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Model X sales versus other large luxury SUV's

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Falcon wings are most definitely not as practical. No roofracks, garage concerns... and yes, added price.

Absolutely 100% true. I cannot tell you how many people have told me the doors were show-stoppers for them. Even buying a used X was out of the question for them because they are concerned about repair costs.

Sales of the Model X will never reach the levels that Tesla hoped for. Think about this way. Sedans are totally out of flavor right now. Sales are crumbling in the large luxury sedan market, yet the S dominates that class. People like the S and like that it's electric. On the other hand, SUVs are the flavor of the day. EVERYBODY wants one it seems. There is no reason that the X should not be able to take a significant portion of its class's overall sales. But it hasn't. Simply put, the X is a badly designed car and I really hope Tesla is working on a gen 2 version.

Just because some people on here like the X doesn't mean it's a good car.
 
I wonder how costly it would be to convert the X to normal doors while separating the roof elements into a kind of folding T-top.

Would retain the benefits to access, be compatible (albeit at a loss of functionality) with roof racks, and probably cheaper to build and maintain (think replacement and actuator gauge).
 
Absolutely 100% true. I cannot tell you how many people have told me the doors were show-stoppers for them. Even buying a used X was out of the question for them because they are concerned about repair costs.

I'm sorry but no. I could just as easily tell you how the FW doors were an important factor in my buying decision (2 kids), how they work flawlessly so far (even is tight space, or garage) and how Tesla worked hard to iron the out since the initial issues, how they are covered under the warranty for 4 years, and last but not least how I got approached by multiple people with kids interested to know more about the car because of the doors.

Just as much as my experience is not a statistic, yours isn't as well. So just because you belive the X is a bad car, it doesn't mean it is.
 
I'm sorry but no. I could just as easily tell you how the FW doors were an important factor in my buying decision (2 kids), how they work flawlessly so far (even is tight space, or garage) and how Tesla worked hard to iron the out since the initial issues, how they are covered under the warranty for 4 years, and last but not least how I got approached by multiple people with kids interested to know more about the car because of the doors.

Just as much as my experience is not a statistic, yours isn't as well. So just because you belive the X is a bad car, it doesn't mean it is.

Let's forget each other's personal opinions and experiences and just look at the sales figures. Pretty obvious the car isn't selling anywhere near where Tesla thought it would. I think it will get much worse over the next 12-18 months. The S, though being a vehicle type that people simply aren't buying these days, has increase its sales at least 50% every year. As 2017 goes by, the real determination as to the X's success will be the quarterly sales numbers. Will the X achieve the kind of success (in terms of growing sales) that the S did - that's the real question. It should be able to with no problem if people like it as much as you think, since it is in a class of vehicles that is selling like hotcakes. We'll see.

And, let's not even talk about how much this car is costing Tesla in warranties and lemon replacements. There are several instances on TMC where Tesla has had to replace the whole dang car!
 
Model X needs 7 seats that can all independently fold flat. It would eat into minivan sales for sure.

FWD will only improve in reliability over time and it's the defining feature of the car.

A Model X without FWD is not a Model X.

If you want sliding doors, make the car longer and turn it to Model V for Van.
 
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Let's forget each other's personal opinions and experiences and just look at the sales figures. Pretty obvious the car isn't selling anywhere near where Tesla thought it would. I think it will get much worse over the next 12-18 months. The S, though being a vehicle type that people simply aren't buying these days, has increase its sales at least 50% every year. As 2017 goes by, the real determination as to the X's success will be the quarterly sales numbers. Will the X achieve the kind of success (in terms of growing sales) that the S did - that's the real question. It should be able to with no problem if people like it as much as you think, since it is in a class of vehicles that is selling like hotcakes. We'll see.

And, let's not even talk about how much this car is costing Tesla in warranties and lemon replacements. There are several instances on TMC where Tesla has had to replace the whole dang car!

The Model X is significantly more expensive than the Model S. That would lower the total sales numbers.

All of Tesla's recent design center changes have been to lower the production cost to where the car can either be sold for less or pack more features at the same price to increase the value proposition.
Even if numbers were not great at this point it's all upside from here.
 
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Most non-geeks and non-california people have never seen a Model X in real life, as they are so new and rare. I'd imagine as they become a slightly more common sight they will become more well-known on their own, driving more mainstream sales. I definitely feel like a brand ambassador popping the doors while schlepping my kids around. I'm still disappointed they discontinued the X60D, as that's a price point that sounded a bit more reasonable to a family buyer who might also be looking at BMW or Audi SUV's.
 
Most non-geeks and non-california people have never seen a Model X in real life, as they are so new and rare. I'd imagine as they become a slightly more common sight they will become more well-known on their own, driving more mainstream sales. I definitely feel like a brand ambassador popping the doors while schlepping my kids around. I'm still disappointed they discontinued the X60D, as that's a price point that sounded a bit more reasonable to a family buyer who might also be looking at BMW or Audi SUV's.

That's a very obvious detail that has no been mentioned at all up until this point. Through observation, we can conclude that Tesla *cares less* about pushing Model X sales by removing the 60D option.

