Tesla's "Model X Update" Email on June 16, 2014

[CHARGER]

Perhaps I misunderstand, but the facts that 1) in 40+ years of driving, I've only seen a handful of vehicles land on their respective roofs, and 2) the Model X, like all vehicles, will need to pass safety testing leaves me wondering why this is of concern.

Tesla seems VERY high on driver and passenger safety, wouldn't you agree? I'll see your handful and raise it by hundreds. Some of us make our living by attending accidents, treating and extracting patients. The reality is this, survivability can come down to seconds or minutes. Tesla may want to consider this and who would I be if I didn't say it?

 

[bonnie]

You're assuming they haven't considered it. I missed your concern over the safety only aspect, since the focus was on the price in the original post.

They will meet/exceed all safety requirements. Of course. Saying it on a forum won't be the deciding factor. And I'm sure they will demonstrate all aspects.

I've just watched people on the forum, who don't like the *newness* of the doors, come up with many reasons as to why these doors shouldn't be on the X. So apologies if that wasn't the reason. It just appeared to be the reason, since there are other vehicles on the road with exactly the same issue and no one is concerned over those.

 

[CHARGER]

Actually Bonnie I was asking a question, and was and am putting it out for discussion, I was not assuming anything. However I accept your apology for assuming what I am concerned with was not safety related. But it wasn't really necessary. Have a good night.

 

[gjunky]

I wonder why I haven't received the email yet. I have received other emails from Tesla before. I did notice some salesforce errors on their site visiting the My Tesla page. Perhaps some maintenance during this early hour.

As to the optional third row seating. I am sure it is simply to keep the price down.

 

[Oyvind.H]

I've just watched people on the forum, who don't like the *newness* of the doors, come up with many reasons as to why these doors shouldn't be on the X. So apologies if that wasn't the reason. It just appeared to be the reason, since there are other vehicles on the road with exactly the same issue and no one is concerned over those.

Wouldn`t varying door mechanisms be positive for exiting a vehicle after collision? I.e. if you land on the roof, you can still exit through the front doors. If the car lands on its side, you can exit through the doors on the other side, and the falcon wing rear door will make the climb to the top of the car easier (when it`s on its side). Variation in the way the doors work make the car more versatile.

Personally I would like the falcon wing doors to be optional. Mainly because I (and most norwegians) require roofrack on cars we buy. Tesla could easily draw the same conclusion by checking the percentage ordering panoramic roof with roofrack mounts, and by studying the enormous aftermarket sales of roofracks for the car. I`d prefer ordinary doors. I need to see Teslas solution for roofrack before I decide to keep or cancel my reservation.

 

[Local host]

I got the email and was quite happy to see an update. It seems like there hasn't been any real news on the X for a very long time. I hope that the early 2015 production applies to Canadian buyers as well. I am P15 and my birthday is in May....:smile:

 

[Ben W]

Additionally, that secondary hinge is hinged in the opposite direction of the primary hinge. (When the primary hinge folds out, the secondary hinge folds in.) I suppose it's not impossible to make a hinge that would serve both functions, but my money is on a simpler solution.

Perhaps the front seats swivel sideways to allow semi-convenient access to the rear seats from the front doors?

 

[Mnlevin]

The most remarkable thing about this thread is that it has 9 pages of replies in just 24 hours! I love the look of the car. I have 2 objections to the car that would probably keep me from buying it. First, don't like the FALCON DOORS at all. The marginal benefits, (possible rain protection?) over the potential for expensive repairs in the future make it a distraction, and don't know why they are marketing it exclusively to women. I am a man who has owned SUVs for years, they don't need to make it a woman's car. But in the end, my MS provides all the cargo features I need without being an SUV and my days of large family needs are over. with the doors closed it is a beautiful car.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

The most remarkable thing about this thread is that it has 9 pages of replies in just 24 hours! I love the look of the car. I have 2 objections to the car that would probably keep me from buying it. First, don't like the FALCON DOORS at all. The marginal benefits, (possible rain protection?) over the potential for expensive repairs in the future make it a distraction, and don't know why they are marketing it exclusively to women. I am a man who has owned SUVs for years, they don't need to make it a woman's car. But in the end, my MS provides all the cargo features I need without being an SUV and my days of large family needs are over. with the doors closed it is a beautiful car.

