Slashdot Mirror
Tesla Unveils the Model X
An anonymous reader writes with news that Tesla has officially unveiled its Model X SUV. It's their third vehicle, after the Roadster and Model S. Its 90kWh battery provides 250 miles of range, and the vehicle can go from zero to 60 mph in 3.2 seconds. According to Reuters, the high-end versions of the Model X will cost between $132,000 and $144,000, while the base model's pricing is not yet known. The vehicle's doors open upward, and it can have seating for either six or seven passengers, depending on layout. The back row of seats can fold down when not in use. The Model X has automatic emergency braking, a 5,000 pound towing capacity, and a so-called "bioweapon defense mode" for its air circulation system that keeps positive pressure within the cabin.
One of the things I found very interesting about the video release is the idea that they put sensors in the falcon wing doors that would alter the rate and angle the two pivot points used to open the doors. I had wondered how they were going to prevent what would have probably ended up being expensive damage if the available opening space around the car was either too low or too close. You have to hand it to Tesla, they really do think about how things should work before they rush in and execute. If they put the same kind of design effort into the Model C, they are going to knock it out of the park.
I am not interested in articles about life extension advancements.
Back when "The Millionaire Next Door" was written, the author included data from a survey that said the most common car driven by millionaires at that time was a Jeep Grand Cherokee. I think the next most common was a Ford F-150.
But there are a lot of misconceptions about millionaires (people with a net worth of > $1 million). Most are self-made, most are entrepreneurs, most are worth in the single digit millions, etc.
But the overall theme was, these aren't the people you see out there flaunting wealth. Those people are usually not worth anything. People who are really building wealth are not the conspicuous consumers.
They just can't win with you guys. Here is a US carmaker, hiring US manufacturing workers, and hiring US factory builders, and US factory worker insurance agents, and US building maintenance workers and US building construction workers... And US robot installers, and US salespeople and US car insurance people and US SuperCharger construction workers and US auto engineers and US marketing workers and on and on.
All these non-rich, non-douche workers are taking piles of money away from the "douche"-class. Exactly what will it take to make you happy? You should wish the cars were selling out at 10X the price, to take 10X as much of the cash away from the evil "douche"-class buyers.
Pretending this is my office full of bitter coworkers..
Such over-design tends to spectacularly and expensively fail as cars get older or get into accidents.
Not really a relevant concern when you are talking about a $100K+ vehicle. A bit of exuberant design is expected to justify the price tag. I'm guessing you aren't really into the luxury car market much.
With multiple hinges, sensors, control units that all could potentially fail, you will end up with a used car without functioning doors. Who wants that? On other hand, simple hinge just keep working.
Yes but simple isn't necessarily interesting. Nobody buys a supercar because they want simple basic transportation. They want a bit of panache, otherwise there is no point.
So you think, "I will lease for 4 years, and will never see these problems". Well, resale value is affected by reliability, and as a result costs of these failures will be baked into your lease costs.
Buying a car like this is not a decision driven by expected resale value. You buy a car like this because you have the disposable income and you want to own one.