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bonnie
I play a nice person on twitter.
Why would that be different from a traditional door that gets bashed up a bit in an accident? I don't understand.
I can't imagine that it would... Now, talking about the car landing on the roof, that's another issue, but I believe that particular one has been pored over ad nauseum already.
If you land on the roof I don't think you are going to have to worry about the car anymore because it is probably totaled. With a traditional door you are aligning the door with the A or B pillar, which each door has its own pillar. Model X uses a shared pillar to attach both rear doors. So if you bash the door a bit and say it bends the center pillar were both doors attach you have caused the door adjacent to the wreck to become damaged as well. It is kind of hard to explain exactly what I am getting at. Also thinking some more about it there are other vehicles that have Delorean or Gulwing doors which I am sure can be repaired. Really worried more then I should be as Tesla has worked out bigger issues before.
It's not the fact that it's aluminum that's the problem, and it isn't "plaguing" the Roadster - for the most part we're talking about pretty serious accidents.
The aluminum tub that forms the frame - and that of it's cousin the Lotus Elise - is not riveted or bolted, it's bonded. It's not a trivial thing to repair, as it requires special skills and equipment. If the frame has been bent, most insurance companies have decided not to bother and wrote off the car.
People's experience is highly variable, from what I've heard.
For me, I was paying $800 a year for my existing car; adding the Roadster cost another $600 a year. No complaints here!
I'm not an expert but used to be in the insurance business when Aluminum\Aluminium frame as used in Audi's were first introduced and it was a hot topic at the time.
From what I understand Aluminum\Aluminium frames as now used in Model S and X are a bit more complex than steel, particularly when welding but are much more repairable than bonded aluminium as used in the roadster.
Apart from special aluminium welding equipment its very important to prevent the metal from overheating as you can cause it to go brittle in the worst case.
If for example somone opened their falcon wing door just as the car was moving under an obstruction and it got caught, most likely the door would be tossed and the frame would be repaired on an alignment jig. If the frame needs to be heated or welded a specialist is required and temperature sensors are placed around the work area to ensure that the temperature stays within a safe range.
So the tak home message is, don't send your smashed Model S or X to just any panel beater.
From what I understand Aluminum\Aluminium frames as now used in Model S and X are a bit more complex than steel, particularly when welding but are much more repairable than bonded aluminium as used in the roadster.
Apart from special aluminium welding equipment its very important to prevent the metal from overheating as you can cause it to go brittle in the worst case.
If for example somone opened their falcon wing door just as the car was moving under an obstruction and it got caught, most likely the door would be tossed and the frame would be repaired on an alignment jig. If the frame needs to be heated or welded a specialist is required and temperature sensors are placed around the work area to ensure that the temperature stays within a safe range.
So the tak home message is, don't send your smashed Model S or X to just any panel beater.
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kevincwelch
Active Member
Just browsing the forums on a quiet Saturday night....have no plans on getting a Model X, but take a look at this video. Probably one of many. Relevant to discussion is about 2:19.
