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Model X - Missing and most wanted features

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Here’s a feature I’ve been thinking about for a while for cars in general, even before I ordered the Model X, but I think it could be a particularly good fit for the X given this car was conceived and is being marketed as a family mover.

The background/context is that every so often I hear heartbreaking stories of infants or even toddlers inadvertently left in vehicles (most often due to a change in a parent’s routine), resulting in death by overheating and suffocation. I have seen mentions of high-level statistics that place the incidence of this at 30+ deaths a year in the US. It sort of haunts me because I can be a little absent-minded occasionally, and I don’t know what I would do if this ever happened to me.

I think it would be great if Tesla implemented a safety mechanism to prevent this scenario in the Model X, or at least dramatically reduce its probability. It may require the addition of a presence sensor of some sort, as I doubt the current seat weight sensors in the 2nd and 3rd row seats will be sufficient to detect whether a 10-20 lb infant is or isn’t in a 30 lb car seat. But if the car was somehow able to detect that a child has been left alone inside, there are so many useful actions it could take (the timing of which could perhaps be determined in combination with temperature values): send a push alert to the mobile app, activate ventilation, activate A/C, roll down windows, trigger the alarm to attract the attention of passersby, trigger a signal to law enforcement after all else fails (via Tesla’s back-end platform), etc.

Of course, false positives could lead to undesirable outcomes, e.g. battery drain from unnecessary A/C activation, windows down with the car unattended, etc. But most of those situations should be avoidable by having the push notification be the very first action the car takes, perhaps 2-3 of them in a row at a couple minute intervals, and then continuing with more notifications as each incremental step is taken. The driver/owner could then dismiss the notification and the car would revert any actions taken and go back to sleep.

At the end of the day, even if there was some proportion of false positives, I think this would be a tremendously valuable, life-saving feature. Not to mention that it could be deactivated by anyone who doesn’t have a child and therefore has no need for it.
 
the rear seats, especially in the 6-seat config, desperately need armrests. if you're sitting behind the driver, where do you rest your right arm? it just dangles? need armrests for those rear seats badly.

Doesn't it feel like a fully designed solution? It almost seems like Tesla stripped out the middle 2nd-row seat at the very last minute to address cargo capacity issues in response to public outcry...
 
I just use walk away locking. No touching anything!
I was about to suggest the same thing but I think maybe he means if the car is unlocked with fob but then the fob never goes close to the car and you open the doors, do some stuff and then want to LOCK the car when you're done. Or maybe you just walk into garage and realize car is unlocked and you want to lock it, you HAVE to have the key fob to do so. I keep my keys in a bowl right by garage door so not an issue for me.
 
+1 for 360 surround view/birds eye camera. Extremely helpful when parking my 2016 RX hybrid.

Also, I really wish there was an option to have normal rear doors, instead of the sometimes-unwanted-attention getting falcon winged doors.
 
My #1 request for Version 2 of Model x would be "smart glass" like the ones on Boeing's 787 dream liners. The sun generates a lot of heat in South Florida and does penetrate the tinted glass above. I love the space age feel of the window shield but sometimes feel like I have to wear a hat inside the car to protect from sun.

Second idea which is cheap and simple would be cheap is have the iphone charger swivel. My kids broke the charger from the back seat grabbing it. A swivel on it would make it more flexible and less likely to break.

This is not the Iphone connector but you get the idea:
swivel.jpeg
 
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I thought it was the cover on my iPhone which was preventing the charging. So I took off the cover, still not charging. So I paid the $100 insurance deductible and got a new iPhone and it still doesn't charge. I guess I am going to have to take it apart to figure out what is going on. Someone said there were suppose to be side rails. Tesla installed the iPhone lightning charger but no side rails.

I really like the ability to see the step by step directions for navigation on the screen behind the steering wheel. It even shows pictures of interstate and larger roads ramps. I rarely have to look at the map. I also am starting to rely on this screen to let me know if there is anything in my blind spot. I also use the autopilot a lot more than I thought I would and just keep my hands loosely on the wheel. I purchased the six seat version and therefore don't have a problem with the headrest blocking my vision. I also really like being able to leave the air-conditioning running so stuff in the car doesn't get over heated.

We were considering getting the pano window tinted but even living hear in Florida where the temperature is already in the mid-80's and it is sunny all the time the tinting which comes with the car is sufficient. On the other hand the front side windows can use tinting as the sun does come in pretty strong through these windows and I prefer a lttle move privacy even when I am parked.

My main problem now are I have to reboot almost every day due to freezing screens and still have a problem with the air noise around front windows.

Other than that I am a happy camper. We do have request to bring our car to several shows as I am still the only Model X in my county. The next event is Earth Day at the Kennedy Space Center. The problem I have is I find with people wanting to see the doors open, both the front and gulf wing doors, the car gets confused after a while and starts to do strange things. I was thinking of putting up cones and tape around the car. I can handle 20-30 people but when it gets to several hundred to several thousand it is too much.
 
I thought it was the cover on my iPhone which was preventing the charging. So I took off the cover, still not charging. So I paid the $100 insurance deductible and got a new iPhone and it still doesn't charge. I guess I am going to have to take it apart to figure out what is going on. Someone said there were suppose to be side rails. Tesla installed the iPhone lightning charger but no side rails.

Tesla didn't install anything for me, so I installed it myself. I have the side rails but didn't put them in place since my wife and I have different phones (5S/6S). The lightning connector is pretty straightforward - just pull the rubber base out of the cubby and you'll see it's just a single piece that's screwed in at the top (adjustable for the thickness of your case) and a USB cable that fits in a recession back to the port. In my case, some of the plastic teeth that grab the cable were broken. Not a big deal, though they look really cheap.

I can handle 20-30 people but when it gets to several hundred to several thousand it is too much.
Um.. yes. Too much, indeed!

I think it's great you're showing it off. But the door thing is a concern. One thing you could do is set a timer on your iPhone using Siri ("Set timer for 15 minutes"). Every 15 minutes, demonstrate how the doors close. Reopen them. Reset the timer. Not ideal, but better than having the doors get stuck open.
 
It needs a way to open the passenger door from the key fob.

Also, if we are walking away or hit the lock button on the key fob, all doors including the falcon wings should close. Currently have to close each falcon wing individually.

Also, if the doors still get confused being open too long (and it's not such a quick software fix), then at least have the doors start beeping every 10 minutes so we need to close them and open them, as a reminder.
 
Power frunk, I am never sure if I close it all the way. It should operate just like the trunk.
A lot of discussion about this in the Model S thread, with the consensus being that there are regulatory reasons it doesn't exist.

I have wound up using my frunk on the S to store my UMC (I have a HPWC at home), extension cord, adapters, etc. On trips with a car full of people, we will store some luggage up there. Otherwise, I don't really use it because I don't really need it. The X has a much smaller frunk than my single-motor S, so it has my UMC and hitch adapter - I'm not sure it'll be used for much more. Maybe to house our Tempurpedic pillows on road trips.
 
A lot of discussion about this in the Model S thread, with the consensus being that there are regulatory reasons it doesn't exist.

I have wound up using my frunk on the S to store my UMC (I have a HPWC at home), extension cord, adapters, etc. On trips with a car full of people, we will store some luggage up there. Otherwise, I don't really use it because I don't really need it. The X has a much smaller frunk than my single-motor S, so it has my UMC and hitch adapter - I'm not sure it'll be used for much more. Maybe to house our Tempurpedic pillows on road trips.

Assumed there would be a some reason like that. I have the UMC and hitch in the back under the floor. Usually like the put stuff in the frunk, especially if we have the dogs in the back.