Is THIS Further Proof That Tesla Has Done Something RIGHT, Or Is This A Misinformed Reporter?

I guess I wasn't paying attention. I thought this car was going to be much lower priced than this, like 40k or so.

Not this one. That's the Model 3, about 2 years away. This one is about $5000 more than a Model S. The price you see here is for the first run special edition, which jacks the price a lot.

The gullwing doors are ungainly and ugly. This thing is an abortion on wheels.

This car does not have gullwing doors, it has falcon wing doors. (difference is 2 hinge). They look cool and let us be honest they are probably going to be one of the most talked about item.

To be honest, I wonder what the reaction of Ferrari owners going to be when they get smoked from a stoplight by an SUV/CUV/Crossover (Did I miss any names?)

SAV or SAC....but who am I kidding; there's no such thing.

I'd get one if I could afford it.

First - How many of those media types actually own a Tesla - I have yet to see them talking about trading in their Bmw or Mercedes - and describe the experience of not being able to use competitive dealers to get a good price (Remember - the company not only sets the price on the cars - which they do not negotiate - but they also set the price on your trade in - so you get sc....d two ways)

Second - what racers and real auto enthusiasts are buying these as their ONLY car - or are they just adding them to stable of cars where the "green" aspect is used only when "needed".

And lastly - WHO in the elite is FOOLED by the Tesla to make you seem "Forward thinking" - Forward thinkers would have known the price of gas would go down and the supply of oil in the US would become domestic again.

TomM, plenty of media types get a Tesla car, there is a section on TMC which has a large list of celebrities, latest being Oprah Winfrey.

Tesla offers cars at inventory price (so no being ripped off by a dealer), You also can get an invetory car at a discount or for a limited time if someone refers you, a 1k discount.

An auto enthusiast will always have more than 1 car, that is what makes them an auto enthusiast. That is like saying how many squares have 1 side. But many people use their Tesla cars as their only car, with about I remember seeing a poll of 96% using it as their primary car.

Actually based on projections for quite a while, price of oil was going to go down then go up. That said, if you are a real forward thinker you would realize that the price of gasoline will always be higher than the price of electricity.

I have no opinion about this vehicle. (Indifference to something costing $132,000 should be worrisome for Tesla.)

I doubt they are worried, if anything they will probably be thrilled, the very fact that you claim to have no opinion but bothered to actually comment here states more volume then your actual statement.

Weapon: After reading all of your angry posts, it's good to know we have such a vocal, long-winded know-it-all onboard!

Angry posts? not one of my posts contained any "anger" in them. Maybe my posts piss you off, that is one thing. But no anger from my end.

Its my opinion that the Model X is much too quirky/gimmicky to gain wide acceptance and I believe it is wildly overpriced. I think once parents get into the Tesla stores with their kids (who else buys 7-seater suv's other than parents and livery drivers), they will be so freaked out at their kids closing the 'Falcon Doors', that they will walk away.

I also think Tesla's whole value proposition is very much in question.

Tesla is a little like Vladimir Putin's Russia - where they make the story up as they go along, and maybe bend the facts to fit the story. Because Tesla is essentially a closed loop (both financially and from a standpoint of the "used" market for old Tesla's), no one really has the available facts to question Tesla's pronouncements.

I am of the opinion that there really is no residual market for old Teslas - though you can see Tesla's "inventory for sale" number on its public financials growing and growing and growing, which should be red-flag.

001/00R - can you help settle this question by asking all your autopsies members, many of whom work at Audi/Bmw/MB/Lexus dealers, as to how their stores handle trade-in's of Tesla Model S? Do they get any Tesla trade-ins? Are all the old Tesla's re-absorbed by Tesla? I think this is the million dollar question.

If there really is not a secondary, non-subsidized market for the Model S (Tesla's "buy-back" program for its CPO's aside), then I don't see how Tesla is a vehicle manufacturer with any enduring future.

Wow! This is one of the greatest comments I've ever read!

Thank you for the question! Good stuff!

The Model X is in the premium SUV market, that is not a category for wide acceptance to begin with so I don't get your point.

As far as price goes, the signature optioned out models are on the higher end but they offer supercar performance, the lower models will probably start at 80k.

I also see no reason for any worry about the falcon doors, how is it different then a hatch or an SUV or a hatchback? It also has sensors too.

I also don't see any similarity to Russia or Putin really (If anything Russia would symbolize a typical gasoline car, and full dependence on oil).

Tesla does offer a closed loop program, but it is no way a closed loop. At this point Tesla only offers business financing, for other financing it is handled by a 3rd party (all carmakers these days pretty much have their financing). But you don't have to use Tesla's financing, you can finance however you want.

From a used standpoint, there is the CPO program, but you can also sell the car privately. Edmunds was able to sell their car as an example at above average resale value.

There is also no red flag of their CPO inventory growing. Think logically for a second, Tesla has a 3 year buyback guarantee. First quarter they sold 2500 cars. Next quarter they sold more and more every quarter. So their inventory rising for CPO cars is not a red flag, it is common sense. More important is to pay attention to how long the car lasts in inventory. And so far they seem to be going fairly quickly.

