X may finally give it to consumers: The Tesla Model X is set to hit showrooms within three to four months, per CEO Elon Musk.
The deliveries are keeping in line with the timeline Tesla set up for the $70,000 electric crossover, Bloomberg says, coming almost a year after the original 2014 deadline passed. Musk told attendees at the company’s annual shareholders meeting Tuesday the Model X would be “a better SUV than the Model S is a sedan,” adding he was driving the most recent prototype assembled.
Over half of the X’s potential owners — some of whom have been waiting three years to bring one home — are predominantly women based on current orders, contrasting with the mostly male consumer base for both the S and the discontinued Roadster, and keeping on-trend with the overall popularity of crossovers among female consumers.
The Model X will have the all-electric game to itself for a few years before other competitors arrive to play. Both Audi and BMW have announced plans to build electric crossovers of its own, with the former arriving first in 2018 after a debuting a concept version during the 2015 Frankfurt Auto Show in September.
[Photo credit: Tesla/Facebook]
Gertrude!
Where’s Heathcliff?
Betraying your age, as I am by admitting I get it. Good old Red.
I have no problem admitting my age (60). I’d have a huge problem being young today. I envy today’s youth nothing but their frictionless joints.
The falcon doors have been a nightmare, with obvious misalignments in the test mules running around California. This will probably be the most scrutinized feature on production cars, when journalists and consumers get their hands on them.
I suspect the pipeline will struggle to fill orders without the Gigafactory running yet.
Audi and BMW will have high price and late timing – and Tesla’s reputation – against them, not to mention their lack of Supercharger infrastructure.
It’s not as if Tesla is known for reasonable pricing. I don’t see any reason to believe that Audi and/or BMW will price their EV SUVs out of line with Tesla’s Model X.
I think that the BMW and Audi will probably mop the floor with the Tesla, personally. They’ll have comparable range and power, but they’ll have the interior fit and finish and the random niceties people expect in a $100k car that Tesla just doesn’t get right. And they’ll have refreshes and redesigns in much more reasonable time than Tesla. Tesla rolls out new S/W for their cars, but the newest Model S doesn’t look visually any different from the first models, and Tesla doesn’t exactly have a large enough development team to constantly rework their existing models in addition to working on their new models.
Wagnerian horns fill my head. Or is that Flying Monkey music?
+1
Original estimates were for a starting price of $60K, which would have made it almost reasonable at ~$50K with tax credits. I’m guessing it’s actually $70K, including tax credits and gas savings, or about $85K as compared to the originally advertised $60K.
This was my biggest disappointment with Volt Mk 2 — I wish they had offered a CUV on the platform and not a sedan.
Actually you just gave me a nice QOTD: would you buy an off lease Volt?
Gen 1? Nope. Hate the exterior, and loath the interior and its stupid capacitive “buttons”.
I can afford a bit of vanity when I buy my next car, which WILL have a plug and be a 40+ mile range PHEV or 200+ mile range electric-only, so the Volt qualifies.
I’ve been considering just that. As the 2012s come off lease, they can be had for about $15k, with reasonably miles. It’s tempting, but I shudder at the thought of driving something that complex beyond the warranty… Somehow it’s even more frightening than a German luxo sedan.
So far the Volt seems to have been pretty reliable, but I cannot imagine a world where they run for 10+ years without strange and massively expensive problems arising.
*this would be a different story if I loved the car. I don’t; frankly the design is heavy at best, and the rear seat room — or lack thereof — is a sin. So buying one would be to save cash commuting, which has too many ways to go wrong.
I have similar thoughts. But if you can get seven or more years @ 12K a year out of one for $15ish with very lost fuel costs and avoid automotive catastrophe until the end of that period, isn’t that a good move?
I wouldn’t, because the battery range isn’t enough for me and I think it’s ugly. An off-lease Gen2 might be worth considering in a few years.
I’ve been watching the prices on used 1st gen Volts.
I like the looks of the 2nd gen better, but the 1st gen is cheaper and can technically meet my needs today. But the 1st gen Volt isn’t a perfect fit because of that back seat — I’d have to dump the car if we have a 3rd child.
