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I guess I don't remember the falcon doors because this is a non-starter for me. It starts out talking about "best of an SUV with the benefits of a minivan". We

I guess I don't remember the falcon doors because this is a non-starter for me. It starts out talking about "best of an SUV with the benefits of a minivan". Well, in my world that means electric sliding rear doors and the abilily to mount our kayaks, racing shells or bikes on the roof. What the hell were they thinking? The door has been left wide open for someone to do it right. I'll be in the market for two new SUV's by early 2014. That's when I expect to go past 250,000 miles on my current ones. I've been saying I was going to buy two Teslas. Now I can't see a way to even remotely consider the idea. Sadly this feels like a lot of other companies with roots in the Slicon Valley community: A bunch of really young guys making decisions completely outside the context of the realities of families in the real world. Keep your falcon doors, they sure are cool but they are a colosal failure to capture my reality and that of millions of other potential customers. EDIT: I secretly wanted Tesla to build a really nice electric boat as well. I envisioned buying the set: An electric SUV pulling an electric boat to the lake. No, instead they build a bullshit SUV that misses the "Sport" and "Utility" part in "SUV". All you are left with is a vehicle and a useless one if you truly use an SUV for an active lifestyle that involves more than skateboarding.

nsxwolf 13y ago
Whoah, falcon doors are a deal breaker for millions of potential customers? Are you sure? They're my favorite thing about the car. I hadn't even considered the issue with putting things on the roof, because I've never put anything on a roof before. I'm sure there are plenty of people who don't need that capability.
- rdl 13y ago
  It's a lot more common among SUV and wagon owners than regular car owners. The dirty secret of small SUVs and crossovers is that if you have the rear seat full of passengers, there is very little room for their luggage. Generally when you take 4 people camping you need about twice as much equipment as when you take 2 people camping, but only have about 20% the space to fit it in. The exception is really big SUVs like the Yukon XL, but for small SUVs, a sedan like a Crown Vic actually has more luggage capacity when 4 passengers are in the vehicle. The hack to solve this is the roof rack. I think the best solution is still a diesel SUV/pickup, and a Model S (or smaller) electric car.
  - robomartin 13y ago
    I realize there are all kinds of use profiles. I know there are lots of people who buy SUV's simply because they are larger and easier to get in and out of than a car and not for the "sport" in SUV. Tesla's claim is that this model merges the best of SUV's and minivans. That's a tall order. And the falcon doors are completely opposite that definition. In our case, we live a reasonably active life style. Fishing, kayaking, sculling, stand-up paddle-boarding, biking, camping are typical activities for our family. We are also into model airplanes, with some being rather large. I've been known to strap a fuselage or two to the roof rack to to flying. I do a bit of woodworking and home improvement work. It isn't too uncommon for me to go to Home Depot and strap a bunch of lumber to the roof rack. So, for me, when you say "SUV" and "minivan" along with "the best of both" the last thing I'd put down on the list of specs would be doors that make the roof absolutely unusable. This is what I call a Gucci SUV. One that never gets dirty and never sees sports-utility work. It's just a bigger car and a beautiful one at that. The only way I can possibly justify getting one of these is to keep either our SUV or minivan for lugging stuff around. If I do that I might as well buy a car and benefit from better aerodynamic efficiency. I am disappointed because I was truly hoping to go all electric next year.
    - mikeash 13y ago
      "This is what I call a Gucci SUV. One that never gets dirty and never sees sports-utility work. It's just a bigger car and a beautiful one at that." That's how roughly 99% of SUV owners use their SUV, so I don't really see the problem here....
  - checker 13y ago
    If you really wanted a Tesla, couldn't you tow a small trailer?
    - robomartin 13y ago
      I want a good electric SUV. I don't really care who makes it.
  - hellweaver666 13y ago
mikeash 13y ago
I think it's funny that you accuse Tesla of making decisions without context for how real people live, yet have decided that this vehicle is useless for everyone just because it doesn't fit your needs. I'm going to wager that Tesla knows more about their market than you do, and that roof racks are not as important to that market as you think they are.
- robomartin 13y ago
  Well, the truth of the matter is that in terms of annual sales volume Tesla is a small player in the auto industry. If they sell 20,000 of these it will be considered a hit. They'll sell 20,000 units. I don't think they'll sell 200K but 20K, sure.
SeanLuke 13y ago
> What the hell were they thinking? Here's a clue. The primary demographic for the SUV market hasn't been Mountain Dew-chugging bungie jumpers for a long time. The primary demographic is moms. This is what's created the crossover market seemingly out of thin air; and it's why Tesla said "minivan". And why the X includes a third row. That's my theory anyway. I also had thought the X was going to be a failure because of its lack of roof racks. But I don't think so any more. I'm guessing the X is aimed straight at the wealthy eco-mom segment.
- dsuth 13y ago
  Provided there's enough room in the back for soccer junk for 3+ kids + shopping bags, it'll be the perfect around-town car for mums. And that's a huge segment of traffic, at least around here.

