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Meet Model X Test Drive First Impressions

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Model X P90D

It’s been almost a year since I put down a deposit on the Model X and equally as long since the time I spent hemming and hawing around what to do if I did get the vehicle. My first choice for a Tesla was the Model X but as the date of the car got pushed further and further back, I ended up purchasing the Model S instead.

My recent visit to the Meet Model X event was the first opportunity I had to go test drive the new electric crossover and experience the remarkable vehicle first hand.

Meet Model X Test Drive Event

Meet Model XThe event was held at a local Tesla store which had limited its guests to recipients that managed to RSVP to the test drive event. The focus of the event was 100% on the Model X. There was coffee and tea available, some snacks, and a whole bunch of Tesla employees there to greet and tend to guests waiting for test drives. Every attendee received a guest pass which really wasn’t needed but it added an element of exclusivity to it. Attendees were also given a special “20% off Model X apparel online” coupon.

The test drives were scheduled at 15 minute intervals apart for each group with three separate Model X test drive groups cycling nonstop. The Tesla employee I spoke to said they had 40 test drives scheduled for that day and over 40 for the second day of the 2 day event.

There was a Model X displayed the showroom with the frunk, trunk and all doors open. The 17″ touchscreen was functional however all seat and door controls were limited to “showroom mode” meaning they were locked down. This was annoying as you couldn’t get the feel of seats in various positions or play with the doors until it was time for the test drive.

Mode X Showroom

There’s been countless reviews around the Model X so my focus here will only be on other areas of the vehicle that may not have received as much attention.

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Model X Front Fascia and Frunk

Model X Funk

I spent a lot of time analyzing the front design and front trunk (frunk) of the Model X as I found them to be quite different from the Model S. I’ve seen pictures of the front of the Model X in white, but this was the first time I was able to see it in person and in a different color. I must say, the front looks a lot better to me in a non-white color which I otherwise find to be too pronounced and exaggerated. I also really like the design of the Model X headlights and bottom air dam which elegantly hides the front radar from view.

The space behind the Tesla logo on the other hand is odd to me. It’s at a place you’re going to see and it’s a big open area that collects air. One problem I see with this design is that it will likely end up being a big collector of bugs, snow, sand, ice, and miscellaneous road debris. And I surely hope this open space is non-functional since it’ll be packed full of crap and obstructed from airflow during the winter months of New England.

The frunk itself was very spacious and while it lacked the “microwave” area that my older Model S has, it definitely has at least the same amount of storage space, if not more. It’s a shame Tesla didn’t build in a feature to auto open and close the frunk, but I understand there are probably local laws that prohibit that from becoming a reality.

Model X 2nd and 3rd Row Seats

I know there’s also been much written about the Model X seats but since they’re integral to how I feel about the car I’m going to cover them here as well. The Model X seats are different from the “next generation” Model S seats as these ones are made in house by Tesla. For the short time we sat in them they were much more comfortable than my first generation seats and very luxurious.

Model X Second Row Seats

These newer seats did away with the little front pouch found on my Model S. In my older generation car there’s only one pouch on the driver’s seat. In newer Model S there are pouches found on the front of each of the front seats. I use that pouch all the time to store my mobile device.

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Model X HeadrestWhat it lacks in little front pouches, the Model X gains in having plenty of storage space available in the form of door pockets.

The headrest on the front seats auto-lowers and raises based on how far back the seat is declined. This is a clever way to avoid having to add another adjustment control while still making sure the headrest is at the correct height for safety.

The seat backs are done in glossy black plastic and thus covered with fingerprints everywhere. I was hoping the glossy seat back was a “feature” of the Founders/Signature Edition cars, but that’s not the case.

My wife, at 5’0″ found the middle seat of the second row very uncomfortable. It doesn’t seem like the seat back angle can be adjusted and her feet didn’t reach the floor when seated. She found the middle seat to be totally uncomfortable. As the driver I found it difficult to see through the rear window with the second row middle seat in place. Tesla had both 6 and 7 seat configurations available for us to check out, but no 5 seat configuration. Despite already knowing beforehand that the second row seats don’t fold down, it nevertheless still felt like a huge disappointment to witness this in person.