I’m still thinking it over, though. I’m also watching used Leaf prices, and announcements about the new Leaf and ENV-200. And, of course, the Model X is interesting and I might be able to afford one around this time next year, if things stay on their current trajectory. But is the thing really enough better than a used 1st gen Leaf to justify the premium?
I would think the used Leaf is the better buy vs Model X from a fiscal standpoint even if you had to shell out for a new battery pack. But I imagine the Model X is going to come with a whole host of features and luxury niceties the Leaf simply doesn’t offer.
I, too, have been eyeing used Leafs. Incredible prices; even if you stick with 2013+ (better options and charging) you can get nearly-new cars with about 10k for the same fifteen grand.
Add to that the recent-ish announcement about battery pricing ($5500) which is a lot less than many thought, and it becomes really compelling, especially considering that the battery replacement will be in 8+ years, and prices will have fallen even more.
I’m at the point now where if I find the right deal on a Leaf (2013+ SL w/ Premium package, <10k miles, <$15k) I'll buy it as an awesome futuristic appliance, and will have all of my commuting and local running around completely covered.
Both Volts are 5-door hatchbacks. Think of them as CUVs with a lowrider kit.
“Musk told attendees at the company’s annual shareholders meeting Tuesday the Model X would be “a better SUV than the Model S is a sedan,” adding he was driving the most recent prototype assembled.”
I’m highly skeptical but it should be interesting seeing if Musk’s “SUV” can tow or go offroad.
It could just flap its doors and fly over boulders and ditches. Staying low, like a turkey.
Model S is capable of raising to 7.9 inches of ground clearance and that titanium skidplate underneath doesn’t hurt. Don’t know the angle of departure/approach though. Enough weight and power to handle towing. In fact, there’s probably enough torque to rip your trailer apart if it gets stuck on the ramp.
It’s a CUV, the furthest it will go off-road will be the Little League parking lot.
There are so many charging stations in the open country ,its mind boggling.
“I’m highly skeptical but it should be interesting seeing if Musk’s “SUV” can tow or go offroad.”
tow? Are you seriously questioning the torque of an electric motor?
offroad? Tesla probably won’t bother with real offroad capability. Considering the center of gravity of the S, there won’t be a need for “if you can read this, roll me over” (so lift it a bit and Bob’s your uncle. Transmission locking should be something you can emulate well enough in software).
Obviously a electric motor has sufficient torque at zero rpm. However just because Model X is an EV does not mean it will be designed with *real* towing in mind which an actual SUV can provide.
“Officially, Toyota, Mitsubishi and GM don’t condone towing with their plug-in cars. However, as Toyota Prius fans have known for many years, cars which aren’t designed to tow can still be used for light towing duties without damaging the car. ”
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1071297_want-to-tow-with-your-2012-nissan-leaf-now-you-can
The rumors are that it will be able to tow, and that some of the problems which read to the delay involved the motors overheating while towing.
In a Prius class vehicle, you can just herate the motors until they cool down. But you don’t do that on a no-compromises luxury beast that costs on much as my house in the top trims.
(The no compromises aspect of luxury is one of the reasuns I’m so skeptical of the value proposition of regular luxury cars. I can list lots of compromises I’d have to make if we were to trade our Prius or our Sienna in on, say, anything in BMW or Mercedes lineup. Our Toyotas cost less and come with the compromises that must match my situation. I’m going to take a good long look at a Model X when I’m in Palo Alto for work.)
>>> Model X will have the all-electric game to itself for a few years <<<
Ummmm… how about the Toyota RAV4 EV ? There was one in 1997 and then a newer one from 2012 to 2014. Maybe they were just here in California?Still, many (most?) of the Teslas are just here in California.
