Reactions to Model X reveal event

[Tony]

Awesome job Tesla. No one car can make everyone happy, but based on what we have seen today this CUV is poised to become a big success. It is far better than anything in this class IMHO. Love the new nose, doors, windshield, space, power, efficiency and filter! Stunning accomplishment!

 

[aplfalcon]

Now here's a valid question. I would've rather seen this covered instead of the time on the air filter!

I don't see why window opening would be a difficult thing to do but I think we'll find out soon enough anyway.

 

[darthy001]

Only reason it started late was that the charging specialist had forgotten to charge the white Model X shown on stage. Would have been a disaster if it stopped while driving out on stage!

 

[austintexas]

I came away from watching the release with two thoughts:

1. Tesla never meets a deadline. It's even late for a launch event.
2. Elon is a horrible presenter.

I hope the car does really well and the doors don't become a problem. At this stage in the company, especially with Model III several years away, a bad car could sink the company.

 

[Discoducky]

My reaction to the event is simply "At least the livestream worked this time!" at least it did for me. Very late this time and glad I didn't keep the kids up as this morning would have been a disaster. Are a ton of customers pissed who waited a long time? Maybe not a ton, but I'd say more than a few. Were folks expecting Elon to present better? Gosh I hope not. He was on par. Do they need to get better? Model 3 reveal; not so much. But Model 3 launch? Yes, really hope they can try to be on par with Apple. Ok, that might be too much to ask, but aspirational. Maybe just a little more music as the car rolled out?

The lack of details? Yeah, I'd say just wait and see. As I will need to configure my sigX#1100 soon I am worried there won't be enough details for me. But I'm willing to wait and see. If not enough, then I'll wait for my regular production reservation.

 

[gizmoboy]

I believe you're trying to compare a very well established company that THRIVES on presentation vs. a scrappy start-up that just happens to have a ridiculously good product. I'd look at it this way - all those man-hours and efforts that Apple has to go through to present their products to the public, Tesla puts into their products to create truly earth-shatteringly innovative products.

Reality check!

Seriously... Apple made more money the weekend of the 6s launch than Tesla will make in the next 2-3 years. Keep it in perspective, folks! Tesla doesn't have infinite resources.

Having said that, an apology for being late wouldn't have been out of the question.

Regarding the preso, I think it remained a deliberate intention to not talk about some things on the MX, but as to why we don't know: Cannibalizing MS sales? Didn't think they were differentiating? Wanted to keep the press short enough?

Clearly there are new headlights, and from the brief glimpse, I think they match up with the LED prototypes that were shown in an MS earlier (at least they seemed to have the 3 circular "lamps" inside them like the LED protos did.

What I want to know is: around-view camera? I've heard nothing, which suggest no dice.

 

[Jaff]

Never was in the market for an X as the kids are grown up and we don't require a "people mover" above what our Model S can handle.

Overall, I was impressed, and believe both the "bona fide" and the "must have an SUV / Crossover" crowd will love this vehicle!!!

 

[austinEV]

In this thread: People who are shocked that Elon is a bad presenter. This is par for the course people.

 

[electracity]

"The estimated delivery for new reservations is the latter half of 2016"

This is the most important reaction to the X event.​

 

[ohmman]

Seriously... Apple made more money the weekend of the 6s launch than Tesla will make in the next 2-3 years. Keep it in perspective, folks! Tesla doesn't have infinite resources.

I hear a lot of this around here. Tesla's a small, youthful company, they're figuring things out, etc. I get that they're cash-constrained, hence the recent offering. I also get that they're young. However, they're also a company with a market cap of $32B, which is higher than most auto manufacturers out there. To expect them to improve their public facing side and their communication game is a reasonable expectation, in my view.

 

[austintexas]

I hear a lot of this around here. Tesla's a small, youthful company, they're figuring things out, etc. I get that they're cash-constrained, hence the recent offering. I also get that they're young. However, they're also a company with a market cap of $32B, which is higher than most auto manufacturers out there. To expect them to improve their public facing side and their communication game is a reasonable expectation, in my view.