Model X Rear Seats 6 Config

If we did end up ordering a Model X, there’s no question we would order the 6 seat configuration. The aisle between the middle row seats is really convenient and having the third seat creates visibility problems.

With a 6 seat configuration the third row seats are tight but still has more room than my Acura MDX. In addition to having more knee space and leg room, your feet can actually slide under the seat in front of you giving you even more space to stretch. For people under 6′ theres plenty of headroom and legroom is reasonable. However this wasn’t the case with the 7 seat configuration. With the middle seat in the second row in place, the third row seating felt substantially more cramped to the point I felt there wasn’t enough room for even short adults.

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There are many stories across the Tesla forum community of people coming to similar conclusions.

Model X Self-Presenting and Falcon Wing Doors

Before we had the test drive we were told by the sales person to only use buttons when opening and closing the doors. We were also told to be careful getting into the Model X because of the self-presenting front doors. As soon as you step on the brake it closes all the front doors which may surprise you and those around you.

Grey Model X

The button you press on each of the door handles is limited to the very center. Pressing near the edge won’t open the door. It’s a small push button covered by a long piece of chrome. I found the design poor and unintuitive. Also, pressing a button and then stepping back to let the car do its thing is cute at first but quickly became annoying by the end of the event. I understand Tesla had a number of problems with the auto-presenting Model S handles (I never had any trouble on my car), but doing away with it doesn’t feel like a much better solution.

The falcon wing doors (FWD) worked well and did its magic of opening in tight parking spaces. As a test, I initiated the falcon wing door to open and then intentionally didn’t get out of the way only to find the door sensing my presence and opening only partially. That was cool but keep in mind that the current software doesn’t allow you to continue the opening process from here even once you get out of the way. You have to climb into the front seat and hold down a button to clear the FWD obstruction warning message before continuing.

Miscellaneous Model X Things

Model X Rear CupholdersThere are a number of small but great upgrades in the Model X. A nice new touch to the Model X interior which should have been on the Model S to begin with is the addition of rear seat cupholders and USB charging ports.

The updated climate controls on the 17″ screen are very intuitive and well designed. The controls allow you to adjust the front and rear settings independently of one another including seat heating and cooling.

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Having room under the middle row seats will be really helpful for those lugging stuff around. It won’t be long before some aftermarket manufacturer comes up with under seat storage bins for the Model X.

Model X Floor level view

Tesla came up with really innovative sun visors that recess into the side pillars of the Model X when not in use and swing out when needed. The visors secure themselves to the rear view mirror through magnetic contacts.

Model X Sun visor

The problem with these sun visors is they’re new, very long and you have to manipulate them. This means they need to be able to take a lot of force and be very study and stable. I’ve heard stories of Model X owners already having multiple repairs performed on the sun visor. I got a chance to see the issue first hand with the Model X on the showroom floor where the whole sun visor was coming apart near the hinge.

Model X Sun visor broken

Along with the complex doors the sun visors look like they will be another troublesome area for the Model X.

The figured ash wood trim is a unique offering to the Model X which isn’t available on the Model S. We liked the look of it even more than our obeche matte wood trim on my Model S.

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Model X Figured Ash

Model X Pros and Cons

I’m going to summarize my impressions here, but before I do keep in mind my point of reference — I’m a happy Model S owner that was seriously considering a swap to the Model X. These pros and cons are relative to my experience as an existing Tesla owner. If I was on the market for a SUV and debating between a newer Acura MDX, Mercedes SUV or the Model X, then the choice of a Model X would be a no-brainer.

