Reactions to Model X reveal event

[swengl]

I agree. Even if it is only 1 (or 2) out of 6 stalls. It will be tough to retrofit existing SC stations, though.

No, that's "welcome to typical TSLA behavior."

Musk announced a potential multi-trillion dollar business with energy storage and the stock was still down in the AM.

There hasn't been a single product reveal with Tesla that has made TSLA rise in the morning moreso than the index. That includes every variant and version of the MS that has made this company so wildly popular.

 

[Skotty]

Love Tesla and my Model S. Not impressed with the launch event or the model X for that matter.

1. Starting on time matters. Starting that late is unprofessional.
2. Elon's not a public speaker and should not have been the main presenter
3. The car is ugly
4. the falcon doors are an overly complex, overthought affectation. As they showed how little space the rear doors take to allow access, the car was still undrivable because the front doors are conventional and couldn't be opened in their demonstration. That is a fail.
5. auto opening and closing front doors is a gimmick and will prove to be a PITA. They were even a PITA at the launch when the opened inappropriately in the middle of the presentation.
6. the falcon doors and auto opening front doors together will probably double the number of service visits the car will need over it's lifetime for fixes and troubleshooting. My prediction. I could hear the collective groan of every Tesla service center manager during the presentation.



Hope they sell a ton of them, and hope the design team for the model 3 is different. I'm reminded that the same company that made the Apple II also made the Lisa.

Ah, don't be so negative.

1) Meh. Actually, your forum name is funny on this one; when has a doctor ever seen a patient on time?
2) People love hearing from Elon, though he should try to avoid the stutter
3) No it's not.
4) The falcon wing doors look like a slam dunk to me. The functionality appears to be near perfection so far. Only concern I have is long term durability.
5) This one I'll give you, though at least people won't be able to complain about the auto-present door handles since it doesn't have any.
6) Probably only from folks who want automatic features but then complain when those automatic features don't do exactly what they want. I see this as a case of wanting to have your cake and eat it too.

 

[X-Wing]

I don't think Blackberry/RIM's decline had anything to do with lack of marketing snazz. It had everything to do with lack of passion. I think you may have confused your metaphors?

Blackberry and Tesla don't match. Blackberry refused to accept that a new tech has come to market and kept ignoring it. It even said that no one is going to watch videos on that small screen. Audi, BMW etc could go Blackberry's way if they are not careful. Tesla is like Google and Apple.

If one is to accept that Tesla is a relatively young and small company (as constantly pointed out in this thread) then one must not underestimate what the established old giants are capable of.

For example, Mercedes is not foreign to electric car technologies. From the W201 Electric prototype to the recent SLS E-Cell with quad motors. Neither are they new to autonomous driving. In fact Mercedes had been working on automatic lane keeping since the 80s with output from a dot-matrix printer in the back of the prototype van. The have Auto-Pilot like feature in E-Class working and shipped to consumers for years. You can even get that on a Hyundai these days.

ICE car markers are not aggressively pushing towards a strong EV portfolio, because they are currently profitable with ICE and they will be for the foreseeable future. Once EV actually becomes the more attractive option for consumers with improved infrastructure, cost, charge time...etc., they will be able to transition to EV quite quickly. Once that happens, Tesla might not dominate the EV market share for long.

 

[Tyl]

Tesla needs to be on the top of their presenting game with the Model 3 release. Tesla needs to be on time... period. Tesla needs to be on target.. 100% !!! with a completely professional media presentation and a statement that the public may all see, touch, and product test (test drive) the new release at any Tesla store/service center. When? the day of the presentation! Crate new vehicle models up early, ship to your stores and service centers and have them uncrated as the media event begins. Tesla may need to align their next vehicle presentation with a major auto show.

 

[ankitmishra]

If one is to accept that Tesla is a relatively young and small company (as constantly pointed out in this thread) then one must not underestimate what the established old giants are capable of.

For example, Mercedes is not foreign to electric car technologies. From the W201 Electric prototype to the recent SLS E-Cell with quad motors. Neither are they new to autonomous driving. In fact Mercedes had been working on automatic lane keeping since the 80s with output from a dot-matrix printer in the back of the prototype van. The have Auto-Pilot like feature in E-Class working and shipped to consumers for years. You can even get that on a Hyundai these days.