GM markets to women. You know why?
1) Because women want what men want and more.
2) Women make more of the car buying decisions than men.

Saying they want to make it more appealing to women, just means they want to make it better.

 

[Zythryn]

The most remarkable thing about this thread is that it has 9 pages of replies in just 24 hours! I love the look of the car. I have 2 objections to the car that would probably keep me from buying it. First, don't like the FALCON DOORS at all. The marginal benefits, (possible rain protection?) over the potential for expensive repairs in the future make it a distraction, and don't know why they are marketing it exclusively to women. I am a man who has owned SUVs for years, they don't need to make it a woman's car. But in the end, my MS provides all the cargo features I need without being an SUV and my days of large family needs are over. with the doors closed it is a beautiful car.

I love the falcon doors! Great way to make the car immediately identifiable from across a crowded car show event
It is an attention getter without having an extremely different looking body like the Leaf, which it seems a large chunk of people just don't like.

Classic good looks, yet capable of standing out, similar to the frunk in the MS.

 

[Bgarret]

I wonder why I haven't received the email yet. I have received other emails from Tesla before. I did notice some salesforce errors on their site visiting the My Tesla page. Perhaps some maintenance during this early hour.

As to the optional third row seating. I am sure it is simply to keep the price down.

I didn't get it either. Called Tesla and got a call back last night, but I wasn't able to answer it. I hope to talk with them today and I will let you know if I hear anything.

 

[Cottonwood]

I didn't get it either. Called Tesla and got a call back last night, but I wasn't able to answer it. I hope to talk with them today and I will let you know if I hear anything.

I thought that I had missed the e-mail as well, then found it in my spam folder...

 

[AnOutsider]

You see Tesla was planning to start X production at the end of 2013. If in the middle of 2013 Tesla management felt that they won't be able to sell more than 20k Model S in 2014, Tesla would have found a way to introduce X well before end of 2014.

But with current demand level for an S and production constraints Tesla is in no rush mode with an X. And that is underlying reason to go for quest of perfecting X, and to go for it slowly and reluctantly.

And I do not doubt Elon's words that Tesla is using the time to make X even better. Good for Tesla, and probably good for future Model X owners

I agree with this. I always thought that once the S took off, Tesla put the x on the backburner (partially because they were so busy). I did get the feeling they announced it so early to hedge their bets in a way.

Wondering what the falcon wing doors do to limit the size or even the availability of a sunroof in the X, at least over the front two seats. I would much rather have a nice big sunroof than the falcon wing doors but I'm prolly in the minority around these parts.

Also wondering if the X will come with optional DVD/Blu-Ray screen(s) either in the backs of the front seats, or drop-down from ceiling, for the viewing pleasure of passengers seated in 2nd, 3rd rows on long trips. (Why stop at DVD/Blu-ray; maybe they'll offer streaming video over LTE...)

I'd miss a sunroof too. As for DVD, buy an iPad or similar. Cheaper and far more versatile IMO. they make mounts for them too

For those that are wondering about the optional third row, Tesla is focusing on the Euros as opposed to the Americans so this will be similar to the Audi Q7 and the bmw x5 where the third row is an option,

As is everything else lol.

Granted we bought off the lot, but our 3rd row was included (q7)

We shall see. Long shot, but maybe Tesla is making it optional for you to remove it, but it comes standard (like the 21" wheels)

 

[scottf200]

Was also thinking about the 100-120 battery pack possibility as well. Would I go for it? I think my logic would be this: If the 85 would be enough to get a fully loaded X to the next Super Charger then why would we need more for most trips?

Because I want to easily go to places other than the "rail road super charger" main route. And I don't want to wait several hours to refill if I do that. Less of an issue if you are solo but with ANYone else (family, friends on road trip, etc), then it is very inconvenient and "embarrassing". I want some freedom to travel.

 

[RDoc]

Because I want to easily go to places other than the "rail road super charger" main route. And I don't want to wait several hours to refill if I do that. Less of an issue if you are solo but with ANYone else (family, friends on road trip, etc), then it is very inconvenient and "embarrassing". I wasn't some freedom to travel.

I totally agree.