Pros

  • Model X Front InteriorThe seats are much more comfortable than those in my Model S and possibly better than Model S next generation seats
  • Cooled seats would be really nice in the summers
  • AWD and Autopilot
  • Much improved fit and finish. The car seems much better built than my early 2014 Model S which is less than 2 years old.
  • 6 seat configuration provides ease of access to the second and third row seats
  • Large frunk
  • Ride height is great
  • Visibility out of the panoramic windshield and the views
  • Comes with a nice front center console

Cons

  • Quirky front door and falcon wing doors
  • Lack of folding second row seats
  • Middle seat in second row is poor in many ways
  • Glossy seat backs
  • Delicate sun visors
  • Sun glare at times thanks to the new windshield
  • Width – this is a very wide car, wider than a Hummer, and the Model S was already wide
  • Looks – While a sharp car, I think the Model S looks better
  • Requires air suspension (90D and above)
  • Lost the front pocket on the seats
  • Open gap behind Tesla logo on front prone to bugs, debris, and weather elements
  • Front arm rests at bad height (for me) and silly cupholders in them

The Model X Test Drive

Model X Autopilot

The test drive was rushed. They wanted you in the car, driving, then out and back in the showroom. The drive itself was out of the lot, a U-turn, then onto I-95, up 2 exits, then off, and back down I-95 and back to the showroom. It was maybe 10 minutes long of which 95% of it was highway driving. You couldn’t get a real feel for the handling of the car in that time, let alone be able to experience the impact of sun on the windshield at different angles. There simply wasn’t enough time to give you a test drive with anything of substance.

The P90D had plenty of pickup as I expected and it was much quicker than my S85 but, at least for the short time I got to drive it, it seemed to be too sensitive on the accelerator. It was going faster than I intended and earlier than I intended. The regenerative braking also seemed to be less powerful than the Model S, possibly because of the increased weight of the car itself, but again I didn’t have a whole lot of time to experiment with it or even check the settings.

Since we were just doing highway driving, and the X isn’t really much different than the S in that regard, I took the time to play with autopilot a bit. This was my first experience with autopilot and overall it was a great experience. It did choose (safe) positions in the lane I wouldn’t have which would take some time to get used to, but overall I loved the autopilot displays, traffic-aware cruise control (TACC), and how easy it all was to operate it all. Autopilot is really nice.

Sitting in the Model X you feel higher up but not enormously so. The panoramic windshield is really nice, but we were driving on a sunny day and the sun was in the top right of my vision making it a bit bothersome. The sun was above the area that could be covered by the sun visor. I’m not sure I’d like that experience in the long term. Also, my wife pointed out that these showroom cars had no salt, bugs or road scum covering that large expanse of glass, but expect to see a lot of that in the real world.

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The Hard Sell

Model X Order ButtonAt any normal dealership after a test drive I’d be prepared for the hard sell but I didn’t expect to also received that from Tesla. After the test drive the sales guy had us go to a computer and login to the MyTesla site with our login and configure a Model X the way we’d want it. It would have been easier (I have a rather ridiculous and difficult password that I don’t often remember) and more friendly if you could have configured the Model X as a guest just to discuss options/pricing as you do in a normal Model S sales cycle.

Going through the configuration quickly revealed that Tesla has made some changes since I last logged in — the hidden second charger option is no longer hidden (finally!), they killed the 85kW battery option (essentially increasing my potential price as I wouldn’t have wanted the 90kW upgrade) and you can save your configuration now so you don’t have to reconfigure each time you go back in. There were a few other tweaks but nothing else major stood out.

After we configured the X and spoke a bit about the options, the sales associate was asking us why we weren’t ready to press the order button. They were clearly driven to get as many orders entered as possible from these events but you can’t expect people to make an on-the-spot $100,000+ decision after a brief 10 minute test drive and have only seen the car in person for the first time. People may want to go talk about it, think about options, discuss it some more. This portion of the event could have been executed better in my opinion but I’ll chalk it up as either inexperience of the person handling the process or perhaps Tesla corporate is pushing staff to get that order button pressed.

Anyway, for us, the car and the drive all reconfirmed what I’ve been thinking — if I get another Tesla now it would be a newer Model S and definitely not the Model X.

