Reactions to Model X reveal event

[Grendal]

I was really bothered, to the point of being offended, by the reveal event handling. I received an invitation but couldn't go (very glad I didn't now) so I sat at my computer for 55 minutes waiting for the event. During the extended wait there was no information given to those waiting for the stream, or to those at the event live as far as I know. When Elon arrived there was no hint of apology, "Sorry we're late", or explanation. Similarly, there was not the slightest expression of gratitude, "Thanks for coming", or other acknowledgement of his guests and supporters.

Elon is clearly brilliant and I believe that the Model X will be an incredible vehicle. I also believe in his vision and mission. I have voted with my wallet - I'm a stockholder, I own a Model S and I anted up to reserve a Model X. Many of us have. Elon doesn't make the magic alone - it is a partnership which includes Tesla shareholders, customers and supporters. In my opinion the handling of the event showed arrogance and Tesla's partners were treated poorly. How many people attended or watched the event? How many man hours or man years of combined time were wasted by the 55 minute delay? Would some apology, explanation or expression of gratitude been appropriate?

Last week I picked up a new iPhone at the Apple Store. I had a short wait of about 10 minutes. An Apple employee offered me a bottle of water and said, "Sorry for the wait; we'll get you your phone as soon as possible." As I left every Apple employee said, "Thanks for coming in." I felt like a valued customer. With the Tesla event there is nothing that leads me to feel like a valued part of a partnership and I'm not interested in being a cult member and lining up mindlessly to drink more Kool-Aid.

Maybe this is just me and I need to get over myself. Please give me a reality check!

Jeff

How it is presented is important but not that important compared to the quality of the product. Would you rather have VW selling you on their "clean diesel" with an amazing on time presentation? Or would you rather Elon be a little late and stutter his way through a clunky presentation but put out a vehicle that seems to be pretty spectacular. The all around safety of the vehicle is exemplary and more than I expected.

 

[Soolim]

I was really bothered, to the point of being offended, by the reveal event handling. I received an invitation but couldn't go (very glad I didn't now) so I sat at my computer for 55 minutes waiting for the event. During the extended wait there was no information given to those waiting for the stream, or to those at the event live as far as I know. When Elon arrived there was no hint of apology, "Sorry we're late", or explanation. Similarly, there was not the slightest expression of gratitude, "Thanks for coming", or other acknowledgement of his guests and supporters.

Elon is clearly brilliant and I believe that the Model X will be an incredible vehicle. I also believe in his vision and mission. I have voted with my wallet - I'm a stockholder, I own a Model S and I anted up to reserve a Model X. Many of us have. Elon doesn't make the magic alone - it is a partnership which includes Tesla shareholders, customers and supporters. In my opinion the handling of the event showed arrogance and Tesla's partners were treated poorly. How many people attended or watched the event? How many man hours or man years of combined time were wasted by the 55 minute delay? Would some apology, explanation or expression of gratitude been appropriate?

Last week I picked up a new iPhone at the Apple Store. I had a short wait of about 10 minutes. An Apple employee offered me a bottle of water and said, "Sorry for the wait; we'll get you your phone as soon as possible." As I left every Apple employee said, "Thanks for coming in." I felt like a valued customer. With the Tesla event there is nothing that leads me to feel like a valued part of a partnership and I'm not interested in being a cult member and lining up mindlessly to drink more Kool-Aid.

Maybe this is just me and I need to get over myself. Please give me a reality check!

Jeff

Reality is: Tesla is not a good communicator. I felt the same way as you do.

 

[Matias]

Saying " I'm sorry we are late" won't cost anything and takes two seconds.

 

[Soolim]

How it is presented is important but not that important compared to the quality of the product. Would you rather have VW selling you on their "clean diesel" with an amazing on time presentation? Or would you rather Elon be a little late and stutter his way through a clunky presentation but put out a vehicle that seems to be pretty spectacular. The all around safety of the vehicle is exemplary and more than I expected.

One is not exclusive of the other.

 

[sklancha]

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.

Oooh- that is a real good point. I've watched vehicles at gas stations sometimes struggle with access. I hope we hear an answer to this one soon.


I am not in the market for a utility vehicle, but I found myself compelled to stay up LATE last night to watch the launch. Overall, I was impressed and look forward to seeing them on the streets. I like how Tesla refuses to be boxed into preexisting categories of what is used to arbitrarily define vehicle class. The Model S has the guts of a supercar/sports car, the design of a sedan, the body structure of a hatchback. Is the Model X really a SUV.. CUV... minivan... oversized sedan. I say nay-nay- The Model X is the first ever FUV [Family Utility Vehicle].

 

[gdrum]

How it is presented is important but not that important compared to the quality of the product. Would you rather have VW selling you on their "clean diesel" with an amazing on time presentation? Or would you rather Elon be a little late and stutter his way through a clunky presentation but put out a vehicle that seems to be pretty spectacular. The all around safety of the vehicle is exemplary and more than I expected.

Totally Agree! I think if you are the guy needing to fill out a hurt feelings report over the fit and finish of presentation or time, then you should check out the companies who have nothing better to do other then focus on videos and commercials. There is a quote somewhere that some of the most successful people are always late. They are always busy fixing someone else's messes, or maintaining an aspect of quality. It is their insanity or success that has got them this far in the first place.

In the same breath, making some of the worlds most successful people wait X-amount of minutes too long, can makes waves of bad talk and press. There is an acceptable line for both I am sure.

 

[hockeythug]

People have watched too many Apple keynotes over the years and expect that quality.

 

[Cal1]

Do the falcon wing door windows open?

