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Model X with full width falcon doors …

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If you're going to have falcon/gullwing doors for the reasons Elon mentioned in the gigaom interview (advantages in carparks and tight garages) then how come there's still a normal opening door on the front that just looks plain odd next to it ?

I was hoping that something like my mock up below would be shown last night. I realise there'd be some engineering challenges in making such a big door work and comply with regs, but cant help feel that Tesla have missed a golden opportunity with this …

Other things to consider are whether this door mechanism is going to bite them on the butt with reliability issues; safety concerns for trapped fingers / arms; electronically sensing if there really is enough room for a powered door to open/rise up etc; and what about water on the upper areas dribbling in - hopefully there's some subtle ways of preventing that.

Basically I like the Model X, but a full width gull wing door would be epic.



ModelXBFDversion1.jpg
 
I don't think it is possible because
(1) I don't think it is strong enough in a rollover, etc.
(2) You have to be able to get out with a loss of power and falcon doors aren't mechanical, they're electrical.
 
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Yeah, in person, the X definitely felt - to me - like it was two different cars spliced into one in the middle!

Full-width falcon doors would have been cool but, not practical, I'd say - most of the time, one wouldn't have passengers in the rear (when commuting to work, say) and having to open that wing would have been really overkill.
 
If you're going to have falcon/gullwing doors for the reasons Elon mentioned in the gigaom interview (advantages in carparks and tight garages) then how come there's still a normal opening door on the front that just looks plain odd next to it ?...

I kinda like the different doors for a different purpose. (like a minivan) Partly becuase of weather and that regular doors work fine for getting in the front.

Great mockup!
 
Form over Function

I have two concerns. There's not all that much headroom in my garage under the garage door opener, probably under 7'. I used to live at a place with a carport where the tailgate of my Prius would hit the ceiling.
The other is that if you need to carry a 4x8 sheet of plywood, a stack of 12' 2x8s, or a couple of kayaks, wouldn't you want to do it on roofracks? I can easily carry two kayaks on my Prius, I've even had two 16' canoes on it for the 4 people inside. Does that make it more of an SUV than the Model X?
Sure bikes or skis can go on a bumper hitch, but there are things bigger than bikes and skis.
The falcon doors sure are pretty, but they seem like 'solution' to something that was at worst, no more of a problem than the problems they create.
Wouldn't it be great if we could get over ourselves and love van style sliding doors?
 
Third Row Seat Access

Van sliding doors will never allow you easy full access to the rear seat because the sliding doors need a rail to slide back on. So you're always going to have to crawl around the door to get into the rear seat. This isn't just an issue for passengers of the rear seat but also for anyone who is putting a child in the rear seat and helps her secure the car seat or seatbelt.

The falcon doors (and yes, I have a couple issues with them) are really the perfect solution to the third row seat access problem.
 
I have two concerns. There's not all that much headroom in my garage under the garage door opener, probably under 7'. I used to live at a place with a carport where the tailgate of my Prius would hit the ceiling.
The other is that if you need to carry a 4x8 sheet of plywood, a stack of 12' 2x8s, or a couple of kayaks, wouldn't you want to do it on roofracks? I can easily carry two kayaks on my Prius, I've even had two 16' canoes on it for the 4 people inside.

Their head of product design said they have a workaround for the roof rack and that if your garage roof isn't high enough, a secondary (presumably outside corner) hinge will open to allow you to get in. See 41:10 Tesla Model S Head of Product Design (Behind the Scenes) - YouTube