Doors

Opening and Closing Front Doors from Outside

Model X doors are electrically powered. When you approach Model X carrying a key, the doors automatically unlock. The front doors open when you press the door handle.

You can also set the driver's door to open automatically upon your approach and close automatically upon your departure . The door partially opens between 20° and 45° (halfway open) depending on obstacles detected.

Touch Controls > Locks > Automatic Doors. If this setting is on, you can also open the driver's door by double-clicking the key fob's lock/unlock button. A subsequent double-click opens the front passenger door. Selecting Exclude Automatic Doors Opening at Home still allows for automatic closing doors at home but disables automatic door opening (set your home address by touching Navigate > Set Home).

You can also specify that you want to unlock only the driver's door by touching Controls > Locks > Driver Door Unlock Mode. See Driver Door Unlock Mode.

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Note
See Cold Weather Best Practices for information on opening the doors in cold weather.
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CAUTION
The front doors may not fully open or close automatically when parked on a very steep hill. Never rely on Model X to fully open or close the doors for you when parked on a steep hill.

To close doors from the outside, you can:

  • Manually push them shut.
  • Single-click or triple-click the key fob's lock/unlock button (if the Close All with Key Fob setting is on, only a single click is needed to close all doors and trunks—a triple-click is needed if the setting is off).
  • Use the Mobile App (see Mobile App).
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Note
Powered doors stop moving if an obstacle is detected.
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Warning
Before allowing an automated feature to open or close a front door (rather than doing so manually), it is important to check that the area around the door is free of obstacles (such as people and objects). You must proactively monitor the door's movement to ensure that it does not contact a person or object. Failure to do so can result in damage or serious injury.

Opening and Closing Front Doors from Interior

To open a front door while sitting inside, press the button located at the top of the interior door handle and push the door open.

an arrow pointing to the open door button

You can also use the touchscreen popup to open and close doors when inside Model X while the vehicle is in Park or by touching Controls > Locks.

The driver's door automatically closes when you sit in the driver's seat and press the brake pedal. You can also close doors by simply pulling the handle toward you.

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Warning
Before pressing the brake pedal and causing the driver's door to automatically close, ensure that there are no body parts (hands, legs, etc.) obstructing the path of the closing door.

Opening and Closing Falcon Wing Doors

Model X has falcon wing doors that easily open and close by pressing a button, using a key fob, using the mobile app, or touching the associated icon on the touchscreen. The falcon wing doors are equipped with several sensors that detect the presence of people and objects and, if an object is detected, the door stops moving. Based on detected objects, the doors may adjust their outward and upward movement in an attempt to avoid contacting the object. For example, if an object is detected above Model X, the door's movement may extend further outward but lower, whereas if an object (or person) is detected beside the door, the door may extend outward much less.

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Warning
It is important to keep your hands clear of the falcon wing door frames at all times. Proactively check the door frame area prior to closing, and monitor the movement of the door during closing to ensure that it does not come into contact with a person or object. Failure to do so can result in damage or serious injury.
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Warning
Before opening or closing a falcon wing door, it is important to check that the area around the door is free of obstacles (people and objects). Although the doors have many sensors, it can not detect all objects at all times, particularly when moving. At any given moment, there may be areas near the door that are not in the detection zone. Therefore, when opening or closing a falcon wing door, you and your passengers must stand away from the door as it is moving, while proactively monitoring the door's movement and being prepared to take corrective action at any time. To stop a door from moving, single-click the falcon wing door button on the key fob, press the switch on the door or door pillar, or touch the button on the touchscreen.

To open a falcon wing door from outside Model X, press the door handle or double-press the falcon wing door button on the key fob (see Keys).