nsxwolf 13y ago

Whoah, falcon doors are a deal breaker for millions of potential customers? Are you sure? They're my favorite thing about the car. I hadn't even considered the issue with putting things on the roof, because I've never put anything on a roof before. I'm sure there are plenty of people who don't need that capability.

rdl 13y ago
It's a lot more common among SUV and wagon owners than regular car owners. The dirty secret of small SUVs and crossovers is that if you have the rear seat full of passengers, there is very little room for their luggage. Generally when you take 4 people camping you need about twice as much equipment as when you take 2 people camping, but only have about 20% the space to fit it in. The exception is really big SUVs like the Yukon XL, but for small SUVs, a sedan like a Crown Vic actually has more luggage capacity when 4 passengers are in the vehicle. The hack to solve this is the roof rack. I think the best solution is still a diesel SUV/pickup, and a Model S (or smaller) electric car.
- robomartin 13y ago
  I realize there are all kinds of use profiles. I know there are lots of people who buy SUV's simply because they are larger and easier to get in and out of than a car and not for the "sport" in SUV. Tesla's claim is that this model merges the best of SUV's and minivans. That's a tall order. And the falcon doors are completely opposite that definition. In our case, we live a reasonably active life style. Fishing, kayaking, sculling, stand-up paddle-boarding, biking, camping are typical activities for our family. We are also into model airplanes, with some being rather large. I've been known to strap a fuselage or two to the roof rack to to flying. I do a bit of woodworking and home improvement work. It isn't too uncommon for me to go to Home Depot and strap a bunch of lumber to the roof rack. So, for me, when you say "SUV" and "minivan" along with "the best of both" the last thing I'd put down on the list of specs would be doors that make the roof absolutely unusable. This is what I call a Gucci SUV. One that never gets dirty and never sees sports-utility work. It's just a bigger car and a beautiful one at that. The only way I can possibly justify getting one of these is to keep either our SUV or minivan for lugging stuff around. If I do that I might as well buy a car and benefit from better aerodynamic efficiency. I am disappointed because I was truly hoping to go all electric next year.
  - mikeash 13y ago
    "This is what I call a Gucci SUV. One that never gets dirty and never sees sports-utility work. It's just a bigger car and a beautiful one at that." That's how roughly 99% of SUV owners use their SUV, so I don't really see the problem here....
- checker 13y ago
  If you really wanted a Tesla, couldn't you tow a small trailer?
  - robomartin 13y ago
    I want a good electric SUV. I don't really care who makes it.
- hellweaver666 13y ago

mikeash 13y ago

I think it's funny that you accuse Tesla of making decisions without context for how real people live, yet have decided that this vehicle is useless for everyone just because it doesn't fit your needs. I'm going to wager that Tesla knows more about their market than you do, and that roof racks are not as important to that market as you think they are.

robomartin 13y ago
Well, the truth of the matter is that in terms of annual sales volume Tesla is a small player in the auto industry. If they sell 20,000 of these it will be considered a hit. They'll sell 20,000 units. I don't think they'll sell 200K but 20K, sure.

SeanLuke 13y ago

> What the hell were they thinking? Here's a clue. The primary demographic for the SUV market hasn't been Mountain Dew-chugging bungie jumpers for a long time. The primary demographic is moms. This is what's created the crossover market seemingly out of thin air; and it's why Tesla said "minivan". And why the X includes a third row. That's my theory anyway. I also had thought the X was going to be a failure because of its lack of roof racks. But I don't think so any more. I'm guessing the X is aimed straight at the wealthy eco-mom segment.

dsuth 13y ago
Provided there's enough room in the back for soccer junk for 3+ kids + shopping bags, it'll be the perfect around-town car for mums. And that's a huge segment of traffic, at least around here.