Reactions to Model X reveal event

[Thegreatdane]

Also why is there a cam (or antenna) on the back in just one of the pictures? It was not present on any of the founder series on stage.

 

[gizmoboy]

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

You really don't understand Apple if you don't think they live and breathe passion.

 

[Julian Cox]

Long after he emphasized the soccer moms' favorite features.

Men, well, bros specifically, were clearly only a secondary target audience of the presentation.

The guy stuff will be equally fun and that will creep out too. This thing will will seriously rock off-road on sand snow and mud and as the ultimate stealth machine for military, security, law enforcement and hunting.

It's also kind of pertinent to us guys that funds permitting if you care about protecting your wife and kids it's no longer cool to buy the Mrs a Cayenne because when it comes to occupant safety the Cayenne is not even a close second, in fact the cars that do come second are not even close either.

 

[SeminoleFSU]

I really want Tesla to keep the small company charm, even with all the glitches, as long as they possibly can. Once the presentations are being handled by marketing, you loose almost all access to real information. All you will ever hear is what is on the approved script. Sure, this would solve a few of Tesla's communication problems but at what price? I'm sure the TSA has done some good, but, again, at what price?

The TSA has done no good. Stealing? Groping? Saving naked pics of ppl? Targeting folks they want to touch? Failing the internal gov audit tests by an absurd margin more than once.. On and on.
Agree on the small company feel and getting good information, but they also set expectations way too high for what they sometimes deliver. Their tendency to make promises they can't deliver on is probabky their single biggest weakness IMO

 

[gizmoboy]

Thanks. Yeah, I saw this one. Isn't that the rear view mirror attached to the windshield? If not, where is the rear view, then? I'd think the radar is behind that black "grill" at the bottom.

I'm not seeing the stereoscopic cameras in that photo either, FWIW.

 

[AudubonB]

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.

Not sure someone with tree allergies should want a Leaf....

 

[X-Wing]

They presented a car that is a class above the competition from any major auto maker. There is no amount of money that can buy an SUV with better occupant safety, acceleration and road holding because such a thing does not exist.

You can cheap out and get a Ranger Rover or you can pay more get a Porsche Cayenne Turbo S - it makes no difference, you get reduced performance and occupant safety compared with the X either way.

Cayenne was the mainstay of Porsche. Model X crushes it on price and performance across the entire range from $80 - $142K even before accounting for incentives and running costs.

Just some of my humble opinions:

Safety - Tesla definitely has my vote of confidence here, though Tesla does not have a monopoly on safety. I will be equally confident in a Volvo XC90 or Mercedes ML/GLE. We also don't know how well it will perform in different types of crashes. Can the Falcon Door be opened if the car is upside down? Mercedes SLS Gull-wing door has explosive charge that will blow the door off the hinge by the way. Is Tesla just hoping that the car won't be upside down?

Performance - Yes, the Model X will be King from stoplight to stoplight. But from a roll on the highway or a lap around a racetrack. My money will be on the Cayenne Turbo S or even just the Range Rover Sport SVR, X5M, or GLE63S. But who cares, that's not the reason why I am interested in the Model X personally.

Utility - Well, many SUV have folding 2nd road seat for large objects. Though I think underseat storage and frunk compensates for that.

Model X is a very unique product in many respects, but certainly is not without competitions.

 

[gizmoboy]

Also why is there a cam (or antenna) on the back in just one of the pictures? It was not present on any of the founder series on stage.

View attachment 96194

I can't see that in the side profile either. Perhaps it's a mistake of some kind? Or an old photo?

 

[TexasEV]

Can the Falcon Door be opened if the car is upside down? Mercedes SLS Gull-wing door has explosive charge that will blow the door off the hinge by the way. Is Tesla just hoping that the car won't be upside down?

Model X is a very unique product in many respects, but certainly is not without competitions.

No Tesla isn't just hoping that the car won't be upside down. With the battery the entire underside of the car it's virtually impossible for it to roll over, just like the Model S.

Thee is no competition for people who care about driving an EV. For us not driving an ICE is far more important than details about a door handle, seat, etc.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

You really don't understand Apple if you don't think they live and breathe passion.