I believe the electrification of the 2012+ RAV4 was done by Tesla.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1092023_tesla-deal-to-supply-toyota-rav4-ev-powertrain-to-end-this-year
California only for the 2012-204, based on the older RAV-4 (prior gen to 2014 ICE). California only, I believe 1800ish sold lease only, Tesla propulsion system, and in the end Toyota had to about give them away
The doors will be the biggest problem. If you park in a crowded lot, you can barely open the door of a coupe to squeeze in or out. This is why I prefer a 4 door sedan. I’ve seen a Porsche gull wing pull into spots and have to leave because there is not enough clearance to get the door open and exit the vehicle. The gull wing door is expensive and gimicky. Put the $$ into the drive train.
Um, it’s been pretty widely advertised that the falcon wing doors on the X have better lateral clearance than sliding doors on minivans.
Wowsers! Imagine someone partially opening those rear doors into the path of a motor-/bicyclist. Energetically dented meat.
“The doors will be the biggest problem. If you park in a crowded lot, you can barely open the door of a coupe to squeeze in or out.”
Do you actually know this? Or just speculating?
And what gullwing Porsche did you see? Other than some custom modification, the only gull wing Porsches I know are track only racing models.
Supposedly, the doors fold in on themselves as they open upwards. I guess we’ll see, but I could imagine a (very complicated) design where the clearance is quite modest—maybe not much different than the conventional sliding doors that define a modern minivan design.
Porsche gull-wing doors? Never heard of it. The only gull-wing design I know of was the 1955 era Mercedes 300SL. That car’s tubular frame design lead to very high door sills, which then lead to the gull-wing design so that the door opening could be larger by including part of the roof in the opening. Those cars were indeed a public-parking nightmare.
The Model X is going to sell to every filthy-rich post-ML-class buyer out there.
Gotta have my iPhone charged for my inevitable test drive. Not as excited as I was for the P85D… thing is after driving the P85D, I wasn’t really astonished.
It’s fast, but it feels like an appliance rather than a supercar.
“Gotta have my iPhone charged for my inevitable test drive.”
Be sure to drink plenty of espresso first, too.
Rock-steady videos are for small minds.
“Be sure to drink plenty of espresso first, too.
Rock-steady videos are for small minds.”
What I was thinking.
“It’s fast, but it feels like an appliance rather than a supercar.”
Because the P85D isn’t a supercar?
“Over half of the X’s potential owners — some of whom have been waiting three years to bring one home — are predominantly women based on current orders”.
What does this mean? More than 50% of people who have preordered the Model X are women? If so, then the “predominantly” is extraneous.
X Gon Give it To Ya was the music I grew up on, that kind of music can’t exist now that hip hop has surpassed pop music in softness.
So is Christmas, give or take.
“Step right up folks! I have here a genuine bridge over the Detroit River, and one of YOU can have it for the unbelievably low price of fifty-thousand dollars!”
Musk really is many decades after his time.
Not sure why you say that. Actual, real Model Xs have been on the streets of California for months.
I don’t understand the doors thing? It’s not worth the delay so you can have stupid doors and can’t get in or out in tight spaces. But whatever. Plus, they look hard to reach, so if you’re customers are women, wouldn’t closing make it tough unless they’re automatic?
With all those amazing coders out there, wouldn’t they have quickly realized that women are the primary purchasers of SUV’s. I thought they’re the most brilliant people making the most vapid apps that don’t make money.
Can’t wait until the first incident that leaves a family stranded because the battery died. Running out of Gas is your fault since fill up easy; charging your battery is a bit tougher.
Living at ground zero amidst many of those amazing coders, I can tell you first-hand that most of them can’t even figure out how to open the hood of their car (and why would they need to?).
I speculate that the Model S has been selling just fine, so they weren’t in any hurry to get the X out the door.
The Falcon wing door is an attempt to have the utility of a minivan’s sliding door without the stigma.
Swinging doors suck and, as someone who’s manned it to the reality of driving a minivan, I’m not going back. It’s hard to give up that kind of practicality.
I can appreciate what they’re trying to do, and it’s the kind of thing you have to do in order to build something that Toyota doesn’t already do better… Which is the problem that happens when you compare most luxury cars to the practical demands o daily life.
I picture him saying this, and there’s a skeptical mother in the audience who is on the list for one. She narrows her eyes, and turns to her friend saying “Hmm… supposably.”