+1

It's totally fair to criticize the company for poor execution of a launch event.

 

[MrBigSmiles]

I was impressed with the self-opening driver doors as well as the double-hinged Falcon doors. Elon seemed like he was in a rush to get off the stage during his presentation.

 

[RichardL]

I was lucky enough to be there - kind of like a big sporting event, you see much more on TV, but the atmosphere (even during the loooong waits) was amazing.

I am not really an SUV fan, but those X's looked amazing as they drove on stage - I really liked the new front, it really worked well IMHO. Seeing the car 'in the metal' made me actually consider getting one...

 

[anticitizen13.7]

In this thread: People who are shocked that Elon is a bad presenter. This is par for the course people.

Is he a bad presenter though?

I may be in the minority here, but I've never found any of Elon's presentations to be "bad". Sure, he stutters and fumbles a bit, but he always gets the point across. It's just the way he is. I will be the first to say that Tesla (the company) has lots of problems with customer communications. However, Elon's style of speaking IMO is not one of these problems.

 

[X-Wing]

I hear a lot of this around here. Tesla's a small, youthful company, they're figuring things out, etc. I get that they're cash-constrained, hence the recent offering. I also get that they're young. However, they're also a company with a market cap of $32B, which is higher than most auto manufacturers out there. To expect them to improve their public facing side and their communication game is a reasonable expectation, in my view.

I absolutely agree. When I read some of the comments in this thread, I just couldn't resist but to finally register an account and post my thoughts. First thing I was gonna point out is that Tesla is now a 30 Billion+ company and they should act like one. They can no longer act like a garage startup working on a Linux distribution that people download for free. They are building $100,000 cars and at that price range people have expectations.

 

[bonnie]

The main concern with towing, IMO, will be how to access super chargers easily. Can't back into a supercharger with a huge trailer. Very difficult to accommodate for long range travel without superchargers.

I've just assumed that I'll drop my trailer, charge, and hook up again. That doesn't seem all that difficult (I do that frequently, anyway). It's pretty simple to do ...

 

[X-Wing]

First thing I was gonna point out is that Tesla is now a 30 Billion+ company and they should act like one.

Correction to my last post. Couldn't find the edit button.

 

[rosinchard]

They don't need to do better in their presentations, thats the thing. They make awesome stuff and then their very knowledgeable superstar CEO explains it in a slightly un-polished but entirely geeky way and then their very clued up consumers can see beyond the lack of presenting polish and appreciate what has gone into the product.

They might need to do things differently when they want to sell half a million Model 3s, and I'm sure they know that.

 

[aznt1217]

I absolutely agree. When I read some of the comments in this thread, I just couldn't resist but to finally register an account and post my thoughts.

First thing I was gonna point out is that Tesla is not a 30 Billion+ company and they should act like one. They can no longer act like a garage startup working on a Linux distribution that people download for free. They are building $100,000 cars and at that price range people have expectations.

Ok let's have Tesla start acting like that. Let's have them lie about emissions, have sticky pedals, and while we're at it, have the make ignition switches that fail and kill people.

 

[eloder]

I think Elon is a wonderful presenter. He has far more passion and enthusiasm for what he's actually doing than any CEO out there.

Regarding the air filter, I just really hope that someday the haters never experience a natural disaster that affects air quality, or ever develop respiratory illnesses. Shame on you for putting down a very important safety feature that will immensely improve the quality of living for millions with respiratory illnesses, and for those living in heavily-polluted areas like urban Chinese areas. If this grade of air filter was equipped as standard in cars, there would have been far fewer cancer and respiratory deaths from the 9/11 attacks.

To everyone who wants to cancel their MX as a result of the demonstration and pick up a competitor: LOL. Have fun with a competitor, it's not my money being wasted...

They might need to do things differently when they want to sell half a million Model 3s, and I'm sure they know that.

Average mass market consumers never watch presentations or keynote speeches like that. Musk is incredible at presenting how revolutionary his products are, which sits well with his audience of fans that understand the impact of his products. Sales employees at service centers, and owners are the ones who actually rope average mass market consumers into a purchase.