to find a solution for a marginal use case. Here at DFW I hardly see anything loaded on the roofs on any luxury crossover SUVs.

It's very different here in Colorado - skis, bicycles, kayaks, etc. are common on top of SUVs. Seems to me, Tesla is producing a minivan and calling it an SUV to avoid the soccer mom image for the vehicle.

 

[JRP3]

Or they are producing an SUV and some people insist on making premature assumptions about it....

 

[SwedishAdvocate]

Folks are spending disproportionate amount of time trying to find a solution for a marginal use case. Here at DFW I hardly see anything loaded on the roofs on any luxury crossover SUVs.

I don't know how large this category of Model S buyers are, but it seems a number of people buying a Model S would never spend $70K and upwards on a car if it weren’t for the Model S. I also don't know how many of them are using a roof rack. But if the same is true for the Model X, as seems to be true for Model S, then there may be a higher percentage that wants to use roof racks on their Xs compared to other high-end crossover SUVs.

 

[tezco]

Here in Colorado, nobody cleans their roof and most barely clean their windows.

You do see those folks out and about. They're the drivers that cut you off because the snow has blown off the roof and covers their back window, or you see them out at the light, trying to uncover their windshield wipers after the whole mess has slid down onto the hood when they've stomped on the brake. Wait, that sounds like me on occasion...

It's very different here in Colorado - skis, bicycles, kayaks, etc. are common on top of SUVs. Seems to me, Tesla is producing a minivan and calling it an SUV to avoid the soccer mom image for the vehicle.

Have to agree with you on this one. Well over 50% have at least a bike rack on top.

 

[sandwich]

On spring break in FL with family, I immediately notice that the parking space under our rented beach condo is about 6'8" - 6'10" (definitely a little less than 7'). Looking around at the houses close by, this was a common height. The next morning we visit a state park for hike. The very limited parking options required us to park under tree limbs, just above roof height. Two instances within 24 hrs where the falcon doors could run into trouble. Hopefully the proximity sensors will be smart enough to detect a tree limb! I'm sure Tesla will also allow the user to manually limit the opening of the doors by applying resistance.

 

[scottf200]

Tesla Motors' (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk on Q1 2014 Results - Earnings Call Transcript | Seeking Alpha

[translation of some words are a little off ...]

Elon R. Musk
Model X is like the biggest driver for R&D expense honestly. You know, with the X we're really trying to make an amazing car and very importantly to have a car that where the production version is better than the prototype, better than the show car. The one thing that drives me crazy about the car industry is like you will see up in these great show cars. And then when you actually get the production car it's some bizarre dumbed-down facsimile of the exciting prototype that was displayed, that's terrible.

So the base line expectation of Tesla is that whenever we have a prototype, the production car is better in everyway, so that's quite difficult to do, and requires some creative problem solving with Model X the biggest challenges is the buckling door making sure that there is truly a step change in utility for the car and not a gimmick. So it’s got to work perfectly and the details have to be just right, and it's amazing how – its like sitting at little things become quite significant engineering challenges.

Such as for example getting the seals on the buckling door to work properly and not be too prominent so that you got seal against rain, winds and against road noise, but you've got something that's articulating across multiple hinges. You've got key junction joints and that kind of thing. So it's quite a difficult ceiling problem to really get it right and be consistent and remain good over many years. So we spend a lot of time on seal engineering.

 

[100thMonkey]

the doors really seem to be holding up the whole show, for really quite limited value, IMHO. I and quite a few other folks I've talked to would be happy if they moved forward with a regular S style door on the X for those of us who are running up against time constraints, like WA states sales tax exemption which expires in June of 2015. Clearly the doors are popular with some, but not a priority to others, so why not do both?

 

[AnOutsider]

Tesla Motors' (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk on Q1 2014 Results - Earnings Call Transcript | Seeking Alpha

[translation of some words are a little off ...]

Elon R. Musk
Model X is like the biggest driver for R&D expense honestly. You know, with the X we're really trying to make an amazing car and very importantly to have a car that where the production version is better than the prototype, better than the show car. The one thing that drives me crazy about the car industry is like you will see up in these great show cars. And then when you actually get the production car it's some bizarre dumbed-down facsimile of the exciting prototype that was displayed, that's terrible.

