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Becoming impatient for the X to hit the road.

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The Model X has been delayed several times. Altogether probably at least a year an a half's worth of delays. Who's becoming impatient with Tesla with regards to the X.

I believe the D was all the goodies that were supposed to be in the X. But Tesla came out with the D to Deflect, Delay, & Divert attention away for the problems they are having with the sealing the Falcon Wings Doors properly. I like the Falcon Wing Doors, but If it means waiting another 6 months for the first one to hit the road. It really makes me say Tesla just give me a dam SUV with normal doors. I mean I kinda wanted S drivers to envy my X but now that have all our goodies. I reserved the first day and I had a S reservation for years before that. I'm really starting to get annoyed with the lack of progress on the X. I mean the first X's were scheduled to be on the road in December. Now the X won't be shown until the Detroit auto show in mid January. :confused:

WTF??
 
Since it was rumored in January that the S AWD would be released around now, PRIOR to the release of the X, I didn't see this as a delay tactic, but rather as another step closer to release of the X.

(I did post about that in January, btw. So not a case of revisionist history.)

Not sure where people are getting the info that the X will be at the Detroit Auto Show in January ... did Tesla say that? Remember that analysts and diff news outlets were reporting that the Model 3 was going to be introduced last Thursday night. You saw how that turned out. :)

If your worry is that the Model S owners won't envy you in your X, as you say, I'm sure there will be additional options that will make you feel special. But just remember that Tesla is constantly releasing new features ... that's the way of new technology. None of us gets to be special very long... But if you're getting it for other reasons (I am!), you're bound to be happy with it for a very long time.
 
I am absolutely certain that the X delays have nothing to do with technical challenges and everything to do with how vastly underestimated the demand for Model S was. Why would they divert resources to X when they are production constrained on the S?

I remember the conference calls before Model S launched. They wanted to sell 20k units a year, then once they got there, they wanted to follow up with 15k units of Model X. Note that the target for this year is the same number: 35k units. But, it's all Model S. They are still using every battery they can get their hands on, there is no incentive to get the Model X to market anytime soon.

Now obviously Elon will never say that to you. But look at the actions. Even the reveal of the D this week. It all says, "we are going to milk the Model S for all it is worth before we complicate our operations with a second Model."

I know there was one interview where Elon mentioned the doors as a challenge. Come on, they just demoed auto pilot but need a year and half to get doors to seal? I call BS.
 
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I believe the D was all the goodies that were supposed to be in the X. But Tesla came out with the D to Deflect, Delay, & Divert attention away for the problems they are having with the sealing the Falcon Wings Doors properly. I like the Falcon Wing Doors, but If it means waiting another 6 months for the first one to hit the road. It really makes me say Tesla just give me a dam SUV with normal doors. I mean I kinda wanted S drivers to envy my X but now that have all our goodies.

I disagree, for the following reasons:

(1) Model S competes with other midsize luxury sedans like the BMW 5-Series and Mercedes E-class. These competitors all have AWD as an option. Model S with Dual Motor meets and then raises the bar for AWD. This upgrade would have happened regardless of the existence of Model X.

(2) There is no reliable information that the Falcon Wing Doors are causing a delay. This is all speculation. Sure, the doors are a novel challenge, but I suspect that getting the Dual Motor operational too more work (a lot of control software and tuning).

(3). The X should have plenty of "goodies". One of the few criticisms of Model S is its lack of interior cabin conveniences. The X was designed with a lot of S feedback in mind. The X also gets a step-in third row and taller cargo area. Don't forget towing capability. If Tesla introduces camera mirrors, that would be another differentiator on the X.
 
I am absolutely certain that the X delays have nothing to do with technical challenges

I do recall there actually being talk of Elon not being 100% happy with where the X was at that time and it needing more work. I'm sure the success of the S played a part though -- I think firstly the revealed the X when they did to keep interest alive in the company post S, and when the S took off, they needed to divert more resources to it, which did take away from the X.
 
I do recall there actually being talk of Elon not being 100% happy with where the X was at that time and it needing more work. I'm sure the success of the S played a part though -- I think firstly the revealed the X when they did to keep interest alive in the company post S, and when the S took off, they needed to divert more resources to it, which did take away from the X.

Oh, I'm sure there were issues with the X. But I don't think that technical challenges are what is delaying the X. I think Tesla thought that they would need a second model by now, and the reality is that they don't.

I also believe that the X is going to be much more "done" than the S was when they shipped it. The early S's were fine, but a lot of refinements went into the car very early on. I think the X is going to be more mature before anyone sees it. Again, not because they had to do that, but because they can. They didn't have that luxury with the S, they had no income, they needed to get it out to customers.
 
I agree that the delay of Model X has more to do with the success of Model S than anything else. The fact that they were anticipating to only sell 20k model S this year, when they are in fact going to sell 35k speaks volumes since the latest word is that they are still battery constrained.

Separately, did you notice the US LG Chem battery plant manager recently saying their US battery plant is only at 30% capacity? I wonder if Panasonic didn't extract some concessions from Tesla in exchange for participating in the gigafactory. Or maybe LG Chem just can't make the same batteries Tesla needs.
 
