There's more to it than just doors and windows not opening or closing.
In a conference call on Tesla's fourth quarter 2015 financial results held last February, Tesla CEO Elon Musk admitted to some quality issues that the early buyers of Tesla Model X were encountering. He revealed that the next generation Model X is an extremely complicated car to make.
In mid-March, the electric car company sent out an email blast to customers who have made reservations, thanking them for their patience in the rollout delay.
Part of the email read, "For the last couple of months, we held back our production rate to check and recheck every part of Model X from each of the ground-breaking features to road performance. We've had members of our management team, including Elon, test drive Model X as it came off the line so that we can confidently say that you're going to love your Model X."
Earlier this month, Tesla recalled about 2,700 Model X units that had third-row seats improperly latched into the SUV.
Quality Issues
It looks like the woes of Tesla didn't stop with the third-row seats uproar as several other issues were popping up one after the other in message boards flooded with new complaints, even as Tesla CEO Elon Musk test drove some of the Model X units.
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Model X new owner Anne Carter was surprised to discover a malfunction as she prepared to drive her children to school. Her car's falcon-wing doors wouldn't open.
Carter, however, said that she is willing to overlook the issue if Tesla fixes it.
Consumer Reports wrote a lengthy report on retiree Michael Karpf whose misadventure with his new Model X started as soon as he left the factory. The falcon-wing rear doors wouldn't close; a sensor failed to sense an overhang causing it to hit the falcon-wing door; a piece of stripping was restricting the driver's window to motor down; the infotainment screen would freeze repeatedly.
In the same report, Karpf also complained that the SUV's windshield caused double vision that can distort distance estimates and glare headlights, taillights and street lights. The autopilot mechanism faltered when the road's shoulder fell away and lastly, the heating system could not keep the car warm after a few hours of evening driving to Lake Tahoe.
While his experience was frustrating, Karpf said that Tesla quickly fixed the problems and added that he is impressed with the car overall.
Fortune also told the story of venture capitalist Byron Deeter who was one of the early owners of the Tesla Model X. Like Carter and Karpf, his car had issues of doors and windows not opening and closing, plus an emergency brake system that kept engaging.
Tesla said it is quickly taking steps to address the quality issues and improving its ability to introduce high-quality vehicles, a priority that Elon Musk wants to achieve.
Many of the issues have been addressed by providing customers with a downloadable software through over-the-air updates, said Tesla's head of sales and services Jon McNeill, adding that "The customer satisfaction levels for owners of the Model X are about the same as the Model S."
The Model S also met new-model bumps when it was launched in 2012.
For the moment, Tesla may have won the loyalty of many of its customers with the Model X's just-out features. But as mass media, social media, and car review groups are in bashing mode, the road ahead may be bumpy for the much vaunted Tesla Model 3.
Photo: Don McCullough | Flickr