We can infer that the concern is around margin per car and not total sales of cars. Tesla must have determined that the opportunity cost of pushing Model X units is too high versus their other efforts.

While we could stretch a bit to aim for the 75D/90D/100D, the 60D is what got us into the door for Tesla.

The 3 will be the value option that gets people thinking about the X when they need a family car.
 
I like the X (ordered one) but I agree with some of the notions here regarding the general public opinion. I've heard a lot of negative opinions from others about the FWD - sure they make life easy for most of us but they are also too showey for some and many have concerns about garage height clearance. I think Tesla would have had more sales if it had a more traditional door system and folding seats with the 7-seater config. The S is more practical in many ways. Fortunately Tesla is selling Model X well and hopefully the Model Y will be just as popular (if not more so) than the Model 3!
 
Let's forget each other's personal opinions and experiences and just look at the sales figures. Pretty obvious the car isn't selling anywhere near where Tesla thought it would. I think it will get much worse over the next 12-18 months. The S, though being a vehicle type that people simply aren't buying these days, has increase its sales at least 50% every year. As 2017 goes by, the real determination as to the X's success will be the quarterly sales numbers. Will the X achieve the kind of success (in terms of growing sales) that the S did - that's the real question. It should be able to with no problem if people like it as much as you think, since it is in a class of vehicles that is selling like hotcakes. We'll see.

And, let's not even talk about how much this car is costing Tesla in warranties and lemon replacements. There are several instances on TMC where Tesla has had to replace the whole dang car!
Hmmm. A post today on another thread says his vin is 41000+. Considering that production didn't ramp up til March last year, I think Tesla is pretty happy with progress.
 
Here is an example of FWD that isn't working correctly. It does this in our garage 50% of the time. There was nothing next to it and the door was operated remotely. The sensor was just replaced recently. Any conventional door or sliding door would not have issue here.

IMG-20170210-WA0002.jpg
 
Here is an example of FWD that isn't working correctly. It does this in our garage 50% of the time. There was nothing next to it and the door was operated remotely. The sensor was just replaced recently. Any conventional door or sliding door would not have issue here.

View attachment 214172

Does it work properly with the garage door closed ? The clearance should be better. Howver, I think Tesla should allow to save an override by location. You should clearly be able to open it up.
 
It is saved by location if you override
I have similar situation and was able to save the setting to open fully

We override it all the time since we load the baby carrier on that side, as it doesn't appear to remember. Perhaps we are doing something wrong with the way we are overriding it?

Btw, the door does operate ok and open widely even with garage door opened like shown in the picture, it just doesn't do it consistently. I found that it is not the vertical clearance that's causing issue, but rather it is somehow detecting obstacles on the side and preventing the door from swinging out.
 
I'm sorry but no. I could just as easily tell you how the FW doors were an important factor in my buying decision (2 kids), how they work flawlessly so far (even is tight space, or garage) and how Tesla worked hard to iron the out since the initial issues, how they are covered under the warranty for 4 years,

Well, all we of course individually have is anecdotal information. But I will offer one more anecdote, just recently I was discussing with an acquaintance that had test driven the Model X. He only stated one concern (that was keeping him from buying the car): the doors. He was concerned about their practicality in garages. Money was no object to this person. He wanted an SUV and was ready to go EV, but the doors...

and last but not least how I got approached by multiple people with kids interested to know more about the car because of the doors.

They are interesting, just like a Laborghini or a DeLorean. But people admiring them is not necessarily the same as people ready to buy them.

I would not have bought model x without the falcon doors. I love it and it will definitely pick up in sales this coming year.

I concede there is a class of people who buy the Model X because they love the doors. I know because I belong that class (I started the Falcon Wings - Must have them, will absolutely hate them thread back in 2014 already). They are attention grabbers and they are intriguing if you are into such novelties. And they can help in certain scenarios (child seats I guess mostly).

However, it is still a very big question mark how much any such positive is offset by mainstream negative sentiments on the doors.
 
The Model X is significantly more expensive than the Model S. That would lower the total sales numbers.

Why is that, though? Model X was supposed to be low single-digit percentage more expensive originally compared to the Model S. How much are those falcon wings adding to the price that could have been avoided with a more traditional design? How much did they delay the product and add to cost through that (especially as it meant designing in-seat seatbelts for the second row that are speculated to have nixed the folding in safety tests...)?

The competition seems a bit concerned ... and late to market :cool:

Volvo says its first all-electric vehicle is coming in 2019 with battery packs up to 100 kWh
Audi talks e-tron quattro and takes a swipe at Tesla, says will be ‘the first real premium electric SUV’

The bigger question is: Would the competition have more cause for concern if Model X was a more traditional SUV?

Don't get me wrong. I am super happy Tesla built the Model X, because warts and all it is quite unique. I am happy because it fits my temperament. But I am also realistic enough to understand my early-adopter tech-head geeky disposition does not always sit well with the mainstream. I fear Model X may be a victim of this reality, especially once more regular EV SUVs hit the streets.

Model X should be selling 4-5 times the Model S, if we considered the class it was in. Obviously it is not selling anywhere near such numbers.