I would be great if Tesla would communicate to us reservation holders some current state every month with an email newsletter.
That would keep us informed if/how Tesla is on track with the schedule. Currently we have NO INFORMATION AT ALL since several months already.
This is a bit frustrating for us that are anxious to get their hands on that car ...
After all, with our reservation fee we became some sort of shareholder, too.
 
I would be great if Tesla would communicate to us reservation holders some current state every month with an email newsletter.
That would keep us informed if/how Tesla is on track with the schedule. Currently we have NO INFORMATION AT ALL since several months already.
This is a bit frustrating for us that are anxious to get their hands on that car ...
After all, with our reservation fee we became some sort of shareholder, too.

Yes, I think a lot of people agree Tesla makes great, great cars (otherwise I wouldn't have that quote in my signature), but they could improve in the comms department. I don't mind about myself in this instance, I'm a late-comer compared to a lot of people, but some small status updates to long-time Model X reservation holders would certainly be a nice gesture! :)

That said, I wouldn't be surprised if we get to that Design Studio within some weeks... Here's hoping.

One more question, to you older pre-order people (from Model S days), did everyone get to put in their order from the beginning or is the ordering part staggered too based on your place in the queue?
 
One more question, to you older pre-order people (from Model S days), did everyone get to put in their order from the beginning or is the ordering part staggered too based on your place in the queue?

If it works the same as the Model S, you can expect the following:

Small groups of reservation numbers will gradually be released into the ordering system in sequential order. At this point, you will have 30 days to complete an order, request a deferral, or cancel your reservation and receive a refund. Once you place an order, your reservation number no longer has any significance and production is scheduled based on your location and the features you have selected. Some features may have delayed or limited availability, which means reservation holders who originally had a higher number than you could get their vehicles built and delivered earlier depending on your selections.
 
If it works the same as the Model S, you can expect the following:

Small groups of reservation numbers will gradually be released into the ordering system in sequential order. At this point, you will have 30 days to complete an order, request a deferral, or cancel your reservation and receive a refund. Once you place an order, your reservation number no longer has any significance and production is scheduled based on your location and the features you have selected. Some features may have delayed or limited availability, which means reservation holders who originally had a higher number than you could get their vehicles built and delivered earlier depending on your selections.

Thank you, timf. Great answer. :)
 
Oh, I'm sure there were issues with the X. But I don't think that technical challenges are what is delaying the X. I think Tesla thought that they would need a second model by now, and the reality is that they don't.

I agree that the delay of Model X has more to do with the success of Model S than anything else. The fact that they were anticipating to only sell 20k model S this year, when they are in fact going to sell 35k speaks volumes since the latest word is that they are still battery constrained.

I would be great if Tesla would communicate to us reservation holders some current state every month with an email newsletter.
That would keep us informed if/how Tesla is on track with the schedule. Currently we have NO INFORMATION AT ALL since several months already.
This is a bit frustrating for us that are anxious to get their hands on that car ...
After all, with our reservation fee we became some sort of shareholder, too.

Yes, I think a lot of people agree Tesla makes great, great cars (otherwise I wouldn't have that quote in my signature), but they could improve in the comms department. I don't mind about myself in this instance, I'm a late-comer compared to a lot of people, but some small status updates to long-time Model X reservation holders would certainly be a nice gesture! :)

I'm a long-time X reservation holder (Signature #2, Feb 2012) ... and 1) I'm not worried that they're dealing with any technical challenges, I believe things are moving along just fine, and 2) I'm not complaining about lack of communication (but thanks for assuming I needed someone to speak up for me - got it handled!).

Here's what I do when I want to know more: I pick up the phone and call or sit down at my computer and send an email. Don't wait for someone to contact you if you feel you need to know more. Reach out.
 
Here's what I do when I want to know more: I pick up the phone and call or sit down at my computer and send an email. Don't wait for someone to contact you if you feel you need to know more. Reach out.

I'm a long time reservation holder too, XP268. Reserved the first hour of the first day they let the gen pop in. I'd like an update.

Bonnie, I believe you have a Tesla or two which makes your wait much easier. I'm stuck in a Leaf with degraded range.

The problem with calling Tesla is the majority of sales people know less than we do (I've called several times) & there's almost nothing recent on the Internet to find.

Really I just want Elon to throw us a bone. If he just tweeted the letter X i'd be good :)
 
I'm trusting that the extra time means the final result will be well-tested and well-designed. I had experience with a vehicle that was (in my opinion) rushed to market before it was ready. The result was a disappointment for buyers and the manufacturer alike.
 
I recall a thread where they mentioned Tesla was still waiting on the federal government to approve the side door cameras. The final decision was suppose to be end of Sept this year. The government said they needed a 2 month extension before they make a decision which would push this into Nov...right? Maybe they are waiting for this before they show the public the final Model X? I don't think they are having issues with the falcon wing doors.

I'm currently driving a 1999 Audi A4 wagon with 250k on it! I'm 6603 on the X reservation list and guessing I might have mine in May 2015. The Audi still runs like an open sore...wish me luck it makes it till the X shows up.

I was fortunate to have a friend (model S owner) tell me about the company a few years ago. I invested the amount of money needed to purchase a Model S it into the stock. At this point I can purchase the X and still have my original investment which I will remain long on.