Tesla Debuts Latest Vaporware Dubbed "Model X", With Impractical Gullwing Doors
The Tesla Roadster is one of the most enjoyable vehicles I’ve ever driven – the problem is, Tesla hasn’t done anything since then, and is releasing new models before their long-awaited Model S sedan is even on sale.
The Model X is a crossover based on the aforementioned Model S. Unveiled at an event in Los Angeles, the Model X has a few quirks that make us question if Tesla is really going to move 15,000 of these vehicles – assuming any get built in the first place. First up are the quirky gullwing rear doors, which are supposed to look cool and allow for easy loading of people and cargo. Here’s one problem; how the hell are they going to open in a place like an underground garage or parking lot with tight spaces? In a lot of urban areas, this is a real issue. I personally know someone who passed on an Mercedes SLS because the gullwing doors wouldn’t give him enough room to exit the car within the tight confines of his condo parking spot. Yes, a very to have, but in the income segment Tesla is hoping to compete in, it’s a potential problem – looks like the garage in the Tesla promotional photo doesn’t have that issue though. The doors are apparently double-hinged and able to open without necessitating too much space, but I’d like to see them in person before any definitive judgement is made.
Tesla will let customers order a second motor mounted up front to give all-wheel drive capabilities, and buyers will have the option of different battery sizes, whether 60 or 85 kWh, which will give the vehicle different range capabilities. Look for range to be slightly less than a Model S, due to the 10 percent weight penalty, so between 200 to 270 miles depending on battery type and a whole host of other variables. The three-row crossover supposedly accelerates to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds, but who really knows. One slightly cringe-worthy feature is the so-called “frunk”, a front trunk where the engine would go. That sounds like an unfortunately similar slang term that will surely be picked up on by more juvenile observers. Expect the Model X to come in higher than the $67,400 pricetag of the Model S – if either of them ever come to market.
More by Derek Kreindler
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About your whiteperson friend and the problem with a Mercedes SLS and his condo parking spot. My father always told a story about a whiteperson he knew of who, back in the '50s, bought himself a new International Harvester pickup truck and got it home to find that it wouldn't quite fit through his garage door as it was just a bit too tall. This particular whiteperson,possessing a bit of that long gone ingenuity that made America great (or not-so-great depending upon your viewpoint), gathered together all of his many children and told them to get their hammers. (Strange, but I don't recall having a hammer as a child, but then I was deprived. Long story short, after about an hour or so the truck fit in the garage. Problem solved! Your whiteperson friend probably just needs some of that good old American ingenuity. Or maybe he just needs a hammer.
Tesla could be doing so much better if they would stop building cars for the 82 Hollywood stars who will by this ridiculous vehicle and Elon Musk ... for a total of 83 vehicles. Turn off their government funding. They are not doing anything worth the hundreds millions of tax dollars they are getting.