The gorgeous Model X. Credit: Tesla Motors
In front of hundreds of guests, Tesla’s CEO, the ever resourceful Elon Musk, unveiled the company’s new model: the Model X crossover. It’s been a long heralded and waited vehicle, and it sure didn’t disappoint. This beauty, all dressed in white, looks more like a bird than a car with its upward-opening “falcon doors”. It also flies like one, reaching 0 to 60mph in 3.2 seconds making it the world’s quickest SUV. Wait ’till the kids see it.
Elon Musk stepping out of the Model X. Image: AP/Marcio Jose Sanchez
Though they look great, have plenty of space and are very comfortable, I personally hate SUVs since they eat up too much gas. That’s not friendly to your pocket, nor the environment. While Tesla will definitely hurt that wallet (the Model X sells for a breathtaking $132,000…), at least there’s less environmental strain. It’s definitely refreshing to see an all electric SUV on the streets for a change.
“The mission of Tesla is to accelerate the advent of sustainable transport,” CEO Elon Musk said at the car’s reveal, held at the company’s factory in Fremont, California. “It’s important to know that any kind of car can go electric.”
Besides its falcon doors (wings?), which can open with as little as 12 inches on each side of the vehicle, the Model X also has a couple of other very interesting, let’s say unique, features. One of them is the windshield – the largest ever seen in a car. This extends all the way over the driver’s head so you have a complete 90 degrees view. It might prove hard to keep your eyes on the road though when you can perfectly see the sky from the front seat.
Tesla employees demonstrate how much luggage you can fit it in the car. It’s been described as “cavernous”. Image: Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP
Other things of note is the car’s incredible high torque capable of easily towing 5,000 pounds, or more than enough for a boat or trailer. The batteries were also cleverly placed at the low of the vehicle so it’s harder for it to topple over. Just like the Model S P85D, the Model X has a 250 mile range. In other words, it all looks and behaves awesomely. It’s really hard to spot a flaw (apart from the pricing, of course). Maybe those falcon doors, since you wouldn’t dare opening it in your garage. Just kidding, the doors are equipped with smart sensors that stop or revert when an obstacle is sensed. Then again, if you can afford a car nearly as expensive as a house (not in San Francisco, I know, calm down) you should re-design your garage as well.
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If you’re an audiophile, you’ll instantly fall in love with the Model X. It has 17 speakers worth 560 watts littering the car’s interior. These were developed in-house by Tesla to make sure it falls under their strict specifications, like power consumption – always a top consideration for EVs.
It looks like the Model X is the first luxury electric SUV, but it might not be alone for long. Bently plans to release its plug-in hybrid Bentayga SUV in 2016, Audi showed off an all-electric crossover concept which might be ready by 2019, and leading companies like BMW, Lamborghini and Aston Martin all want a cut. Tesla is first, though. Can you believe people call this a family car? Amazing!
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