I explained this to the sales guy and he perked up a bit to hear that I’d like to test drive a new Model S 90D perhaps thinking he could salvage an order this time with a Model S. He said he’d try to make the Model S test drive happen, but despite there being over a dozen corporate Model S’ at this location they couldn’t get me into one so we left after a half hour of them scrambling around. I’m scheduled for a 90D test drive in a couple weeks.

Conclusion

Many people looking at the Model X are coming from an ICE SUV or minivan and are looking to keep the size and utility while going electric. The Model X has many things that make it a great choice over other SUVs — it’s all electric, it has a fantastic user interface for controlling everything from that 17″ touchscreen, it’s super fast, and has easy access to second and third row seats.

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For me the comparison is quite different. I’m coming from one of the best cars made, my Model S, and looking for something better. While the Model X has many things I’d like to have that my Model S doesn’t, it also has things I definitely do not want. The doors are completely quirky. The seats are a mistake in a number of ways. Also, I suspect that, while impressive, the panoramic windshield will be another problem.

I would love to have all wheel drive, upgraded seats, autopilot, a heated steering wheel, front door pockets, heated and cooled seats, and a few other things I don’t have today. Most of those can be had on a newer Model S. It can’t tow large cargo or haul more than 5 people but I don’t really need those things.

The Model X isn’t for me, not because it’s not a great car, but because I’m not in the target audience for it.

Thoughts, comments? Drop me a note in the comments section below. Also I took many additional pictures which are available over on Flickr.

The Model X I test drove next to my Model S.

The Model X I test drove next to my Model S.

"Rob's passion is technology and gadgets. An engineer by profession and an executive and founder at several high tech startups Rob has a unique view on technology and some strong opinions. When he's not writing about Tesla

Lifestyle

Tesla Semi futuristic sci-fi acceleration sound will never get old

Videos that capture the Semi moving at speed are most notable due to their sheer cool factor.

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Credit: Tesla Owners Silicon Valley/X

The Tesla Semi is not yet in mass production, but the company has accumulated over 7.9 million miles across its test fleet. With Tesla using the Semi for its operations, it is no surprise that sightings of the Class 8 all-electric truck have been abounding. 

These sightings from Tesla enthusiasts vary, but those that capture the the Class 8 all-electric truck moving at speed are most notable, possibly due to their sheer cool factor.

Tesla Semi’s Roar

There is something that just stands out with the Semi, particularly on the road. While the Semi does not have the Cybertruck’s brutalist, angular design, it is still very striking because it’s such a massive machine that moves far too quietly for its size. This is, of course, one of the reasons why the vehicle also becomes extra noteworthy when it fires up its electric motors and accelerates.

Take this video from Tesla Owners Silicon Valley, for example, which shows the all-electric hauler accelerating while pulling what appears to be a full load. In these situations, the Tesla Semi actually becomes audible, but unlike traditional diesel-powered truck, the Class 8 all-electric truck “roars” with its own, unique futuristic, sci-fi sound. In such situations, one could feel the Semi’s raw power, which comes from its three independent motors on its rear axles.

Tesla Semi Ramp

Tesla has been promoting the Semi quite a bit as of late, and recent reports have suggested that the company is putting in a lot of effort to prepare the vehicle for its production in Nevada. Tesla’s Careers website has gone live with over 80 Semi-related job openings recently as well, and a recent report has suggested that Tesla has ramped the Semi’s factory workers in Nevada to over 1,000 employees.

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The company has even shared an update video of the Semi factory’s progress near Giga Nevada, as well as the design of the vehicle’s new logo. The Semi’s updated logo is quite interesting as it features elements from the Tesla Model 3’s first logo, which was unveiled way back in 2016.

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Elon Musk jokes he will join Mr Beast’s “100 Men vs 1 Gorilla” challenge

It’s a good sign, if any, that the overworked Musk is becoming a bit more lighthearted again.

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Credit: Elon Musk/X

Following the first quarter Tesla earnings call, CEO Elon Musk seems to have become a bit more relaxed—relaxed enough to joke about fighting a gorilla with 99 other people, at least.

It’s a good sign, if any, that the overworked Musk is becoming a bit more lighthearted again and not too busy picking fights with politicians on social media.