As far as dealers go and how they handle the cars, from what I heard (but not personal experience), many don't stock cars they can't service (though to note Tesla does have a 3rd party certification program for body shops, the biggest barrier to entry is generally aluminum body work, but with the Ford F150 being aluminum now, it would probably lead to an increase of bodyshops and dealerships opting for the certification), so they auction them. Though among Tesla users who tend to be more tech savvy, I would think things like ebay and craiglist would dominate for method of secondary sales.

The appeal of the Tesla Model S is its beautiful (though aged at this point) design, which compares favorably to comparably priced models from Benz and BMW. People who can afford one love the fact that not only are they driving the "latest and greatest technological wonder", but they look good driving it as well. In addition, most of them are probably empty nesters whose lives don't involved toting kids around to soccer practice or ballet recitals or out-of-town league games, etc. So, the range of an S is irrelevant.

The Model X doesn't have that same appeal. It doesn't have the aggressiveness of an SUV no matter how quick it will be. It will almost have the same reputational impact of a minivan. And, as a minivan-like-creature, it will be for very active families with 3+ kids that need to go to 10+ places everyday. So, the range may be more critical for them. Not to mention the safety concerns of these Falcon or Gullwing doors in the event of a rollover, which would be more of a concern in a car of this stature vs. the Model S.

cidflekken, The Model S was released in 2012, making it 3 years old. Most designs tend to go on the market for 5-7 years. So not sure why you think it may be aged.

As far as Model X goes, having 10+ places to stop makes no difference, you are talking mostly about city driving here. The Model X is aimed at women drivers mostly. Who tend to have less miles then men. The new CUV market per say. They also don't care for aggressive SUVs. Take the best selling SUVs in each class.

non-luxury - Honda CR-V (not aggressive at all)
luxury - Lexus RX - (again not aggressive, well at least the old design, the new one is more aggressive)

Or look at other SUVs in similar price range like Porsche Cayenne, that is the pinnacle of non-aggressive. A kitten looks more aggressive than a Porsche Cayenne.

As far as a rollover goes, based on rumors at TMC, the Model X completed NHTSA testing and it scored a 5 star safety in all categories. (I think making it the first SUV that scored 5 stars in all categories). They also had an issue rolling the car over (same as the Model S). Since the low center of gravity, getting the car to rollover in the first place is extremely hard. That said if it does somehow rollover, since the doors are double hinged, they can probably open regardless.

The S is no longer the model of intrigue it was when first introduced. It's styling was never truly that distinctive but it was different and it didn't have a familiar badge on it. As often as I see them now in my town, no one even bats an eye at them, whereas in 2012, people always stared, wondering what it was. Cars like the Rapide and 6 Series Gran Coupe look more dynamic. Even the Panamera and A7. Today, it's hard to distinguish a Model S from the crowd, especially considering the price point.

Clearly the women you know are different than the ones I know. The women I know are the ones who are primarily driving the kids to this event or that event or to their own events. Sure, men may drive more for business purposes, but they wont' be taking the family hauler. And women buying in this price ABSOLUTELY car about the looks of their vehicle. They sure as hell don't want to be seen taking their Louis Vuitton purses from an oversized egg.

cidflekken, It is pretty intriguing even today. If you live in certain parts of California where pretty much everyone has one, then sure. But that is because it has become so common. But outside of certain parts of california, it still manages to grab attention wherever it goes. TMC has a dedicated "Tesla Moments" thread which gets flooded with people stunned at the car.

Average male in US: 16,550 miles per year
Average female in US: 10,142 miles per year

Don't confuse, driving a lot around the city with driving long distances. Things like driving around town to events the whole day or even a neighboring town a Model X can do just fine. Even more so since many event places to malls have now been adding chargers making it even less of an issue.

As far as looks go, yes they like looks. But they don't care about "aggressive looks". And as far as looks go, the Tesla Model X looks good. (though final design is not out yet so we will have to see)

That's all about perspective. So don't try to invalidate my perspective just because yours is different. Where I live, the Model S is about as common as an S-Class. So, no, it's not distinctive and no one gives a sh*t about them anymore.

And don't question what I'm confusing with what. Thank you.

And, no, IN MY PERSONAL OPINION, the Model X is ugly. Thank you, again.

cidflekken, I think you need to understand the difference between your personal opinion which represents the minority. And the general opinion based on a larger sample size.

The issue here is not you stating your personal opinion, the issue is you who represent only yourself without a larger sample of data tried to state an opinion of the majority. As long as you are accepting that your opinion only represents your own, sure, go ahead.

Most of the previous commenters are, respectfully, out to lunch. What you call "quirky", "ungainly" and "ugly" will be seen as an unbelievably cool and distinctive SUV for wealthy people. I guarantee that another car marker will copy those doors on an SUV within the next 2 years.

In the meantime, Tesla will sell every one of these they make, as well as every other thing they crank out for the foreseeable future.

I love how it has as much HP powering the front wheels as my Forester has powering the whole car.

Then it has an additional 503 hp powering the rear. Astonishing.

I'll just say this: this thing is going to meet Tesla's sales projections, whatever they are.

could the Model X be eligible for a $25,000 tax writeoff under IRS Sec 179? We'll see I guess. http://evobsession.com/could-the-tesla-model-x-get-a-25000-tax-deduction/