Tesla Officially Reveals Model X SUV

First customers take delivery of the all-electric car.

Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk officially revealed the company's long-awaited Model S follow-up, the Model X, at an event in Fremont, California near the Tesla Factory on Tuesday night.

Here's Model X VIN #1, belonging to Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk.


The Model X is the first mass-produced car to include gullwing/falcon wing doors since the DeLorean DMC-12 in 1983.

In a presentation that lasted approximately 30 minutes, Musk touted the car's new features, including front doors that open for you and close for you when the key fob and car sense that you're near and then in the seat; a tinted windshield that slopes all the way up the roof, above the front passengers' heads until it reaches the falcon wing doors, much like a helicopter cockpit; record-breaking crash-test and safety results; a pair of industry leading HEPA cabin air filters that make the car's cabin air as clean as that of a "hospital operating room" at the touch of an actual "bioweapon defense mode" button in the climate control menu (the icon looks like a biohazard icon); and more.

The falcon wing doors, meanwhile, are the first gullwing/falcon wing doors to be included on a mass-production car since one of the last major American startup automakers: the DeLorean. Musk parked a minivan and SUV very close next to the Model X to demonstrate how the second hinge on the falcon wings allows them to go almost straight up before spreading out to fully open if necessary. Sensors inside the doors will also detect if there's enough vertical clearance to fully open the doors and stop them accordingly if need be. The falcon wings allow for step-in access to the third row even if the second row is occupied.

Above: IGN reviewed the Model S P85D and its "Insane" mode earlier this year.

Cargo space, meanwhile, should be plentiful, as the X boasts not only a cavernous rear cargo area, but its third-row seats can fold down, its second-row seats can tilt forward, items can be stored underneath the second-row seats due to them being mounted on poles rather than a hump in the floor, and a "frunk" (read: front trunk) area that Musk demonstrated to hold a child's stroller.Tesla's new Model X SUV, shown in white with its falcon-wing rear doors open.


Official pricing for Model X has not yet been announced, though new reservations placed on Tesla's website show an estimated delivery time of "the latter half of 2016" due to the existing backlog of orders. Musk has said that the X will cost about $5,000 more than a similarly equipped Model S due to the added size and complexity of the new SUV, and will have a driving range of 250 or 270 miles depending on the configuration chosen.
