My Age of Investment

“Is this a gull-wing door design?”

Straubel turned to look at Franz sitting next to him, with a hint of doubt in his tone.

Xia Jingxing looked at Straubel with a puzzled expression. From his tone, it seemed that he didn't like the gull-wing door design? Didn’t you feel pretty good just now?

"The gull-wing door design first came from the Mercedes-Benz 300SL launched in 1954. It has a unique and dynamic appearance and gives people a feeling of fluttering wings."

Straubel introduced Xia Jingxing in detail: "The reason why this kind of door was designed is to facilitate the driver and passengers to enter and exit the low-slung sports car. It is said that the Mercedes-Benz designers harvested it from the upturned lid of the garbage bin. Design inspiration.

This latter design began to be widely used in various sports car brands. Later, Lamborghini designer Gandini improved the gull-wing door and designed the scissor door on this basis.

This door design is indeed very good-looking, but it also has many shortcomings. "

"shortcoming?"

"Yes, disadvantages!"

Straubel looked at Xia Jingxing seriously and explained in detail: "First of all, the door hinge has low strength, poor reliability, and is easily damaged, and the hinge that opens the door upward cannot withstand an overly large door. weight, so this structure is usually only used in supercars that use lightweight materials such as carbon fiber to make doors.

Secondly, the safety of the gull-wing door structure is very poor and poses serious safety risks. Once the car rolls over and the four wheels are facing upward, the door cannot be opened smoothly.

Finally, the structure of the gull-wing door greatly damages the strength of the car roof, and a relatively large space is required to open the door. This is extremely inconvenient in urban parking lots. If there are cars parked on the left and right, how to raise the door?

The only thing it has going for it is the looks!

But this car is an SUV. Although appearance is important, safety performance cannot be sacrificed for it. "

Straubel glanced at Franz who was silent and said calmly: "The design is quite good, but unfortunately, I do not support your design plan."

Xia Jingxing remained silent as he carefully weighed the pros and cons in his mind.

To be honest, he was not very willing to give up on the gull-wing door design.

In the previous life, Tesla led the trend of new energy vehicles and was praised by consumers because of his design concept that dared to be the first in the world.

Franz finally spoke, and Xia Jingxing and Straubel were stunned by his first words.

"Let me correct you, Model

The X is not equipped with gull-wing doors, but my innovatively designed "Eagle Wing Doors".

What's the difference between the two? Please look at the screen! "

As soon as he finished speaking, Franz controlled the mouse to play an animated video.

Xia Jingxing and Straubel both couldn't help but cast their eyes on the computer screen.

The animation video is very short, less than ten seconds, and simulates the entire process of the car door rising.

In the video, Model

When the door of the X is opened, it first rises vertically to half the height, then shrugs its "wings" toward the center, retracts the door inward, and finally opens it fully. Two cars parked on the left and right next to the Model

X is very close, but not touching at all.

Xia Jingxing read it several times without deciphering the mystery.

Straubel was much more professional. He had already figured out the trick and asked, "Did you add an extra set of hinges to the bend of the door?"

Franz replied calmly: "Yes, this design change perfectly solves the problem of maintaining a certain left and right space when opening the car door.

Model

Only 30cm of space is needed on the left and right sides of X to open the door smoothly.

Moreover, after the falcon wing door is fully opened, the lowest height from the ground is more than 180 centimeters. People of normal height can stand under the car door without bending down, and there is no need to bend down when entering or exiting the car door. The movements are elegant without losing sight. Convenience.

In addition, we will also consider adding sensors to the car doors to immediately stop the door from opening or closing when an obstacle is sensed.

Compared with the manual door opening method of super sports cars, Model

I plan to place the door opening button of the X on the key or the central control screen in the cockpit.

With just a slight press of a finger, the car owner can gain attention from a hundred meters away.

Spending only a fraction of the price of a supercar, you can enjoy a distinguished experience that is equal to or even exceeds that of a supercar. Isn’t this the high cost performance that Tesla strives for? "

Franz's words made Straubel speechless, and Xia Jingxing's heart tilted a little towards the Eagle Wing Door.

This is an era when appearance is justice. Although the design of the falcon wing door is a bit flashy, I can't help but like it.

Insisting on the practical line, it is divorced from the "simple" needs of the masses.

"What if there's a car accident and the car rolls over? The door can't be opened, and the battery is burned due to the collision. Is the car owner waiting to be roasted?"

Straubel is still focused on safety. As the company's CEO, he needs to consider this new model from a higher position.

Franz smiled and said: “The design team and I have also considered this issue.

First of all, the center of gravity of the car will be lower and the ground clearance of the chassis will be smaller to reduce the possibility of rollover.

Secondly, we also designed an emergency manual door switch, which is installed in the car door audio. In the event of a car accident, you can see a thin silver cable when you remove the audio panel. You only need to pull it gently to open the door. "

"Then can you ensure that the hinges, doors, and roofs are durable and reliable? Adding so many unconventional designs not only increases the cost of car production, but also increases a lot of design difficulty."

Faced with Straubel's doubts, Franz spread his hands, "I can't give you any guarantee at the moment, because Model

X hasn’t even built the first prototype yet, and we need more testing and discussion.

I'm just here to present the design plan today. The vehicle engineering team is responsible for the manufacturing process. "

Straubel frowned and said: "The design plan determines Tesla's next development direction. Your plan is too radical and risky, and it will give Model

X brings a lot of variables. "

“I don’t think so. Tesla should always be on the path of innovation, and it’s worth taking a little risk.

Moreover, the falcon wing door solution needs to pass the final test before it can be used in the Model.

There won't be any big problems with X. "

Straubel sneered: "Does that mean there might be a small problem?"

"I can honestly say that this is unavoidable, and no car can avoid it.

What's more, Tesla is just a new car company, and our car-making technology is still relatively... rough. This adjective may be more appropriate. "

“I still don’t agree with Model

X launched the falcon wing door design, we cannot afford failure. "

"You haven't even started building a car yet, and you're already talking about failure."

"This is what Darren said, before you seek victory, seek defeat first."

"Tesla's success is precisely because of the courage to move forward. If this enterprising spirit is lost, Tesla will only become a mediocre company."

…

The two people were quarreling more and more fiercely, looking at each other with red faces, neither of them could convince the other.

Seeing this, Xia Jingxing stood up and said decisively: "Okay, there's no need to argue, I've decided, Model

X adopts the falcon wing door design proposed by Franz. "

Franz looked at Xia Jingxing with joy on his face. He had never felt that his boss was so wise.

Straubel was a little reluctant and tried to dissuade Xia Jingxing, but was stopped by the latter with a wave of his hand.

“Needless to say, the Falcon Wing Door must be done and a prototype must be built as soon as possible.

Tesla’s products need to maintain an innovative look for a long time, which is our biggest selling point. "

Straubel sighed, "But I'm just worried!"

"Then put all your worries into vehicle quality inspection and ensure that every vehicle can satisfy users after it leaves the factory."

Seeing that Xia Jingxing was resolute, he insisted on giving Model

X installed the falcon wing door, and Straubel gave up the idea of ​​continuing to dissuade him. Xia Jingxing single-handedly supported him to take the CEO position, and he had to obey Xia Jingxing's orders.

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