When will Tesla answer all of our questions about the X - Official launch speculation

[andrewket]

I too am hoping for more steering wheel controls.

 

[Zaxxon]

While that could happen, I doubt it would have a significant negative impact on Model S or X sales. Demand is very strong, and Tesla has to build thousands of X's to work through the reservation backlog. That is going to take months.
Personally I do expect an X reveal event at or very close to the Founders delivery date, and I think more details will appear on the website at that time. Of course I could be wrong. But the world will keep spinning, and Tesla will keep growing.

Agreed. I won't explode in fury if the 9/29 event reveals little to nothing to the public, and I've calibrated my expectations expecting that outcome.

I will, however, note the Q3 'launch' as another missed deadline. There's no reasonable definition of launch that includes no deliveries to customers outside the company's inner circle and a lack of concrete, full specification/pricing information to at least the reservation holders if not the public at large.

Hopefully Tesla will come through. Not holding my breath on this one, though.

 

[vandacca]

How hard is it for Tesla to secure a reliable supply of seats? My god, every car manufacturer does this without any hiccups. You'd think Tesla was reinventing the upholstery manufacturing business or something. What on earth is Tesla doing wrong that they can't get the simple things that every other vehicle manufacturer can get without any problems? I'm tired of hearing excuses from Musk and Tesla. First it was the falcon doors, then it was the "sculptural work of art" 2nd row seats that Elon said were incredibly difficult to get right. Then there is his statement that the Model X is the most difficult car in the world to build.

I have to believe that most car manufacturers don't challenge their suppliers much. They make choices like the type of stitch, piping, seat patterns, etc. I suspect that the Model-X seats are very different to what most suppliers are used to building and they had to work really hard with Tesla to make it work. Furthermore, I suspect that Elon is a control-freak and perfectionist, which put even more pressure on these suppliers.

I wouldn't be surprised if Tesla was forced to go with non-folding seats because Elon just wasn't happy with the results and he just didn't have the option to delay the Model-X yet again.

 

[ohmman]

One of the hardest parts of all of this is the juxtaposition. What some of us need to reconcile is:

A company that appears to be so insanely with it:
* Roadster is the game changer, amazing car, automotive customer service to silence all other pretenders in the field
* MS building on that, winning accolades from just about everywhere, and deserving every bit of them

A company that is outstandingly amateur:
* Communication - not much more to say here.
* Overpromise, heavily delayed deliver. I refuse to say under deliver because that's not accurate.
* Whatever the hell is going on with this MX release, which is unprecedented.

How a company that we love so much can live in both of these camps confounds me. It also scares me.

 

[goneskiian]

How hard is it for Tesla to secure a reliable supply of seats? My god, every car manufacturer does this without any hiccups. You'd think Tesla was reinventing the upholstery manufacturing business or something. What on earth is Tesla doing wrong that they can't get the simple things that every other vehicle manufacturer can get without any problems? I'm tired of hearing excuses from Musk and Tesla. First it was the falcon doors, then it was the "sculptural work of art" 2nd row seats that Elon said were incredibly difficult to get right. Then there is his statement that the Model X is the most difficult car in the world to build.

When did Tesla lose focus like this? Make the car more straightforward so that it can actually be built on time. Then iterate the car over time to introduce those amazing "wants" that didn't make the final cut. I'm smelling something fishy, sorry to say.

You must have missed the thread started by Eds. This poster was determined to work for the seat supplier and said that the first X's off the line would be comprimised because they would have hand built components and that there would be less than 100 delivered this year. They also said that at least one supplier wouldn't be supplying parts until maybe November or December because of last minute design changes that included specs that had yet to be passed on to the supplier by Tesla.

Sure Tesla can source parts and products from suppliers if they give them time to get the proper tooling in place. Tesla is still pretty small potatoes in the car manufacturing business though so I would imagine suppliers are only willing to jump so high when asked, or bend over backward only so far when pushing deadlines.

 

[PGeer]

I meant to ask if anyone from Tesla has said that the car will be revealed on 29th.

I guess the answer is still no.

My DES (I've configured) said he saw the X last week in Fremont and that yes, he "knew" we would receive details on the 29th.

 

[adelman]

I'm missing the plot here. If members here are lining up for, VIN 2 etc. , then what numbers do Founders get?
Tesla not doing a launch party? I am in disbelief.

