Planning to order a Model X before doing battle on Black Thanksgiving? You may be waiting until Black Thanksgiving 2016 before yours arrives in the driveway, red bow attached.
Jalopnik reports a letter sent by Tesla to those already on the early adoption list that the Model X will come with the D’s dual-motor, all-wheel drive system, that the EV SUV would be the first of its kind to have towing capability, and that those who are signing up to own or lease an X will be waiting well into 2016 before they finally turn up; the first models are due in driveways Q3 2015, for comparison.
For now, the company is beta-testing the X in its factory, with crash testing due in the future. Tesla is also working with “the best rack and accessory companies in the world to have elegant carrying solutions” for the SUV, as its optional tow hitch can also accommodate ski and bike racks with little effect on aerodynamics.
I’d wait as long as it takes to get a car with *rear* flappy-doors.
Those doors are all about showmanship. They radically compromise the torsional stiffness of the car, so consequently must have a huge weight penalty
.. and sort of put the kibosh on roof racks.
Your hat box can fit in the back!
Showy indeed but functionally superb as well with no need to duck to get into the second row and a full width opening as well.
“Radically compromise torsional rigidity”? I assume that you’re referring to the cutouts in the roof for the falcon wings? I’m guessing that Tesla reinforced that area to more than compensate for the narrower roof span and maintain the Model S’s rigidity and rollover performance.
In sum, you don’t seem to know what you’re talking about.
Hey. You know what is an already proven, superior solution for large doors not taking up much space when open? Sliding doors. Those gull wing doors are all about ego and frankly bad design.
Futzing with ever more cumbersome child seats in the rain, benefits from the cover of a raised gullwing door. Benz should have used them for their Minivan R series to stand out for that reason, but failed to do so. Hence failed.
Giddy,
He said:
“They radically compromise the torsional stiffness of the car, so consequently must have a huge weight penalty”
You said:
” I’m guessing that Tesla reinforced that area to more than compensate for the narrower roof span..”
I think his knowledge of the issue beats your reading comprehension. Unless the reinforcing was done with gossamer.
I suppose these doors are to be automatic? Children and the elderly would have a hard time reaching any straps.
And if they are, BZZZZZZZZZZT – just wasted 20 seconds and 1% battery closing them.
Really. 1% battery Corey? Maybe 1 MILE, if that much but not 1%. Why do you make such extreme assumptions on things you know nothing about?
Hyperbole isn’t supposed to be that accurate!
“radically compromise the torsional stiffness of the car, so consequently must have a huge weight penalty”
Or maybe they just need nearly all the weight near the floor of the car, like every Tesla ever made?
I still think such doors need to be made with a large beam to step over for real, cheap, and lightweight side impact protection. Probably too cumbersome to sell, even though that’s *exactly* how the original 300SL worked.
Umm… Did you know that most cars with open tops one way or another already used a bar down the center of the roof? Do any of them have their torsional stiffness “radically compromised”? The only cars that suffer that malady are the ones that have no roof at all.
I’m definitely not an expert, but it looks like there isn’t enough space aft of the door opening to support sliders.
I wonder if they are trying to make that thing into a flying machine with those battery powered wings.
Anyone over 5ft will have to stoop to get in. Part of the cachet no doubt. Looks like a Jaguar XF/AM from the back, like everything else.
@Dan R: Obviously you’ve either missed or ignored the statements that a 6-foot person can easily stand under those doors getting in and out, making entry and exit much easier than those ‘flappy door’ models that almost force you to crawl into them.
Sloppy writing. Again.
” For now, the company is beta-testing the X in its factory, which will undergo crash testing in the future.”
So, pray tell, when is the factory going to be crash-tested?
I thought factories were exempt.
A seventh grade grammar mistake back in my day. Today, who knows in the social media age. Perhaps the inability to express oneself clearly is taken for granted.
The factory will be crash-tested at the Bayonetta II Testing Grounds near Pripyat, Ukraine beginning next February. Tesla hopes to break new ground in durability against future earthquakes, floods, fire and theft, with a Euro NCAP five-star rating all-around as the ultimate goal.
Oh, and the error has been corrected.
Cameron,
I’m not yet a retired coot but I play one on weekends and I’d just like to say that I admire your consistent quality and volume of work as well as your resilience in the face of homebound pedants.
My complaint is that the second paragraph is one very long, very complex sentence. It was so long I forgot the subject and had to read it over again.
I sure hope Tesla can produce a car that will be that “exceptional” with all the hype it is getting. To get a new car right the first time is a difficult feat. Lexus was able to do it with their 1990 LS400, but I haven’t seen it happen very often since.
“To get a new car right the first time”
Honda Fit, Kia Soul, Toyota Prius. Maybe you’re just looking too high in the stratigraphy.
That wasn’t really a ‘first time’ now was it? How many other vehicles had Toyota designed and manufactured leading up to its development of the Lexus brand?
Tesla’s first in-house designed car EVER has been, for the most part, pretty frickin brilliant, and a much more significant achievement for a car company IMO.
Can’t wait for the Model X to come out, if only so Model S CPOs become more plentiful and affordable.
You might be right. maybe they re getting them right the first time at least with the econo cars.