Tesla’s third production model, its Model X crossover, will start arriving to customers who have already ordered the car September 29, the automaker announced.
Customers for the crossover, which costs $133,000 to $144,000, began ordering options and colors for their cars that include premium sound and “ludicrous speed” modes.
The company announced it would hand over its first few cars to new owners at their headquarters in California.
The Model X is the second model of Tesla’s planned expansion of its lineup. Following the Model S sedan, which went on sale in 2012, the Model X will offer a crossover to the electric carmaker’s lineup. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that its Model 3, a lower-cost sedan that could retail around $35,000, would likely start production in two years.
The Model X is a three-row crossover with “falcon” rear doors. After it was announced in 2012, orders for the car quickly flooded in. Last year, Tesla said orders for the car extend well into 2016. Competing automakers such as Audi have already announced competitors to the Model X.
Critics have targeted Tesla’s high-priced electric cars and their applicable state and federal tax credits as impetus for reforming the incentives. Already in California, lawmakers have capped incentives in that state based on household income.
No, it won’t.
That price is for the fully-loaded Signature early editions. Musk said just yesterday that the basic X would cost $5k more than an S. Which S, I’m not sure.
Sssshhh. TTAC has a been in its bonnet about Tesla. Just let them harp on about the cost and the incentives in peace.
It’s like saying the new Camry will cost $38k.
But it WILL cost $38k (if you want it to)! How can that be dishonest?
Thank you. This is a p i s s poor headline for a site that bills itself as ttac. Lazy and agenda driven headlines belong on jalopnik.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/02/us-tesla-signature-idUSKCN0R222N20150902
The one that’s *shipping this month* is the Signature edition.
The Signature edition costs that much.
The headline is accurate as written; the cheap ones aren’t shipping anytime soon.
Quoting Musk’s price for the ones that aren’t shipping until 2016 as if it applied to the ones shipping this month would be far more misleading, I think.
Take anything Musk said with the biggest rock of salt you can find. He said, with the same options it will be $5K more than the Model S. The base model S is $70K. AWD adds $5K, 3rd row seats add $3000, and 21″ wheels add $4500, all standard on the model X. So, the base X is already $12,500 more than the base S (considering the Model X is even sold with the smaller 70Kwh battery). A big unknown is if air suspension, auto-pilot and the 90kwh battery are mandatory in which case the base X is $30,000 more than the base S and Musk can still claim he wasn’t lying when he said for the same options it will be $5k more.
You mean like Porsche option pricing?
Or BMW, or Mercedes, etc, etc…
Luxury marques charging ridiculous options costs….stop the presses!
@alluster: You’re probably right, and that puts the base Model X around $100-105k.
Not cheap, but not $133-144k, either.
It could have simply said “Tesla’s Model X Will Hit the Streets on September 29”. There’s a little bit of snark in choosing to focus on the high-end of the price spectrum.
However, TTAC’s always had a bit of a snarky edge to it when covering the auto industry. Anyone remember the old Death Watch days?
“Already in California, lawmakers have capped incentives in that state based on household income.”
Not a bad idea since Tesla owners wouldn’t be buying one for the tax implications anyway, but the discount will stay a useful consideration for the Model 3 and other electrics.
Wait, how much was this -supposed- to cost originally? I thought like $60,000. Not double that amount.
I think you and I were writing the same thing at almost the same time (see below).
Once it’s available without every option in the order book, expect it to start in the 80s.
Still sounds too high at 80. This Model X was supposed to be a lot more attainable, and practical for families and the like, yeah?
$80,000 is out of the range of most families, certainly.
They’ll sell every single one they can make starting in the 80s, and most examples sold will be in six figures. Right now battery production capacity is driving their volume and therefore their pricing.
In the short term I wouldn’t be surprised to see Model S prices go up as well, as pent-up demand for the X is going to be major.
As far as I was aware, the X was *never* intended to be cheaper than the S, merely a CUV S (which usually means pricier). I’m not sure where that messaging came from.
