Falcon Wing Doors: How They Work and Why Guests Never Forget Them

The Tesla Model X carries 568 kW and hits 100 km/h in 3.1 seconds, yet almost nobody who rides in one remembers the acceleration. They remember the doors. The falcon wing rear doors are the single most photographed, most asked about, most replayed feature on any car we run, and they are the reason our chauffeured Model X gets requested for weddings, formals and airport arrivals in Sydney far more often than its spec sheet alone would suggest.

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By Elie Arzoumlian, electric car expert at Drive Tribe

What Model X Falcon Doors Actually Are

Most SUVs have rear doors that swing out sideways. The Model X does not. Its rear doors are hinged at the roof rather than the side of the body, and they open upward and outward in one continuous motion. Tesla calls them falcon wing doors, and the name is accurate: the shape they trace as they rise is closer to a bird's wing than a conventional car door.

There is one door per side at the rear. The front doors are normal, hinged at the A-pillar, and open like any other car. So a Model X has four doors in total, but only the two rear ones do the party trick. That distinction matters when you are planning a wedding arrival or a photo stop, because the visual moment everyone wants comes from the back of the car, not the front.

Our 2017 Model X P100D is blue, seats seven, and is chauffeur only. You do not drive it. A Drive Tribe driver does. That is a deliberate choice on our part, and it is covered further down.

How the Mechanism Works, Step by Step

People assume the doors are simple. They are not. The engineering is the reason the system works at all in tight Sydney parking, and it is worth understanding before you ride in one.

Double hinged arms

Each falcon door uses a pair of articulating hinges. The outer hinge lifts the door up and away from the body. The inner hinge allows the door to fold slightly as it travels. Working together, they let the door move through a curved path rather than a fixed arc. That is what allows it to clear the roofline without the door panel simply rotating straight up like a gullwing.

Ultrasonic sensors check the space first

Before the door moves, a set of ultrasonic sensors scans the area around and above the door. If a wall, a pillar, a low ceiling or another car is too close, the door opens to a reduced height or stops short. This is why a Model X can be parked in a normal shopping centre bay and still let rear passengers out. A gullwing door cannot do that, because it has no way to open partially.

The door opens in about the time it takes to say the sentence

In practice the full cycle is quick, but it is not instant. The sensors need a moment, the arms travel, and the door settles. Guests who have never been in the car almost always reach for a normal handle first. We usually tell them to wait half a second and let the car do the work.

There is a manual release

If power is lost or the system detects an obstruction it cannot resolve, the door can be operated manually from inside. This is a safety requirement and it is one of the questions we get asked most. No, you cannot be trapped in the back of a Model X.

Why They Are Not Gullwing Doors

This comes up constantly. Gullwing doors, the classic 300 SL arrangement, are hinged along the centre of the roof and swing straight up. They need a huge amount of clear space above the car. Falcon wing doors are hinged at the outer edge of the roof and fold as they rise, so they need far less overhead clearance and can open in places a gullwing simply could not.

The other difference is practical. A gullwing is a styling statement with a usability cost. The falcon door was designed to solve a real problem: how do you give a seven seat SUV proper access to the third row without making the rear doors absurdly long in a car park? The answer was to make them tall instead of wide.

What It Is Actually Like to Ride in the Back

I have been in the back of our Model X more times than I can count, usually as a passenger while one of our drivers works through Sydney traffic. The experience of the door is genuinely different from watching it on video.

When the door lifts, the whole side of the car opens up. There is no B-pillar obstruction at head height in the way you would get with a conventional door, and the roofline sweeps away above you. Getting into the third row of a seven seat SUV normally involves folding a seat and climbing. In the Model X you step in more or less upright. For anyone in a formal dress, a suit, or heels, that difference is the entire point.

The other thing nobody mentions: the light. With the door open, the rear cabin fills with daylight. On a clear morning on the way to a wedding in the eastern suburbs, the interior of a blue Model X with the doors up looks like a different car to the one you see with everything closed.