An order reservation number is not the same thing as a VIN.

As Signature #1, I've been assigned VIN 5YJXCAE4XGFS00001. Our Signature Model S is VIN 5YJSA1DP9CFS00044; I think our "Signature number" was 48 or so. If my recollection is correct the Founder's cars had a different sequence, starting at F00001 rather than S00001, so the Founder's cars don't affect the Signature numbers. I think the same is true of the various levels of prototypes.

Note that although Tesla doesn't guarantee a relationship between place-in-line and VINs, I think if you finalize your car immediately when called upon to, you have some reasonable chance of receiving a VIN <= your Signature place-in-line. If you delay, expect a later VIN.

Ken

 

[dirkhh]

Note that the Pacer never shipped with the Wankel. Instead, AMC shoved their straight-6 into the car (I believe the 258 ci, if I remember right, which was one hell of a workhorse). At the last minute, they were forced to do a redesign; if I recall correctly, it was based on a marketing concern of the engine's "feel" (engine noise and RPM), leaving Mazda as the only manufacturer to consider the rotary engine.

Nonono. NSU sold Wankel Motor cars in Germany for years. I actually rode in a Ro 80 as a child

 

[smorgasbord]

I have to believe that most car manufacturers don't challenge their suppliers much.

From my experience, not true at all. OEMs beat hard on their suppliers, from quality to cost to production volume to returns. OEMs are looking for both proven and uniqueness, which are tastes great/less attributes.

The uniqueness aspects are the scary ones for OEMs, and I agree that could be the real issue here.

 

[gjunky]

Nonono. NSU sold Wankel Motor cars in Germany for years. I actually rode in a Ro 80 as a child

Wankel is, I believe, the inventor of the rotary engine. Yes, NSU sold the RO 80 with a rotary engine. I have been in one too (too young to drive)

 

[FlasherZ]

Nonono. NSU sold Wankel Motor cars in Germany for years. I actually rode in a Ro 80 as a child

Sorry, should have been clearer... In the US.

Before they did an emergency about-face, AMC licensed the rotary engine for the Pacer from Curtiss-Wright, which licensed the technology from NSU to begin with. There were probably several others that popped up in Asia as well.

 

[Zaxxon]

Agreed. I won't explode in fury if the 9/29 event reveals little to nothing to the public, and I've calibrated my expectations expecting that outcome.

I will, however, note the Q3 'launch' as another missed deadline. There's no reasonable definition of launch that includes no deliveries to customers outside the company's inner circle and a lack of concrete, full specification/pricing information to at least the reservation holders if not the public at large.

Hopefully Tesla will come through. Not holding my breath on this one, though.

Now that there is officially an event and folks are getting invites, I'm happy to likely be wrong.

 

[vandacca]

From my experience, not true at all. OEMs beat hard on their suppliers, from quality to cost to production volume to returns. OEMs are looking for both proven and uniqueness, which are tastes great/less attributes.

The uniqueness aspects are the scary ones for OEMs, and I agree that could be the real issue here.

Sorry, that's what I meant by "challenges" - more like engineering/technical challenges. I totally agree that OEMs will "challenge" suppliers on cost-related issues.

 

[NigelM]

Now that there is officially an event and folks are getting invites, I'm happy to likely be wrong.

In a discussion with the MX support person this morning, it was confirmed to me that my detailed questions on dimensions, cargo space etc. will definitely be answered next week. the scope of the conversation was such that I clearly take that to mean ALL will be revealed on the 29th or immediately afterwards.

(Tesla was accommodating to leave my order open at least until next week)

 

[Zaxxon]

Fantastic.

 

[ohmman]

In a discussion with the MX support person this morning, it was confirmed to me that my detailed questions on dimensions, cargo space etc. will definitely be answered next week. the scope of the conversation was such that I clearly take that to mean ALL will be revealed on the 29th or immediately afterwards.

Very exciting stuff. I'm eager to get falcon door arc measurement ranges (for garage fitment).

 

[anticitizen13.7]

In a discussion with the MX support person this morning, it was confirmed to me that my detailed questions on dimensions, cargo space etc. will definitely be answered next week. the scope of the conversation was such that I clearly take that to mean ALL will be revealed on the 29th or immediately afterwards.

(Tesla was accommodating to leave my order open at least until next week)

This is a major relief to read. I'm excited for the big party!