Tesla Model X gets off-road treatment with giant mud tires

You have to be a little bit crazy to use a $100,000 premium electric SUV as an off-road vehicle, but there are apparently enough crazy Tesla Model X owners that an off-road tuner decided to make wheels for them.

We have been surprised by the number of Model X owners who have been using their electric SUV off-road.

For example, we have seen a Tesla Model X used off-road as a tractor on a vineyard in Austria, another one drifting off-road in the desert, and popular Norwegian Tesla owner Bjorn Nyland has been known to take his Model X off-road from time to time.

Now they could possibly do it with more appropriate wheels and ties since Delta 4×4, an off-road tuner and wheel maker based in Germany, has unveiled a new mud tire and wheel kit for the Model X:

As the time of writing, Delta 4×4 hasn’t updated its website with the new package just yet, but in comments, they said that it consists of 265/45 x 20 off-road tires installed on 9.5 x 20 B rims. The package will cost about 3,900 euros.

They released a video of their first package for an electric vehicle:

If you end up buying this kit, let us know what kind of efficiency you get. It will undoubtedly be a massive drop, but I’d be interested to see how much.

Electrek’s Take

I’ve said it before, but I am going to repeat it. I think off-road vehicles are a great untapped market for electrification.

If you are going to do an off-road treatment to an existing production EV, the Model X is probably your best option, but again, I think you have to be a little bit crazy since it’s really a premium SUV.

What I’m most excited about are vehicles built for off-road usage. Bollinger’s all-electric utility truck and the Nikola NZT off-road all-electric performance UTV are two vehicles that come to mind. I also recently bought an electric bike to use off-road that I think will be a lot of fun.

But I think there’s still plenty of room for new entries in those segments, if you know of any other electric off-road vehicles, let me know. I’d love to try them.