ICE car markers are not aggressively pushing towards a strong EV portfolio, because they are currently profitable with ICE and they will be for the foreseeable future. Once EV actually becomes the more attractive option for consumers with improved infrastructure, cost, charge time...etc., they will be able to transition to EV quite quickly. Once that happens, Tesla might not dominate the EV market share for long.

I agree. But its not the question of capability, it is of intent. They might be working on autonomous cars since 80's but a new company blew their efforts out of the water (Google). In my opinion they are doing things just for sake of doing something/getting by.
Same goes for battery powered cars. I won't compare Tesla with companies having prototypes because their are companies making EV for real market (Nissan, Toyota) and the only area they beat Tesla is in price.
ICE makers might begin making EV and that would be good thing. But when they will be able to come with real product Tesla will have increased the lead further. (my opinion)

 

[KJD]

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.

OMG I just fell out of my chair laughing aznt. Spot on comparison.

 

[UMD86]

Smart MARKETING from Elon Musk

I've heard Musk taking a lot of heat from his presentation and lack of details on the Model X. Well MUSK is a Genius.....

He knows this is going to be WOMEN's vehicle. He knows women will be doing most of the driving with their kids
so what does Elon focus on?????? SAFETY!!!! SAFETY!!!! SAFETY!!!!

BRIILLANT!!!!

 

[Hugh Mannity]

I think Elon's presentation was excellent - did he stumble over some words and appear nerdy and geeky when he was doing some of the demos ??? Of course he did but who give's a rat's ass - he's a quirky, brilliant dude from a quirky brilliant company that we all love so much. If you want dry and proper etiquette whilst speaking go watch the state of the union or something .......

part of the charm upon not touching on a lot of other features is it pique's everyone's curiosity even more about the car, "hmm, I wonder what other cool stuff it has up it's sleeves"

 

[pete8314]

It's a tough balance...Tesla is frequently compared to Apple, so it's natural to think that people will expect a more polished presentation. We should also remember that many, if not most of us on here are paid-up Elon fans; I am, and I make no apology. But to those that are not, i.e. the car-buying public, there's an expectation that the presentation is relevant, polished and timely. How many of us told friends or family to watch the presentation live? It makes us, the brand advocates look foolish. I've read Elon's biog, I understand his upbringing affected his level of empathy, but that's why he's surrounded by people to make sure he's in the right place at the right time, and say the right things. Sure, we all know he goes off-script sometimes, but don't underestimate his skills as a marketeer.

With that said, and ignoring the late start, it could, and should have been better in my opinion. The world was watching (in contrast to the Model S launch, that had nowhere near the same reach), and what they saw was the Elon show. Way too long spent on air filters (!), but because of the bioweapon button, it was part of the presentation. We all like these cute touches, and I never want the UI to become as stark and serious as those from Audi, Merc etc, but things become less cute and whimsical when you make such a big deal of them. Let the viral media take care of that, because it will, it loves that stuff.

In the same context, given the world-wide audience that was very hungry for information, not mentioning pricing, availability, true launch date and auto-pilot was a significant (or deliberate) omission.

 

[MikeC]

Do we have any reports from people who got to test drive one last night?

 

[rosinchard]

Every rock gig I've ever been to started late, was crowded and had rude security staff. And expensive drinks and crap food.

Perhaps they were going for a rock-n-roll vibe.

Also, rock gigs often end with too many people trying to crowd into one car.

 

[Freudianly]

It is obvious they asked mothers what they were looking for in a family SUV. Safety, easy access to back seats, and on top of it Tesla offers really clean air to the millions of mothers of asthmatic children.
Chinese mothers will love the Model X even more.
I am impatient to read stories of mothers happily using this car.
This forum is filled with bursts of testosterone triggered by insane accelerations. Not the target audience of the Model X.

 

[NigelM]

He knows this is going to be WOMEN's vehicle. He knows women will be doing most of the driving with their kids

Really?? Every time I read stuff like this it makes me think we're back in 1955.

- - - Updated - - -

This forum is filled with bursts of testosterone triggered by insane accelerations. Not the target audience of the Model X.

Right; which is also why Elon emphasized the 0-60 speed and the Ludicrous option.

 

[aesculus]

Do we have any reports from people who got to test drive one last night?