OTOH, the third model they are making is intended to be cheaper and more accessible.
“Still sounds too high at 80. This Model X was supposed to be a lot more attainable, and practical for families and the like, yeah?”
The Model S sells well being priced at $80k to $100k+. That suggests the price range is not too high for its perceived worth.
Now, take a another car based on the Model S, does the same things as the S, but ADDS more space & versatility. What non-brain dead business person would ever consider selling it for less? It would be like an options package that adds features but lowers the price.
I think a lot of people confuse the Model X and the Model III. That one is supposed to start in the 30s, but it will be smaller, use less aluminum (lower power/weight ratio), and make other trade-offs, hence justifying the lower price.
@CoreyDL – I thought it was just me. $5K more than a Model S is not what I had in mind all this time. I was expecting people would have to pay X5 money for this thing. For $120K, I’m buying an LX570 and using the leftover $30,000 for the next 10 years’ worth of gas.
I approve of this plan.
But I thought the goal of the Model X was to come in with a price point below the Model S in it’s base trim. Further, that was below the Model S model with the smallest battery that got killed off. So even if it starts just $5K over the Model S, that is a huge difference in the previously hyped price point.
Goal?
Yeah, well, it’s not like Tesla’s ever met a price or shipping goal, has it?
Beautiful cars.
Wouldn’t believe a word Elon says until it ships.
He always delivers, just 18-24 months behind schedule.
Anyone notice the windshield? http://teslamondo.com/2015/08/31/model-x-windshieldroof-is-quite-singular/
Mil-spec cost inflation happily swallowed by Teslites; gotta respect Musk.
It’s probably gonna end up closer to $150,000 when everything is said and done.
I HAVE NO FAITH WHATSOEVER IN “TESLA MATH” – or their online FANBOY Damage Control community.
As soon as my shares hit $300/per I AM OUT. The dishonesty over there annoys me.
Says a guy whose favorite car company engineered a shortage of Hellcats out of thin air.
Dal,
The hell cat was projected to sell around 5k units a year. There are a large number of hellcat only parts that were not available in quantities to build much more than that. I don’t believe it was artificially limited just under projected. The cost increase was less than 5% which is likely less then Elon’s projections will be off by.
>> As soon as my shares hit $300/per I AM OUT. The dishonesty over there annoys me.
Get out now at $247 and keep your purity.
#300 or BUST.
As far as i know. The model x was never suposed to be less costly than the s and tesla never claimed it would be. Thats the model 3 that will more affordable. The x is simply 5k more than the sedan for a comparible model.
If the P85D and Model X topped out in the “S-class range”, there would be NO PROBLEM. [Thing is, that car STILL isn’t worth as much as a W222. ]
But $135,000 for a P85D and $134,000+ for a Model X???
AND BEFORE ANYONE SAYS ANYTHING – YES I’m GOING to KEEP ON Quoting THE FACTORY STICKER I SAW.
Worth as much to whom?
I value an S-Class exactly as much as I value a Toyota Avalon, and the Avalon is much cheaper – so that’s 99% what I’d be buying if I wanted a “high end” sedan.
I understand than you value these things very differently. I care about different things that you do. For instance, I don’t particularly care about acceleration – my minivan is fast enough for me. I’m short, so I don’t care about headroom. I do care about reliability, efficiency, and maintainability.
Tesla is the only car over about $40k that might be worth the premium to me personally. The reason is that the premium feels like an early adopter premium to get to the future first, which is something I’d like to do. The premium on the German sedans seems more like a “don’t confuse me with the plebes” premium to me, which in an attribute that I just don’t value. I don’t mind looking like a plebian (and I find it desirable in many circumstances), but I teally want to live in the future. Accorditgly, I value the Tesla much more than I value the S-class.
Thankfully, differential valuation makes the economic world go around. This is kind of an odd corner case, though. If I had an S-Class, I’d sell it to you for more than it’s worth to me, and we’d both feel like we won.