The Doors Are Only Half the Story

It would be easy to write the Model X off as a novelty. It is not. The P100D badge on our car is not decorative.

• Power: 568 kW and 967 Nm from a dual motor all wheel drive setup.
• Acceleration: 0 to 100 km/h in 3.1 seconds, which is quicker than a long list of cars that cost considerably more and make considerably more noise.
• Range: 465 km, which covers essentially any Sydney day trip you can plan.
• Mode: Ludicrous mode, which is exactly as unsubtle as it sounds.
• Seats: seven, with falcon wing doors at the rear.

When I have ridden in it along the M4 or up the rise onto the Anzac Bridge, the acceleration is the thing that surprises people who thought they were getting a quiet family SUV. Then they get out and talk about the doors. Every time. You can read more about what the car is actually like in our Tesla Model X P100D Review: The Family SUV That Beats Supercars off the Line.

Why Our Model X Is Chauffeur Only

This is the part of the article where we are deliberately strict. The Model X P100D is not available for self drive through Drive Tribe. It is chauffeur only, always.

The reasoning is straightforward. It is a 568 kW seven seat SUV with a door system that needs a moment of understanding, and it is the car most often requested for occasions where the arrival itself is the point. Weddings, formals, milestone birthdays, corporate pickups, airport transfers for visiting family. In every one of those situations the guest is better served by someone who drives it every week than by someone meeting the car for the first time in a driveway in Mosman.

There is a practical upside too. Because it is chauffeur only, there is no minimum driver age rule attached to the Model X. There is nobody to age-check at the wheel except our driver. If you are booking it as a passenger, the age rules that apply to our self drive cars simply do not come into it.

If you do want to drive yourself, that is a different conversation. Our 2020 Tesla Model 3 Performance is self drive from age 20 and has Track Mode, and our 2025 Tesla Model Y RWD is self drive from age 25. Both are covered in Model Y vs Model 3: Which Tesla to Rent in Sydney.

Where Falcon Doors Make Sense in Sydney

Not every location suits them, and we plan around that. Here is what we have learned.

Weddings and formal arrivals

This is the number one use. A church forecourt in the inner west, a reception venue in the Hills, a photo stop at a lookout. The doors go up, the photos happen, the guests arrive. Our Arriving at a Wedding in a Tesla Model X: The Chauffeured Option covers the logistics in detail.

Airport pickups

Seven seats and 465 km of range make the Model X a genuinely sensible airport car. The doors need clear space above, which is fine at the kerb but worth thinking about in a low clearance car park. Our driver handles that.

Corporate and client transport

A quiet electric SUV with 568 kW and a door that starts conversations is a useful tool if you are moving clients around the city for a day.

Where we avoid them

Very low ceilings, older basement car parks with tight ramps, and anywhere the car will be boxed in on both sides. The sensors will reduce the opening, but there is no reason to make the car work harder than it needs to.

Common Questions About the Doors, Answered

These come up on almost every booking.

Will they open in my garage?

Probably, but it depends on ceiling height and what is beside the car. The sensors will limit the opening if space is tight. If you are unsure, tell us the location and we will advise.

Can children operate them?

Yes, from the inside, and the sensors do the safety work. We still ask parents to supervise younger passengers.

Do they leak in Sydney rain?

The doors seal against the body when closed like any other door. When open in rain, obviously the rear cabin is exposed, which is why we keep the cycle short when it is wet.

Are they slow?

Slower than a normal door, faster than people expect. The sensor check is the part that takes the moment.

Booking the Model X

The car is based at Merrylands and can be delivered anywhere in Sydney, or collected from Merrylands if you prefer. Every booking is chauffeured, and every rate, bond and fee is shown on the car page and in the booking total before you pay. No surprises at the end.

If you are comparing options across the fleet, our Electric Car Hire in Sydney: The Complete Guide walks through the differences, and the Tesla hire Sydney hub collects everything in one place. For the Model X specifically, including seven seats, falcon doors and a chauffeur, start with Tesla Model X Hire in Sydney: Seven Seats, Falcon Doors, and a Chauffeur.