To open a falcon wing door from inside Model X, press the switch located on the driver's side door pillar, or, on the touchscreen, touch the associated door icon (Controls > Locks):

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Note
Falcon wing doors open only when Model X is stationary.
the falcon doors opening out and up
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Note
If Model X is locked, using the switch (illustrated above) the first time unlocks the associated door. Using it a second time opens it.
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CAUTION
Remove accumulation of snow or ice before opening a falcon wing door. Snow can get inside Model X and ice can prevent the door from opening. In situations where water or snow has accumulated on the glass on top of the falcon wing door, Tesla recommends using the touchscreen or switch on the door pillar (instead of the external door handle or key fob) to slowly open the falcon wing door for the first few inches (cm). Opening the falcon wing door slowly for the first few inches (cm) mitigates the scenario of water, snow, etc. from entering the vehicle.

To close a falcon wing door, press the button located on the inside of the door. You can also use the key fob (see Key Fob), use the switch on the door pillar (illustrated above), or touch the associated door icon on the touchscreen (Controls > Close).

the location of the door close button

If a falcon wing door or the front trunk is left open when you attempt to shift out of Park, the touchscreen displays a notification requiring you to confirm your intent to drive. The falcon wing door automatically closes when your driving speed reaches 16 km/h. In addition, your vehicle speed is limited if you choose to keep the front trunk open while driving. It is your responsibility to ensure doors and trunks are properly closed before driving.

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Note
To prevent children from opening falcon wing doors using the interior switch, turn on child-protection locks using the touchscreen (Controls > Locks > Child Locks). See Child Locks.
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Note
You can configure Model X to open the falcon wing doors to a lower height setting by using the touchscreen (Controls > Locks > Falcon Door Height).
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Note
If a falcon wing door detects an obstacle while closing, it reverses a few inches before it stops moving.
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Warning
Whenever a front door is partially open (approximately 20°) as you are opening or closing the associated falcon wing door, you MUST keep your hands (or any object) away from the opening edge of the front door. When a falcon wing door passes by a partially opened front door, the distance between the two doors is very narrow. Objects, such as hands or fingers, placed in this area, are not detected by sensors and can therefore become pinched between the doors. To avoid bodily injury, it is a good practice to keep your hands away from the front door whenever you are opening or closing a falcon wing door.
do not have the front door open when opening the rear door
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CAUTION
In rainy weather, leaving a falcon wing open while opening the liftgate can result in rain water falling from the liftgate into the rear seating area.
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Warning
When opening or closing a falcon wing door, it is important to proactively monitor the movement of the door to ensure that it does not come into contact with a person or object. Failure to do so can cause serious damage or injury.
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Note
In the unlikely event that Model X has no low voltage power, you will be unable to open the falcon wing doors with the touchscreen or by pressing the switch located on the driver's side door pillar. See Opening Doors with No Power for more information.

Obstacle Detection

A falcon wing door stops moving when one of its many sensors detects an obstacle, or when the door senses resistance because it has made contact with an object. The touchscreen displays a warning. In these cases, provided it is appropriate to continue opening or closing the falcon wing door, you can override obstacle detection by pressing and holding the switch located on the door pillar, or touching and holding the associated door icon on the touchscreen.

When Model X detects a low ceiling (for example, in a garage), it opens the falcon wing doors (and trunk) to a lower height, even if no obstacle is detected. You can override this height and open the doors higher by touching the associated door icon on the touchscreen (Controls). The touchscreen displays a message asking you if you always want to open the doors to the higher height at this location, and saves your choice. The next time you open the falcon wing doors at this location, Model X opens them to the height you saved.

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Warning
Before overriding a falcon wing door's default opening height, visually inspect the area to ensure adequate clearance between the door and the detected object.
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Warning
Applying adhesive products such as wraps, stickers, rubber coating, etc. on the outside of the falcon wing doors can affect the sensors’ ability to detect obstacles properly.

Calibration

If the falcon wing doors lose calibration, the main Controls window on the touchscreen displays a Calibration Required message. To calibrate the doors, first ensure that both doors have plenty of space to open and close and are clear of passengers, objects, etc. Touch Controls > Service > Calibrate Doors, and follow the instructions on the touchscreen. During calibration, the lower door opens all the way out (requiring extra space on the side of Model X), the upper door moves all the way down, and then the lower door closes.

