Tesla Motors is planning to ship the first orders of its Model X crossover vehicle next year, and the company is now showing off the production ready model. Tesla made one available for ogling at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this week in Las Vegas.
In two words, the Model X is simply “breathtakingly beautiful.”
Tesla prepares to launch the Model X
Tesla first showed off the Model X crossover in 2012. At the time of course, the vehicle Tesla showed wasn’t the final model. What’s on display this year at CES 2015 is actually the final production ready model. Perhaps the most remarkable feature of the Model X is the falcon wing doors, which not only look very cool but also enable the doors to be opened all the way even in tight parking spaces.
Evo reports that the Model X features Tesla’s dual-motor all-wheel-drive system. A small electric motor powers the real axle while a large one drives the front axle. The speedy electric vehicle goes from 0 to 60 in less than five seconds.
Model X features
The Model X has three rows of seating, putting it in competition with the biggest class of SUV on the market. The falcon wing doors open widely so that it’s easy for passengers to get into that third row of seating. This solves one of the big complaints of other large SUVs, as it can be difficult to get into those seats because of the way the doors are on standard SUVs.
Tesla’s big touchscreen is inside the “cockpit,” eliminating the buttons that dashboards in virtually every other vehicle on the market have. The Model X is available in the standard model with the 60 kWh battery or with the Performance package, which gives the vehicle an 85 kWh battery.
Tesla has already taken orders for more than 20,000 Model X crossovers, and the wait time for some is already as long as two years. Those who want to reserve one will have to fork over $5,000 in order to do so. The automaker will share more details later this year when the Model X enters production.
IGN posted a video showcasing the Model X on YouTube. The full video is embedded below.
Shares of Tesla Motors slipped by nearly 2% during regular trading hours today.