I've watched Apple for over 30 years and I've been invested in their products for over 20 of those years, including today. While I have no doubt that the people who work at Apple have a lot of passion for what they do, I don't feel that passion in the keynote presentations and Apple's product launches. I see a focus on market share and iterating products to maximize profit over innovation. Apple has lost its edge in many ways, but that's still possible even when many in the organization are passionate. There is a certain lack of passion at the top, with a decided focus on the numbers side. This is not a criticism as much as it is simply an acknowledgment of what I see as differences. Tim Cook is a numbers guy. He's not a passionate visionary.

 

[Tupelo]

With the battery the entire underside of the car it's virtually impossible for it to roll over, just like the Model S.

So not true. I get that in ordinary driving conditions, when making an evasive driving maneuver, or a crash of the type the Insurance Institute tests for, the car is very unlikely to roll over. But if it's driven off the road and over and down a steep embankment, it can most certainly roll over - and end up on its back - just like any other car.

 

[gauss256]

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.

+1

I see a lot of corporate presentations and Elon is a real breath of fresh air.

 

[Stoneymonster]

I've watched Apple for over 30 years and I've been invested in their products for over 20 of those years, including today. While I have no doubt that the people who work at Apple have a lot of passion for what they do, I don't feel that passion in the keynote presentations and Apple's product launches. I see a focus on market share and iterating products to maximize profit over innovation. Apple has lost its edge in many ways, but that's still possible even when many in the organization are passionate. There is a certain lack of passion at the top, with a decided focus on the numbers side. This is not a criticism as much as it is simply an acknowledgment of what I see as differences. Tim Cook is a numbers guy. He's not a passionate visionary.

If you see a focus on market share, I think you aren't watching closely enough. Apple is focused on profit share. Market share is where the $50 phones live.

 

[Dutchie]

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.

I could not have said it better! Totally agree!

 

[wayner]

Some thoughts:
* The "running lights" (around the headlights) were rather bright. Almost to the point of being annoyingly bright. Particularly from the side. Possibly adds safety making the vehicle easy to be seen, and easier for the driver to see obstacles, and road signs on the side of the road, particularly when getting ready to turn.

But surely the Canadian model has Daytime Running lights so that isn't an issue. DRLs are like chip and PIN credit cards and the metric system - used everywhere but the US.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

I'm not seeing the stereoscopic cameras in that photo either, FWIW.

You don't see them? I can see them. Top red square...

- - - Updated - - -

If you see a focus on market share, I think you aren't watching closely enough. Apple is focused on profit share. Market share is where the $50 phones live.

Whether market share or profit share, it's still a focus on numbers versus the innovation of the actual products. I think Tesla is arguably innovating at a much faster scale than Apple has in a long time, at least judging by the products each company is putting out. But it's easy for us to debate this - we aren't in the thick of it!

 

[X-Wing]

No Tesla isn't just hoping that the car won't be upside down. With the battery the entire underside of the car it's virtually impossible for it to roll over, just like the Model S.

Thee is no competition for people who care about driving an EV. For us not driving an ICE is far more important than details about a door handle, seat, etc.

Just because a car has low CG doesn't mean that it won't flip upside down. There was an accident in Czech Republic where a Lamborghini Murcielago flipped over and caught fire. Really graphic stuff. It can be as easy as running off the shoulder or hitting a curb.

Personally I don't care if I drive EV or ICE. I also understand and can appreciate that it is practically religion to some.

 

[TEG]

I sent a request to the forum admins to maybe merge this thread with the other similar one:
Reactions to Model X reveal event

Observations from this event don't seem specific to Canada. A US based event looking at US spec cars...

 

[timber107]

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!!!!

Agree... also he spent quite some time on the air filter system, knowing that this could well be an important feature in an all important Chinese market...

 

[Yuri_G]

All the naysayers saying Tesla needs to sub Musk out sound like they have never heard or watched him give a presentation. He didn't seem uncomfortable to me at all. That was standard Elon. He even got to have a little fun with the bioweapon defense button. The "outrage" over the presentation and tardiness is ridiculous (ludicrous even?). This is how Tesla operates. The product will always be great. If you want a sleek presentation go watch any product not worth a damn get unveiled. I look forward to the production ramp and all the haters being silenced, again.