 

[bonnie]

The most remarkable thing about this thread is that it has 9 pages of replies in just 24 hours! I love the look of the car. I have 2 objections to the car that would probably keep me from buying it. First, don't like the FALCON DOORS at all. The marginal benefits, (possible rain protection?) over the potential for expensive repairs in the future make it a distraction, and don't know why they are marketing it exclusively to women. I am a man who has owned SUVs for years, they don't need to make it a woman's car. But in the end, my MS provides all the cargo features I need without being an SUV and my days of large family needs are over. with the doors closed it is a beautiful car.

Objecting to the car because you feel like it has been marketed exclusively to women totally ignores the decades of marketing vehicles exclusively to men, yet women have bought those same cars. Seriously. Get over it. I've looked at car ads for years with scantily dressed women draped over all over the car & just ignored it. I don't recall hearing anyone object before that cars were only marketed towards men. We brave women just sucked it up and compared performance specs and decided what vehicle we wanted and didn't fear anyone calling us 'manly' because we bought a 'man's car'.

But then again, I don't buy that it has been marketed exclusively to women. They have marketed to women, yes. And to men. And let's move on.

 

[Merrill]

I can tell you that women are the ones who make decisions about their cars and when you go to a dealership you will see that 80% of the cars brought in for service are brought in by women. Having worked in the automotive industry you never want to underestimate the power of women and their cars.

 

[Cottonwood]

Because I want to easily go to places other than the "rail road super charger" main route. And I don't want to wait several hours to refill if I do that. Less of an issue if you are solo but with ANYone else (family, friends on road trip, etc), then it is very inconvenient and "embarrassing". I wasn't some freedom to travel.

There is another reason for a larger battery pack: faster Supercharging! The charging rate is determined the lesser (limiting factor) of the charger capacity, the connections, and a multiplier of battery capacity. Even if the Superchargers are limited to 120 or 135 kW because of the charging cabinet or the connections to the car, a larger capacity battery will have a taper curve that will allow faster charging for longer. A bigger battery is a double win on the taper curve, the height of the curve (kW) is higher, and the whole length of the taper (measured in rated miles) is larger.

Bigger batteries mean faster Supercharging!

 

[Mnlevin]

Objecting to the car because you feel like it has been marketed exclusively to women totally ignores the decades of marketing vehicles exclusively to men, yet women have bought those same cars. Seriously. Get over it. I've looked at car ads for years with scantily dressed women draped over all over the car & just ignored it. I don't recall hearing anyone object before that cars were only marketed towards men. We brave women just sucked it up and compared performance specs and decided what vehicle we wanted and didn't fear anyone calling us 'manly' because we bought a 'man's car'.

But then again, I don't buy that it has been marketed exclusively to women. They have marketed to women, yes. And to men. And let's move on.

Bonnie, I stand corrected, They have changed the Webpage. The original Web Page was all directed at women. The current web page is now more unisex.

BTW, for the post who stated that for years we have had beautiful women draped over cars to get them sold, it was directed at MEN not the women. But ALAS it is all moot.
I don't like the doors, I think the car will be WAY over priced when they figure the AWD, extras needed and the fact that the battery will probably be reduced range due to the AWD. Overall my MS does everything I want or need and wouldn't consider that vehicle. BUT would definitely purchase a GEN III if available, sight unseen.

 

[CHARGER]

Wouldn`t varying door mechanisms be positive for exiting a vehicle after collision? I.e. if you land on the roof, you can still exit through the front doors. If the car lands on its side, you can exit through the doors on the other side, and the falcon wing rear door will make the climb to the top of the car easier (when it`s on its side). Variation in the way the doors work make the car more versatile.

Personally I would like the falcon wing doors to be optional. Mainly because I (and most norwegians) require roofrack on cars we buy. Tesla could easily draw the same conclusion by checking the percentage ordering panoramic roof with roofrack mounts, and by studying the enormous aftermarket sales of roofracks for the car. I`d prefer ordinary doors. I need to see Teslas solution for roofrack before I decide to keep or cancel my reservation.

Safety and car design should, in my opinion take in worst case situation, for example X with seven occupants, severe crash, all unconscious, vehicle on its roof, fire in the dash region. You are first paramedic on scene explain your steps. These types of crashes happen all the time.