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Tesla says the Model X's falcon wing doors are almost useful

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Tesla surprised consumers and competitors alike when it announced plans to launch the Model X crossover with science fiction-esque falcon doors. Fine-tuning the system has been more difficult than the carmaker originally anticipated, but CEO Elon Musk has revealed that the kinks are almost ironed out.

Tesla recently released an over-the-air software upgrade that allows Model X owners to close every door simultaneously by simply pushing a button on the key fob. The new feature is designed to put an end to the problems that many owners encountered while opening or closing the falcon doors. A video posted on Twitter by a Model X owner demonstrates how the feature works.

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Musk is aware of the quality and reliability issues that Model X owners have been experiencing since the crossover went on sale last year, and he promises that engineers are working hard to fix them. Notably, many of the issues relate to the falcon doors.

“The software that controls the Model X and the operation of the doors has been incredibly difficult to refine. Getting the complex set of sensors to work well has been incredibly difficult to refine. I think we’re almost there in making the doors useful,” he revealed during the company’s last shareholder meeting.

Read more: LAPD isn’t ready to add the Tesla Model S to its fleet of patrol cars

The recent over-the-air software update won’t be the last. Musk added that the Model X’s falcon doors will be better than normal doors — as opposed to worse — when Tesla releases its next update in about a month.

Owners might not notice the change, however. A Tesla spokeswoman told Fortune that a majority of the several dozen over-the-air software updates that the company has sent to the Model X since January have gone unnoticed.

Ronan Glon
Ronan Glon
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Ronan Glon is an American automotive and tech journalist based in southern France. As a long-time contributor to Digital…
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