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Model X Subsite Updates
- Thread starter AnOutsider
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fengshui
Member
Tesla's Press Conference at the Detroit Auto Show is scheduled for 11:40am-12:05pm on next Tuesday.
adiggs
Well-Known Member
The day I realized this, that I have almost as many 18650 cells in my Roadster pack as you find in the 85 kW Model S pack, the Roadster driver in me cried thinking about what the Roadster would be like with that newer chemistry. The Tesla investor in me cheered. I'm not sure yet which one is louder :|
Think about that - the Roadster is lugging around as much weight and volume as the Model S is for its battery pack, and that's good for 53 kWh instead of 85 kWh. Now that's technology improvement.
Mayhemm
Model S P85+ "Lola"
The number that keeps getting kicked around is 50% improvement in cell density every 4 years. Roadster -> Model S is pretty close to that.
Personally, I think Tesla hit a good balance with their battery size/weight. If they could release higher-capacity batteries every few years with no real increase in size/weight, I'd be all over it!
Mind you, this is all still using lithium-ion cells. There are no limits if a whole new technology develops. :love:
fengshui
Member
Wow... making AWD standard is not something I would have expected. I wonder why they did this? I'm not sure there are any significant cost savings by streamlining production and eliminating that SKU, and it certainly raises the price of the base vehicle. I would have bought AWD anyway, but eliminating RWD entirely? Curious. I'm sure they had a reason, I just can't figure out what it might be.
This was discussed a lot over in another thread when the news came out in October: "The Model X will only be offered as all-wheel-drive" - Elon Musk
That's certainly possible, especially if they find with MS that a high-enough percentage of people with software-limited packs upgrade them later to allow the full capacity.
Remember though, they don't have to make a 60 KWh battery for MX, they already have it -- and everything needed for it -- from the MS platform. It costs them nothing to offer that choice, and offering that choice does allow for a significantly lower MSRP so it may increase the target market for MX and reduce the perception of MX as a "rich man's car" by making that "starts from" price sound much more mainstream.
The question then becomes: what benefits Tesla the most? Does Tesla benefit from an increased target market? Or can they sell every MX they make, and still have a waitlist, while selling only 85 KW and 1xx KWh cars? Do they see 60 KWh cars as providing sufficient real-world range to make them truly compatible with the Supercharger network, or do they consider that rated range of 250+ is really the ideal, or are they happy to sell a less-expensive car with lower range if that makes people happy?
Based on Model S sales, I would also predict that the 60 KWh MX will sell in much smaller quantities than its brethren with greater range. But how much less, and what Tesla does with that info, is hard to say until people start configuring and finalizing. My speculation is only that Tesla will continue to offer the 60 KWh battery in MX at least until the EPA range rating comes in and they start getting real and concrete feedback from buyers finalizing their configurations.
I really like AWD, but some would say otherwise. like the guy in this article The Myth of All-Powerful All-Wheel Drive - Popular Mechanics
"When it comes to handling, all-wheel drive is overrated (not to mention heavy and gas-sucking)"
"All the best [AWD systems and electronic-stability control] will still get beat by a good set of snow tires"
"AWD is counter-productive when the roads are slick. At the same time AWD doesn't improve your handling, it does offer an overly optimistic sense of available traction, and it provides the potential to be going so much faster when you need to stop. (Note to those from warm climes: Snowbanks are not puffy and cushiony.) The laws of physics mean a vehicle's cornering power is the job of the tires and suspension."
I would tend to think that AWD is going to help more than hurt, but he seems to say otherwise. Well, especially when it comes to snow. He does make some good points. Tires and suspension are going to help you A LOT more than AWD will. I guess we'll see how it works out in the MX. I know they'll be able to do some of that cool torque vectoring stuff that I have no idea what I'm talking about
Parzival
Member
AWD in an ICE vehicle is a different ballgame than AWD in an EV. Aside from the extra weight, there's no efficiency penalty for it, and it might be an efficiency gain. Each motor could have a different gear ratio to achieve optimum performance for different conditions. You get some of the benefits of a two speed transmission, but without shifting. Just a thought.
This phrasing seems to imply that you can't put snow tires on an AWD vehicle, as if there's some mutual-exclusivity involved.
Mayhemm
Model S P85+ "Lola"
TechGuy
Member
When they added that text in the last paragraph (just before "More details will be announced as production nears."), they also removed the sentence "Production begins in 2014." I don't think that's a surprise to anyone here, but I'm a little sad to see if officially removed from the site as of today.
TechGuy
Member
Of what year? The reservation email I got in 2012 says "We expect to begin production of Model X in late 2013." ;-)
Hopefully the self-driving features will be included in case I'm too old to drive it myself by the time it arrives!
I think he was being (justifiably) facetious.
I, too, hope it's all that and a bag of chips once it FINALLY arrives.
I, too, hope it's all that and a bag of chips once it FINALLY arrives.
Just saw that the subsite updated to state "The delivery estimate for new reservations is early 2016"