 

[PoweredByRain]

Similarly, there was not the slightest expression of gratitude, "Thanks for coming", or other acknowledgement of his guests and supporters.

Really? Here is what he said:

"Alright."

"Welcome, everyone, to the Model X launch."

"Thank you all for coming."

 

[Freudianly]

I was really bothered, to the point of being offended, by the reveal event handling. I received an invitation but couldn't go (very glad I didn't now) so I sat at my computer for 55 minutes waiting for the event. During the extended wait there was no information given to those waiting for the stream, or to those at the event live as far as I know. When Elon arrived there was no hint of apology, "Sorry we're late", or explanation. Similarly, there was not the slightest expression of gratitude, "Thanks for coming", or other acknowledgement of his guests and supporters.

Elon is clearly brilliant and I believe that the Model X will be an incredible vehicle. I also believe in his vision and mission. I have voted with my wallet - I'm a stockholder, I own a Model S and I anted up to reserve a Model X. Many of us have. Elon doesn't make the magic alone - it is a partnership which includes Tesla shareholders, customers and supporters. In my opinion the handling of the event showed arrogance and Tesla's partners were treated poorly. How many people attended or watched the event? How many man hours or man years of combined time were wasted by the 55 minute delay? Would some apology, explanation or expression of gratitude been appropriate?

Last week I picked up a new iPhone at the Apple Store. I had a short wait of about 10 minutes. An Apple employee offered me a bottle of water and said, "Sorry for the wait; we'll get you your phone as soon as possible." As I left every Apple employee said, "Thanks for coming in." I felt like a valued customer. With the Tesla event there is nothing that leads me to feel like a valued part of a partnership and I'm not interested in being a cult member and lining up mindlessly to drink more Kool-Aid.

Maybe this is just me and I need to get over myself. Please give me a reality check!

Jeff

Had you read Elon's bio, you would know that his father did not teach him empathy to say the least, and he was severely bullied in school, so no wonder you end up with a nerdy scientist on stage, instead of John Stewart. In an age when almost everyone is encouraged or even required to be a comedian, Elon is a huge anomaly. But he is a genius trying to help save us from Global Warming, so maybe we can forgive him ?
Maybe you drink the Kool-Aid when you visit an Apple store ? I mean, you do not realize it...sounds like a giveaway, doesn't it ?
Turning Customers Into Cultists - The Atlantic

 

[Madatgascar]

Not a peep about Autopilot, either in the reveal or on the new web page! What's up?

 

[Freudianly]

Do the falcon wing door windows open?

No. It is a trap. RUUUUUUUUUUN !

 

[sklancha]

Lots of good stuff. Selfishly, I hope the MX does well since I'm a Tesla stakeholder, being a P85D owner. My fear is that unlike the MS, which is a great car for outings, errands, commuting and day trips, an SUV is not only used locally but is the car a family fills up with baggage and kids to go visit Grandma in another city. And while superchargers make that feasible, they don't make it convenient compared with ICE cars and gas stations: especially with kids saying 'are we there yet?'. That doesn't hurt the MS because most people who can afford that car also have a gasoline SUV for long trips if they need one. I hope I'm wrong about this and its long-run effect on MX sales, but as much as I love my MS, I would rather have a similarly-or-lower priced Range Rover (and do) for the other role than an MX.

I don't think it will be as hard as you are thinking. We travel quite a bit in our Model S- Kids and dog appreciate the charging stops. They get well spaced potty and munch breaks; legs get stretched and they are refreshed for the next leg. "Are we there yet?" complaints replaced with "Are we stopping at the next supercharger or skipping..."

 

[hingisfan]

My thoughts....

Nose looked weird on the white, but grew on me by the end, and on the test drive videos it looked better out on the street.

Nose on other colours looked amazing, especially the red (or sig red, not sure).

Black looked bad ass all around, grey looked pretty good.

3rd row seats looked tight, guy on Cnet video demos them, will still be for smaller shorter people.

Windshield on the test drive videos looked amazing, I think it's the coolest feature I wasn't expecting a couple months ago. Will change driving experience for sure.

Surprised non P version can still go that fast, amazing!

Headlights look really cool, maybe full LEDs?

The lines on the S are nicer, but this is pretty cool looking too.

Self opening/closing front doors were a big surprise, I wonder if these come to S as well? Not sure I would want them for fear of repair costs though, ditto for FWDs....but FWDs are VERY cool.

Overall pretty amazing! I'll likely never own one, at least not for the next 8-10 years, as I just got my S this year, and it was a huge purchase. If I could have got my same car in an X for 5k more though, I would have in a heartbeat!

 

[PoweredByRain]

Not a peep about Autopilot, either in the reveal or on the new web page! What's up?

What's up? It's not finished yet. It's not what they were focusing on. There were plenty of other things to talk about that were specific to the Model X.

 

[anticitizen13.7]

People have watched too many Apple keynotes over the years and expect that quality.

Apple keynotes are comparatively boring now compared to Tesla events. Apple may have more polish, but the genuine raw excitement is just not there.

 

[Judge Advocate]

An added note, the front looks very much like a Ford Focus! Ugh!

 

[JFitzDen]

Really? Here is what he said:

"Alright."

"Welcome, everyone, to the Model X launch."

"Thank you all for coming."

I'll rewatch the video - guess I missed that. Thanks for the reality check!

 

[PoweredByRain]

I'll rewatch the video - guess I missed that. Thanks for the reality check!

No problem! For what it's worth, I totally agree that there should have been better communication about the wait, and a quick apology from Elon right at the start. But I totally forgot about the wait after it started. Teslas seem to have that effect...

 

[Andercam]

Do the falcon wing door windows open?

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