Front Door Reset

Since your Model X does not have traditional door handles that you can pull from the outside, it is equipped with pop actuators (sometimes referred to as "ice breakers") that are used to assist in opening the front doors in cases where resistance is detected, such as ice buildup in cold weather. The pop actuator is located just above the front door latch and extends as necessary to open the front door. Once the front door opens slightly, the pop actuator gently retracts back into the door.

arrows pulling in and out the door pop actuator

If the pop actuator is unable to retract because it is stuck to or caught on something, the pop actuator can be extended manually to extract the object by performing the following:

  1. Carefully close the door latch using a pen, screwdriver, or comparable tool (never use a finger or body part and avoid damaging the paint); Model X will detect this as though the door is closed.
    use a screw driver to remove the door actuator
  2. Make sure Model X is unlocked, then press the exterior door handle or pull the interior door handle to reset the latch and extend the pop actuator.
  3. As the pop actuator extends out from the door, quickly extract the object.
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    Warning
    The pop actuator will attempt to retract back into the door almost immediately after the door handle is pressed or pulled. The pop actuator retracts gently, but will not release automatically if something gets caught.
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Warning
As with all mechanical and moving parts on the vehicle, never put body parts in, or near, moving components. Make sure children are monitored when opening and closing doors. Interacting with moving components, including the pop actuator, can cause serious damage or bodily injury.

Interior Locking and Unlocking

While sitting inside Model X, you can lock and unlock all doors and trunks by touching the lock icon in Controls.

an unlocked lock
The icon changes to indicate whether doors are locked or unlocked.

Walk-Away Door Lock

Doors and trunks can automatically lock when you walk away carrying your phone key or paired key fob . To turn this feature on or off, touch Controls > Locks > Walk-Away Door Lock.
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Note
If you have authenticated an Apple Watch to be used as a key, it also works with Walk-Away Lock.
When the doors lock, the exterior lights flash once and the mirrors fold (if Fold Mirrors is on). To also hear a confirmation sound when Model X locks, touch Controls > Locks > Lock Confirmation Sound.
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Note
Touch Toybox > Boombox > Lock Sound to customize the lock sound when the vehicle is locked from the outside (Pedestrian Warning System required).

Model X does not automatically lock if:

  • You check the Exclude Home checkbox and Model X is parked at the location you have designated as Home. For details on how to designate a location as Home, see Home, Work, and Favorite Destinations.
  • A phone key or paired key fob is detected inside Model X.
  • A door or trunk is not fully closed.
  • The phone key's Bluetooth setting is turned off.
  • The driver does not use the driver door to get out of the vehicle.
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Note
It is ultimately your responsibility to ensure your vehicle is locked, even when Walk-Away Door Lock is enabled.

Drive Away Locking

Model X automatically locks all doors (including the trunks) when your driving speed exceeds 8 km/h.

Driver Door Unlock Mode

Enabling Controls > Locks > Driver Door Unlock Mode only unlocks the driver door when you first unlock Model X. The driver door unlocks only if a key is present on the driver side of the vehicle and not the passenger side. To unlock the remaining doors, use the touchscreen, mobile app, or press the key fob a second time.

Car Left Open Notifications

To receive a mobile notification if a door, trunk and/or window is left open or if Model X is left unlocked unexpectedly, touch Controls > Locks > Car Left Open Notifications.

Child Locks

Model X has child locks on the rear doors to prevent them from being opened using the interior release buttons. On the touchscreen, touch Controls > Locks > Child Lock. You can choose Both to engage the child lock on both rear doors, or you can choose Left or Right to engage it on just a specific door.

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Warning
It is recommended that you turn on child locks when children are seated in the rear seats.

Unlock on Park

When you stop Model X and engage Park, you can choose to unlock all doors. To turn this feature on or off, touch Controls > Locks > Unlock on Park.