Please let the tax incentives end so that the general US taxpayers aren’t subsidizing well-off Tesla buyers who can afford the vehicles with their own money!
The only GOOD subsidies are subsidies for things I CARE ABOUT.
Which is exactly why you can’t have an open border policy and a welfare state.
Putting aside that this is ugly as sin, I can’t see why you would buy this over a Cayenne, GL, QX60 or QX80, and the list goes on and on. No way on earth I would buy this over a sweet sweet Cayenne GTS or Turbo.
Someone recently mentioned the Venn diagram in comments here and I’ll pick up the same concept to say that the chances of Cayenne and Model X buyers to ever relate to one another are quite slim. Well, maybe except consumer debt level.
Compared to the Model X the Cayenne is low-tech and passé and those seeking the latest eco toy would scoff at the idea of driving an ICE. I suspect car guys would pick the Cayenne in a heartbeat though (I would!).
I consider myself something of a car guy and I would far rather have the Model X. And I certainly don’t scoff at ICEs.
I know a guy who used to own a Cayenne (maybe still does) and now owns a Model S.
>>> why you would buy this over a Cayenne, GL, QX60 or QX80 <<<
The same people who buy a Model S over a Panamera or M or AMG will be the same people that buy the Model X over some luxury light-truck from a luxury brand. It's a fashion statement and allows single-person guilt-free use of the carpool lane. (Note that "guilt-free" is in the eyes of the owner of the Model X; many of these same people also don't feel guilty about burning hundreds of gallons of jet fuel on needless "business" trips.)
Also, until AMG turns up the turbo boost, the Model X is probably the fast-accelerating CA-emissions-legal light truck in a straight line at slow speeds. Not sure why this is useful accept to go to jail a few tenths of a second faster, but there you have it.
Here it is. Truth.
To hell with CR and its rediculous and biased reviews.
This car cost my brother over 120 GRAND.
He is in love and dilusional about his car.
He is what I call a True Believer.
There is no talking to him.
I have driven his car many times.
Yes…it is fantastic with torque and that huge tech of a screen is really, really cool.
But PLEASE…this car cost over 100 grand.
The interior is cold blooded plain.
The back seat is low, forcing my thighs and knees well off the seat and leaving me feel as if I was in the back seat of a Mustang.
My elbow began to hurt enough from the horribly designed and hard plastic of the door armrest while going to and from work.
The noise from the back corner near my ear was as loud as my Mazda3 hatch.
Really?
A 110% perfect car…for over 100 thousand dollars.
And THIS car, the X, which my younger brother gets in a few weeks, reminds me of the stupid looking BMW X6. Why is IT not getting called out for that same ridiculous rear end like the X did?
The world is friggin nuts!
The power of cult.
But at least you seem to have a pretty successful family!
I’d bet that the back seat of the X is a lot nicer than the S, so there’s that.
The owner’s garage will need a 10-12 foot ceiling, so that pretty much limits the buyers to the well-off.
By 2017 Tesla’s Model S and Model X will fall in the category of lease cars that are taxed 22% instead of 7% in the Netherlands. For sure that will influence sales of Tesla’s posh models. Model 3 will fall in the lower 7% category. I expect sales of this one to explode down here.
Bring ’em on – the more, the merrier.
Soon, I may be choosing a home to spend my retirement in.
The choices will be:
A decent, comfortable home of 1200 sq ft for a bit over $100k, with my Malibu parked in the garage.
OR: A sub-$100k hovel, as long as I can put a 220 outlet in the garage for the EV.
If you go the Teslite route maybe you could have your will instruct that when you pass your body be cremated in your Model X by shorting the power circuit?
Viking!
Or, I could just crash it into a wall at 100mph…
No, that might not do it. :-)
Hmmm; they DO sell a lot of Teslas in Scandinavia…
Vikingar!
It’s got doors for a billionaire!