The Viral 100 Men vs 1 Gorilla Challenge

Over the weekend, a post on social media platform X went viral. The post itself was quite simple, with user @DreamChasnMike stating that he thinks 100 men could beat one gorilla. “Everybody just gotta be dedicated to the sh*t,” the X user joked. The post exploded on the platform, garnering 284 million impressions as of writing.

The silly question also triggered a massive debate about whether 100 men would really stand a chance against a literal gorilla. Some users even lamented that the premise was a sign of male hubris. Nevertheless, the question proved to be a fun topic on X, with some more dedicated users even posting simulated videos of what the “100 Men vs 1 Gorilla Challenge” could look like. 

Mr. Beast and Elon Musk Join In

The premise is quite similar to other viral videos from noted YouTube creator Mr. Beast, so it was no surprise that edited images of Mr. Beast YouTube thumbnails with “100 Men vs a Gorilla” also started spreading on the social media platform. Mr. Beast, who tends to be game to such silly ideas, actually reposted the edited image, joking “Need 100 men to test this, any volunteers?”

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In true Elon Musk fashion, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO noted that he would join the challenge. “Sure, what’s the worst that could happen” Musk wrote in his post on X. Musk’s reply triggered quite a few laughs on X, with some stating that the world probably still needs the CEO.

While silly, Musk’s comment and his recent, more frequent posts about his companies’ products like Starlink and Grok have been received well by his supporters. Over the past months, after all, Musk has been very political and quite confrontational on social media. With Musk soon taking a step back from the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) daily operations, however, it seems like X will soon get a more tempered and lighthearted Elon Musk once more.

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Possible first glimpse of Tesla “Model 2” affordable car in Fremont Factory

The models that Tesla will release in the coming months will resemble the company’s current lineup.

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Image Credit: @metgodinwilderness7130/YouTube

During the Q1 earnings call, Tesla VP of Vehicle Engineering Lars Moravy set expectations on the design of the affordable models that the company is expected to launch this 2025. As per the Tesla executive, the models that Tesla will release in the coming months will resemble the company’s current lineup.

Drone footage from the Fremont Factory earlier this month might have provided the EV community its first potential glimpse at Tesla’s affordable cars–fondly dubbed by EV fans and analysts as the “Model 2” or even “Model Q”–or at least their components and overall shape.

The Sighting

Tesla watcher and drone operator Met God in Wilderness, who has been posting aerial videos of the Fremont Factory for years now, recently shared some footage from his drone flyovers this month. While the Fremont Factory was abuzz with activity as usual, a couple of rather strange vehicles were quickly spotted by EV watchers on social media.

During the drone operator’s flyover on the 17th, for example, an unfinished vehicle could be seen parked next to what appeared to be fully-built Model S and Model Y units. What was especially interesting was the vehicle’s roof, which seemed to be slightly narrower than the Model Ys around it. Based on the video, at least, the vehicle seemed to be shaped like a crossover as well.

Footage from the 24th of April also proved quite interesting, with the drone operator capturing footage of another cryptic vehicle. Unlike the mysterious, unfinished, crossover-esque car spotted on the 17th, this particular unit seemed to have a more sloping rear, at least based on the shape of its covering.

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What Lars Moravy Said

In Tesla’s Q1 2025 Update Letter, Tesla noted that “plans for new vehicles, including more affordable models, remain on track for start of production in the first half of 2025.” Tesla also noted that the new vehicles will utilize aspects of its next generation and its current platforms. They will also be produced on the same manufacturing lines as its present vehicle lineup, likely the Model Y and Model 3. 

During the earnings call itself, Moravy specifically stated that the new models that would come out in the next months would resemble the company’s current vehicles. They will, however, be affordable. “Models that come out in next months will be built on our lines and will resemble, in form and shape, the cars we currently make. And the key is that they’ll be affordable, and you’ll be able to buy one,” Moravy stated.

Watch the drone operator’s footage from April 17 below.

The drone operator’s footage from April 24 can be viewed below.

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