Nobody "test drove" the cars last night. They went for short rides around the parking lot being driven by a Tesla employee.

I myself bagged out. We were #1000 and at 10:30 they were just doing 400's. They had four cars (blue, red, metallic white and the taupe mist color). They put three persons in each car. It would have been around midnight before we got the drive so we passed. Some we talked to said it was like waiting in line for Space Mountain and then finding out you were actually in the Gondola line:smile:.

A number of people poured over Elon's car on the stage. I tried out the seats and the ingress/egress. Seats were fine (only a minute or so of trial but felt better to me than the MS). Getting into and out of the car was easier than the MS too, and I think it may have been at one of its lower settings. Was not happy about the shiny black backs. Really shows all the fingerprints and scuffs. I suspect Elon will be getting new seats today after the event.

 

[Tupelo]

...given the world-wide audience that was very hungry for information, not mentioning pricing, availability, true launch date...

I agree, and the absence of any mention of these things makes last night's event not a true product "launch" at all, IMO. Not a whole lot more than another prototype reveal really, except that 5 people got to be driven off the stage in cars that supposedly had been delivered to them. I can't help but feel that last night's show was in some ways just an effort to gloss over what may in fact be yet more delay before the car actually goes into production for real purchasers.

 

[Fonguy]

The X has a "rated" towing capacity of 5,000 pounds. Word on the street from a reliable Signature reservation holder is that it will actually tow up to about 7,000 pounds but not enough to qualify for the next step up in the official rating scale.

 

[pete8314]

I agree, and the absence of any mention of these things makes last night's event not a true product "launch" at all, IMO. Not a whole lot more than another prototype reveal really, except that 5 people got to be driven off the stage in cars that supposedly had been delivered to them. I can't help but feel that last night's show was in some ways just an effort to gloss over what may in fact be yet more delay before the car actually goes into production for real purchasers.

Exactly. Until Bonnie's (#2) goes into production, this was a product launch to hit a specific date, but not a production launch. Same thing they did with the Model S, so that's OK, but with the S they teased it with production line photos of them getting built; no such thing with the X. The watching world will get skeptical quite quickly if there's not rapid, public progress.

 

[X-Wing]

I agree, and the absence of any mention of these things makes last night's event not a true product "launch" at all, IMO. Not a whole lot more than another prototype reveal really, except that 5 people got to be driven off the stage in cars that supposedly had been delivered to them. I can't help but feel that last night's show was in some ways just an effort to gloss over what may in fact be yet more delay before the car actually goes into production for real purchasers.

Probably so that they can claim to have started Model X delivery in Q3 2015. Not very confidence inspiring.

 

[Blastphemy]

Tesla shows passion. Apple shows an understanding for numbers. I'll take passion any day.

Apologists and worshippers of Elon Musk can post their Kool-Aid opinions all they want. Doesn't change the fact that he was 50 minutes late, gave an uncomfortable presentation to a group of people who had been standing shoulder-to-shoulder in the CA heat for more than 3 hours, hadn't been fed sufficiently, and only elicited sustained enthusiastic cacophonous applause a few times. Anyone watching this would think Tesla fanboys have nothing on Apple fanboys when it comes to conventions and product reveals, that's for sure!

If Tesla wants to grow beyond a start-up, Elon needs to expand his circle of disciples from thousands to hundreds of thousands (and eventually millions). You don't do that by looking awkward and unprepared on a national stage while announcing your biggest new product in half a decade. While all of us who know and respect Elon know what to expect and don't mind his quirks, it's the NEW and POTENTIAL customers who are desperately looking for a reason to get excited about not only the car but the company. Seeing a disorganized reveal party and clumsy keynote speaker is not a way to engender such fervor.

The product is great, but the producer needs to rise to the same level to succeed in the long term.

 

[dhanson865]

Thats a good point. Big selling point for the Chinese. I thought it was weird why Elon highlighted that point.

I live in TN, as in the southeast United States. My wife has allergies (tree, grass, weed pollen) and she actually wants the Model X because the filter is better in it than any other car. That was her favorite part of the entirety of everything she has learned about Tesla before and including last night.

OK, she really really wanted a Nissan Leaf back before she had heard of a Tesla and I've let her know over time that Tesla is better than Nissan.

But EVness aside some people really value good filtration. Don't undersell it.