So the base line expectation of Tesla is that whenever we have a prototype, the production car is better in everyway, so that's quite difficult to do, and requires some creative problem solving with Model X the biggest challenges is the buckling door making sure that there is truly a step change in utility for the car and not a gimmick. So it’s got to work perfectly and the details have to be just right, and it's amazing how – its like sitting at little things become quite significant engineering challenges.

Such as for example getting the seals on the buckling door to work properly and not be too prominent so that you got seal against rain, winds and against road noise, but you've got something that's articulating across multiple hinges. You've got key junction joints and that kind of thing. So it's quite a difficult ceiling problem to really get it right and be consistent and remain good over many years. So we spend a lot of time on seal engineering.

Sounds like normal doors might've seen the X on the road by now.

 

[ckessel]

Clearly the doors are popular with some, but not a priority to others, so why not do both?

Because it'd be crazy expensive with almost no value to Tesla? Dual assembly lines for different doors, different roofs. Completely separate crash tests required. Different suppliers.

 

[bonnie]

the doors really seem to be holding up the whole show, for really quite limited value, IMHO. I and quite a few other folks I've talked to would be happy if they moved forward with a regular S style door on the X for those of us who are running up against time constraints, like WA states sales tax exemption which expires in June of 2015. Clearly the doors are popular with some, but not a priority to others, so why not do both?

I'm guessing at this point, it's far too late to make a change in the design direction.

 

[AnOutsider]

I'm guessing at this point, it's far too late to make a change in the design direction.

Yup, they're committed. It sort of reminds me of the S launch where Elon had put several things out there that he HAD to follow up on to save face (price point, range, 5 star safety etc), some of which slowly faded into the background once the initial publicity was gone (like the 40kwh car, and the prices going up)

 

[ckessel]

As bonnie noted in the X timeline thread, Tesla is already selling every battery pack they can get their hands on with the S. Consequently, the delay in the X isn't going to hurt them financially. Well, some extra money spent on R&D and perhaps opportunity cost of those engineers not being on something else.

 

[RDoc]

My concern has been and still is that such a complex mechanism (and apparently sealing system) will not be reliable over the long term. I had one of the early supercharged MR2's with removable roof panels and after a couple of years the roof leaked in the rain even after a lot of messing around on my part. I'd really like that not to happen with the X.

 

[AnOutsider]

My concern has been and still is that such a complex mechanism (and apparently sealing system) will not be reliable over the long term. I had one of the early supercharged MR2's with removable roof panels and after a couple of years the roof leaked in the rain even after a lot of messing around on my part. I'd really like that not to happen with the X.

I trust Tesla to make it right with the owners should the early builds present issues (with free retrofits), but I agree. I remember going back and forth here (I think it was with ckessel) over the auto-presenting handles on the Model S. It was such a high-profile feature that also was very technical (sw and hw). I remember thinking (and saying) with the delay, I'd assume Tesla would have something that high-profile fully-ironed out by launch.

Sure enough, the S launched without auto-presenting handles and were a PITA for some owners for quite a while. I'm hoping that including these doors won't lead to the same scenario, but I wouldn't be surprised if they did.

 

[Tedkidd]

...running up against time constraints, like WA states sales tax exemption which expires in June of 2015.

Ooof. Nice incentive. What percentage is that?

Might be worth getting an s, then trading...

 

[tezco]

the doors really seem to be holding up the whole show, for really quite limited value, IMHO. I and quite a few other folks I've talked to would be happy if they moved forward with a regular S style door on the X for those of us who are running up against time constraints, like WA states sales tax exemption which expires in June of 2015. Clearly the doors are popular with some, but not a priority to others, so why not do both?

I'm guessing at this point, it's far too late to make a change in the design direction.

I've never understood how these doors can work in snow country; seems like they're having enough trouble with rain, let alone heavy snow. I'm worried that this will end up being a black eye for Tesla.