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Quick, someone link the gorilla glass thread!
I've been wondering about the X windshield. If it really does extend as far back as it appears, and if, because of the falcon doors, it can neither open nor support a pull shut shade, then how could Tesla keep the interior from getting too hot on bright days?
What if they could electronically darken the upper portion of the windshield? Folks have been speculating on side windows, but the elephant in the room is the glass roof. I rode in a friend's S the other day, and there was a screen inserted inside the roof glass that helped a lot. Not sure how well that would work on the upper portions of the windshield, since there would be no roof structure to fasten the front of it to. So I for one am rooting for electronically dimming glass.
Not sure how to get a footer on these messages, but I'm Sig#205. Mostly silent on the forum, but fully understand the straightjacket comment
I got burned with GTAT ... if anyone says sapphire I'll go catatonic.
I got burned with GTAT ... if anyone says sapphire I'll go catatonic.
Maybe we'll see a hybrid sapphire/gorillas glass electrochromic variant with transparent solar panels added to the top layer with a water repellant hydrophobic coating to minimize wiper use that messes with the aerodynamics.
Funny thing is, the banter from MsElectric seemed - while I get it was in jest - fairly plausible. Sometimes it is the "crazy" ideas that actually can bear some fruit. Until they got to the transparent solar panels anyway. There is no precedent for solar-panels on the Model X and automotive precedent of solar-panel sunroofs has been of limited us (mostly running fans on parked cars - Tesla doesn't need that since its batteries can do even better and run AC). Let alone transparent ones.
But there is no reason why hybrid sapphire/gorilla glass with electrochromic and water repellant hydrophobic coating couldn't theoretically be starting points for some discussion on the potential glass features on Model X. I get it that it is mostly a list of consumer electronics buzzwords, but I wouldn't discount them merely because they are buzzwords. Things like oleophobic coating, gorilla glass, sapphire glass and electrochromic as well as photochromic glass, are real technologies - the bigger question would be their applicability to automotive use (questionable in many case), and of course finally is there any reason to believe Tesla might be using them (we have no sources to support such).
The electrochromic windows case, perhaps, seems on the plausible end of the spectrum of all those wild terms thrown in the wind, due to the leaked photo - although perhaps it was just about the rear-view mirror technology too. The second thing that strikes plausible to me is some extra-strong or special glass technology for making that bonnet-to-falcon-wings panoramic windshield, which incidentally would also benefit from an electrochromic feature.
I don't think that sapphire glass is realistic. It is extremely expensive and it is my understanding that the price goes up exponentially as you increase surface area. Also, I don't think that Tesla is at the point where they can work magic deals with glass companies like Corning to come out with innovative new glass technology (like Apple did with Gorilla glass). Whatever glass they use, I think it will be industry standard - maybe not the car industry though.
AnxietyRanger, you are so hyped up that even if Tesla releases the X with an ion engine to do suborbital hops between continents (leveraging SpaceX knowledge) you will still be disappointed.
All joking aside, it is great to see someone following the rumours so closely. I have particularly appreciated your summary posts. Keep it coming !
I think I will be disappointed but for a different reason - by not having any speculation to do once Model X gets released! Luckily Model 3 is a bit further away...
That said, certainly a Magic Sky type of feature for the panoramic Model X windshield would make usability sense, if the large glass extends without any break or cross-beam from the bonnet all the way to the falcon wings as we assume it does at least on the mules. But of course any "tinting" could also be static and not adjustable (similar to the Model S panoramic window).
FWIW, the September leakster's Model X CAD that got pulled did feature (in addition to the cross-beamless A pillar area of the huge windshield) regular sunscreens attached to the A pillars (there is no roof/cross-beam to attach to as usual), which might speak against an electronic version - unless the latter is optional or sunscreens are legally mandated. Sunscreens could also help on the sides, if those windows are not chromatic. Then again, any leaks may be outdated by the time production hits and things may change.
I agree some adjustable tinting would indeed be cool. Time will tell.
As for Model 3, I agree it probably will be slightly less exciting given Elon's latest comments. Nor am I committing myself to any Model 3 vigil as I'm not - at least currently - on the market for one. But of course Model 3 will still hide some secrets - secrets of design, of what features to expect trickle down from Model S and X and how are they implemented etc. Also the group of people interested in the car will be a lot bigger, meaning probably more sightings once mules hit the roads, as well as more interested people taking part in speculating. I'm sure a lot of people will get a kick out of that in the not-too-distant future. Also, perhaps it will get more exciting after the first model, if talk of more adventurous later variants amounts to anything!