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| Tesla CEO Elon Musk steps out of the Model X on-stage |
ELECTRIC vehicle maker Tesla Motors has unveiled a luxurious new SUV with stylish rear falcon-wing doors, which open upward and doors which sense your proximity.
The Silicon Valley automaker has been teasing the Model Model X for years, but last night CEO Elon Musk finally revealed the new all-electric vehicle at an event near the firm's California-based factory.
The Model X sets a new bar for automotive engineering and has a number of unique features, like the two rear falcon-wing doors, which hinge and open upward.
Tesla has put a lot of thought into these oh-so-cool rear doors which – unlike the classic DeLorean – scan the area around the vehicle to calculate how much free space is available, then adjusts the span of the doors to open accordingly.
The engineers behind the clever design say the doors can open in as little as 12 inches. They proved as much by parking the car in a tight-spot on-stage at the event.
The doors – and the Tesla-designed second-row seats, which all move independently – were among the reasons the Model X's launch was delayed several times.
Mr Musk announced plans for the Model X in 2012, it was initially expected to go on sale in early 2014.
CEO Musk says the company "got a little carried away" and might have designed the Model X differently if it had known the final engineering costs and manufacturing complexity.
"I'm not sure anyone should make this car," he said. "There's far more there than is really necessary to sell the car."
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| First teased back in 2012, Elon Musk last night finally revealed the all-electric SUV |
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| The Model X has dual-hinge Flacon Wing doors, which can open in as little as 12 inches |
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| The Model X is the third vehicle from 12-year-old Californian firm Tesla |
But its not all about the Falcon Wing doors, Tesla has also programmed the driver's door to open automatically on approach and close itself when it detects the driver is safely inside.
The Tesla Model X also comes with a Bioweapon Defence Mode setting hidden in the Air Conditioning menu.
The button – which CEO Musk reassured everyone was "real" during the launch – can filter the quality of air inside the vehicle to keep you safe from the danger outside.
Tesla's air filter is about ten times larger than a standard car's air filter and is reportedly 300 times better at filtering bacteria, 700 times better at filtering smog, 500 times better at filtering allergens and more than 800 times better at filtering viruses.
"All these things together make the car amazing," Elon Musk told the enthusiastic crowd.
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| The Model X shares a platform and motor with the Model S, which is made at the same factory |
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| Tesla claims the SUV is easily big enough to fit a surfboard in the boot |
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| The Model X comes with 'ludicrous mode' which rockets the car from 0 to 60mph in 3.2 seconds |
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| Navigation, music and cabin controls are accessed through a 17-inch touchscreen |
The Model X shares a platform and motor with the Model S, which is made at the same factory.
But unlike Tesla's Model S, which ships with several battery options, the Model X only has a 90 kilowatt-hour battery and only comes with all-wheel drive.
The 90D version will go 257 miles on a full charge, while the P90D performance version will go 250 miles. Tesla's high-speed "ludicrous mode" is offered on the P90D – which means it can rocket from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.2 seconds.
The Model X has three rows and seats seven; on a test ride, the back row could fit an adult and had a surprising amount of headroom.
The front windshield, which Tesla says is the biggest in the industry, sweeps back and over the front seats.
Navigation, music and cabin controls are accessed through a 17-inch dashboard-mounted glass touchscreen.
The Model X is the third vehicle from 12-year-old Tesla, after the Roadster - which was discontinued in 2012 - and the Model S sedan.
It should attract new customers to the brand, and it goes on sale as the market for luxury SUVs is booming.
US luxury SUV sales were up 17 percent through August, five times better than the industry as a whole.
Around 25,000 people have already placed orders for the X, Mr Musk said. Customers who put in an order now will have to wait up to a year to get one.
Last month, Musk lowered Tesla's annual sales forecast from 55,000 vehicles to between 50,000 and 55,000.
But Musk says Tesla is still on track to sell 500,000 vehicles by 2020. It expects to reach that goal with the introduction of its next car, the lower-priced Model 3, which is due out in 2017.
The Model X is alone, for now, in the all-electric luxury SUV market. Its closest competitor is the plug-in hybrid Porsche Cayenne SUV, which starts at $77,200.
But others, spurred by Tesla, are planning their own all-electric models. Audi said this month that it will have an all-electric SUV by 2018.
At the lower end of the market, there's the $32,000 Kia Soul EV, an electric crossover, but it only has a 93-mile range. Toyota briefly sold an electric version of the RAV4 SUV, but that was discontinued last year.
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