If a car’s doors fail when your children are inside, will you still go ahead with the car or sell it off? Before you answer, read this story. Buying a brand-new car is supposed to be an exciting experience, especially when it is a premium electric SUV filled with advanced technology. For one long-time Tesla owner, that excitement disappeared almost immediately.
Only one week after taking delivery of a brand-new 2026 Tesla Model X, the owner says the vehicle has already become so frustrating and unreliable that his wife wants to return it. What was meant to be a dream purchase quickly turned into a stressful experience that raised serious concerns about safety and reliability.
The design looks futuristic and impressive, but for this family the doors have become a constant source of trouble. According to the owner, the Falcon Wing doors often refuse to open fully even when the car is parked in a wide open driveway with nothing around it.
The owner explained the situation online, writing, “About half the time they don’t open all the way even with zero obstacles such as out in the driveway. One door never opens all the way but requires pressing the open button multiple times.”
A Loyal Tesla Customer Left Shocked
This owner is not new to Tesla vehicles. He has owned four Tesla Model S vehicles since 2015, making this Model X his fifth Tesla. His confidence in the brand was strong enough that he bought two new Teslas on the same day, purchasing a Model X for himself and a Model Y for his son. After years of positive ownership experiences, he expected the Model X to be just as reliable.
Instead, the first week has been filled with frustration. The owner said his wife had been concerned about the Falcon Wing doors before buying the vehicle but was reassured that there were very few problems with them.
He wrote, “My wife was worried about the falcon wing doors, and they assured her there weren’t many problems with them. No shortage of complaints on the internet.”
Rather than enjoying their new car, the family quickly found themselves dealing with repeated door malfunctions and growing concern about whether the vehicle could be trusted.
The Shopping Trip That Became a Nightmare
The most serious incident happened during what should have been a normal shopping trip. The owner’s wife drove to a store with two toddlers secured in car seats in the back of the Model X. When she returned and tried to leave, the vehicle refused to drive because the system believed one of the Falcon Wing doors was still open.
The car did not indicate which door was causing the problem, leaving her confused and stuck in the parking lot. She tried opening and closing the doors repeatedly, but they either would not move properly or would not close completely.
The owner described the situation in detail, writing, “She was stuck at the store today with two toddlers for 15 minutes in the cold driving rain, having to open and close the doors over and over until it finally closed all the way and she could drive.”
Eventually the car allowed her to leave, but the experience left the family shaken and frustrated.
Children Trapped Inside the Vehicle
After she arrived home, the situation became even more worrying. When she tried to unload the children, neither Falcon Wing door would open. The toddlers were effectively trapped inside while the family tried to figure out what to do.
For about ten minutes they tried to open the doors using the buttons and touchscreen controls, but nothing worked. Eventually the children had to be unbuckled from their car seats and guided through the front of the vehicle so they could climb out.
The owner later reflected on the situation and wrote, “It never occurred to me how unsafe this is.”
What had once seemed like an innovative and convenient feature suddenly looked like a serious safety risk.
Tesla Told Them to Wait for Service
After the incident, the owner contacted Tesla and explained that he wanted to return the vehicle. Instead of arranging a return or urgent inspection, he was advised to book a service appointment.
The earliest available appointment was three weeks away.
The owner described the experience by writing, “When I called the dealer to tell them I’m ready to return it, I was advised to schedule service which is three weeks out. What a disappointment.”
For a car that was only one week old, the response felt unacceptable and added to the frustration.
Falcon Wing Doors Remain a Dividing Feature
The Falcon Wing doors are one of the most recognizable features of the Tesla Model X. They open vertically and provide a large entry space to the second and third rows. Tesla promotes the doors as especially useful for families with children because the wide opening makes it easier to install car seats and help children into the vehicle.
When the doors work properly, many owners say they are extremely convenient. However, the door system is complex and depends on multiple sensors and electric motors working correctly. These sensors are designed to detect obstacles and prevent damage, but they can also misread the environment and stop the doors from operating properly.
Some Tesla owners online say the problems can sometimes be fixed. One owner suggested recalibration as a possible solution and wrote, “Make sure to recalibrate the doors. I was having the same issue with my driver side door on my Model X and doing the recalibration fixed it immediately.”
While this advice may help some drivers, many readers questioned whether a brand-new vehicle should require online troubleshooting for such an essential feature.
Some Owners Still Praise the Doors
Not every Model X owner has experienced problems. Some drivers say their Falcon Wing doors work perfectly and make life easier for families with children.
One owner commented, “We have a Model X and absolutely love the falcon wing doors for car seats. They shouldn’t be having any issues.”
These positive experiences show that the design can work well when everything functions correctly. However, critics argue that reliability must be consistent, especially when safety is involved.
Safety Concerns Remain the Biggest Question
The biggest concern raised by this experience is safety. Being unable to open doors during an emergency could create a dangerous situation, especially when children are involved. In this case, the family managed to get the toddlers out safely by climbing through the front seats, but the same situation in a different environment could have been far more serious.
The Tesla Model X remains one of the most distinctive electric SUVs on the market, and its Falcon Wing doors are a major part of its identity. The design attracts attention and offers clear advantages in theory, but stories like this suggest that innovation can sometimes create new risks when reliability is inconsistent.
After ten years of Tesla ownership and five vehicles purchased, one week with the Model X was enough to shake a loyal customer’s confidence. The futuristic doors that make the Model X famous have instead become the reason one owner is already thinking about giving the car back.
As the owner summed up his experience, “We bought this last week and bought our son a new Model Y on the same day. What a disappointment.”
And for many readers, the story raises a simple question that may be hard to ignore. If a car’s doors fail when your children are inside, how much technology is too much?