Musk Calls Himself an "Idiot" for Complicating Model X Configurations

Megalith

Megalith

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Tesla’s Model X is missing the American SUV craze due to its complicated design, and the CEO is blaming himself for not starting out with a more basic configuration like the company did with the Model S and upcoming Model 3. While the X is a beautiful vehicle with unique features such as Falcon Wing doors, the car has been criticized for not being much of an actual SUV due to a lack of utility. Many owners have also reported repeating technology issues.

Musk has chalked up challenges with the Model X to making the vehicle too complicated. Features including the double-hinged falcon-wing doors have constrained production and contributed to a costly $82,500 starting price. For Tesla, the lack of cheaper and easier to produce configurations has meant missing out on roaring demand amid America’s SUV boom. “Luxury SUVs are really hot right now, and the Model X should have been a big hit and broadened Tesla’s audience,” said Michelle Krebs, an analyst with Autotrader.com. “You don’t hear a lot of buzz about the Model X, and when you do, it’s the negative stuff.”
 
gxp500 said:
It doesn't look like an suv, maybe that's the problem.
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Nope, it looks like a car/minivan crossover. It is not bad looking, (as always that is subjective), but it sure does not look like an SUV.
 
Megalith said:
Tesla’s Model X is missing the American SUV craze due to its complicated design, and the CEO is blaming himself for not starting out with a more basic configuration like the company did with the Model S and upcoming Model 3. While the X is a beautiful vehicle with unique features such as Falcon Wing doors, the car has been criticized for not being much of an actual SUV due to a lack of utility. Many owners have also reported repeating technology issues.

Musk has chalked up challenges with the Model X to making the vehicle too complicated. Features including the double-hinged falcon-wing doors have constrained production and contributed to a costly $82,500 starting price. For Tesla, the lack of cheaper and easier to produce configurations has meant missing out on roaring demand amid America’s SUV boom. “Luxury SUVs are really hot right now, and the Model X should have been a big hit and broadened Tesla’s audience,” said Michelle Krebs, an analyst with Autotrader.com. “You don’t hear a lot of buzz about the Model X, and when you do, it’s the negative stuff.”
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The post said

"While the X is a beautiful vehicle with unique features such as Falcon Wing doors, the car has been criticized for not being much of an actual SUV due to a lack of utility. Many owners have also reported repeating technology issues."

Have you seen it in person, I find it more ugly every time I see it!
It's like competing with a Nissan Juke!

It doesn't do it's Model S which looks like a car, People like cars, not an Eco box!
 
gxp500 said:
It doesn't look like an suv, maybe that's the problem.
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it's more of a crossover similar to the toyota matrix meets prius look which i think is completely fine.. i agree he did go a little crazy with the falcon doors but at least he tried something different instead of just sticking with the boring traditional shit. i haven't seen the car in person though, only tesla's i've seen out here are the model S.
 
Sells pretty well, but they just can't make them fast enough. Not very mass market, but good learning step.

A person that didn't make mistakes is a person that hasn't done anything noteworthy in their life.
 
Lith1um said:
"Gull Wing Doors" + Marketing = Falcon wing doors.
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Not exactly. It's an overly complicated and completely self indulgent design with a ton of technology packed in it. And Gullwing is just a door with hinges on the top rather than on its side.
 
Why the infantile obsession with needing to drive something that looks like an SUV? It's like everyone needs to drive something that looks like a fucking Hummer.
 
ole-m said:
The post said

"While the X is a beautiful vehicle with unique features such as Falcon Wing doors, the car has been criticized for not being much of an actual SUV due to a lack of utility. Many owners have also reported repeating technology issues."

Have you seen it in person, I find it more ugly every time I see it!
It's like competing with a Nissan Juke!

It doesn't do it's Model S which looks like a car, People like cars, not an Eco box!
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I think the overall vehicle shape is more like a Pontiac Aztek than a Juke. The Juke would have decent lines if they nixed the oddly protruding light fixtures. The X is an aztek without the pontiac plastic cladding and bigger wheels.
 
I mean it's an 83k vehicle that has door problems. Plus at that price range you aren't shopping for whatever I can get at that price. You are firmly in fully loaded luxury car/SUV price range. 5000lb towing capacity max.

Pass.
 
PhotoBobBarker said:
Please explain what you mean by this?
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That they did it because they wanted to do it, but they never stopped to think if it gave extra value to the car.

It's an engineering masterpiece that would look good in technology museum. But for a mass market car, it's overly complicated, with too many points of potential failure.

So I'm amazed that the design went trough prototyping and remained in the final product version. These kinds of things you normally only see on one off prototypes at motor shows.

I guess they intended it as a marketing piece rather than an actual useful, unmissable feature. And as a marketing piece it worked in their favour.
 
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