Some reservation holders have been waiting for over 3 years for the Model X, and now it’s finally here. Tonight Tesla launched its all-electric SUV in Fremont, California in front of a crowd of reservation holders, employees and journalists. We already knew a lot about the Model X prior to the launch – 0 to 60 mph in 3.2 secs, AWD, up to 257 miles range – but Tesla CEO Elon Musk still had a few surprises…
The company announced that the Model X nailed the safety tests with 5-star ratings in each category. According to Tesla, the Model X outperformed the NHTSA tests, which requires a 10% overall probability of injury to achieve the 5-star rating, by achieving a ~6.5% probability of injury in case of an accident.
Musk called it “the safest SUV ever”. He credited the car’s low center of gravity and larger than usual crumple zone for the exceptional safety ratings.
During the unveiling, Musk put an emphasis on air quality. He said that the Model X’s main air filter is about 10 times larger than average. The new air filtering system is “several hundreds time” better at filtering particles than a conventional system. He even compared the level of quality of the air in the car to an operating room. At max capacity, the system can detect any viruses or spores – making it bioweapon/apocalyptic proof, complete with a “biodefence mode button”:
Another surprise is the “auto-presenting front doors”. The car act as an “invisible chauffeur” and opens the front doors for you as you approach.
The “Falcon Wing” doors were also an important part of the presentation and even we didn’t learn anything new about them, Musk did give an interesting demo on how they perform.
Tesla will start by selling only the 90D and P90D versions of the Model X starting at $132,000. It’s not clear when or even if they plan to offer the expected 70D version of the car, which start at $80,000 based on Musk previous comments.
Update: Musk reiterated that the price is only $5,000 more than the Model S and that the lower cost versions are “coming later”.
[tweet https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/649130149036687360 align=’center’]
Musk said that Tesla currently has ~25,000 Model Xs reservations and If you order one now, you are looking at a 8-12 months wait. At the event, Musk handed the keys to the first 6 Model Xs (including one to himself).
We will follow up with more information on the Model X in the coming days.
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Gallery of the Model X:
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“The falcon – wind doors”
This should be the falcon – wing doors.
opps! thanks
$132,000 is the fully-loaded price for a Signature 90D, which are already all sold-out.
Tesla has a great product! I am very happy for Tesla success.