Tesla Model X finally debuts – three-row SUV detailed

Tesla Motors has finally taken the covers off its much-anticipated all-new Model X. The fully-electric vehicle is the brand’s first foray into the SUV market.

It’s been a long time coming, with whispers of the Model X first appearing in 2011, when CEO Elon Musk also claimed then that a production model would appear in 2014. One year later and here we are, with the Model X being delivered to a few lucky customers.

In total, just six members of the US public have accepted the keys to their brand-new SUV, despite the 2,000-strong crowd of potential customers in attendance. Musk was on stage to present his latest creation to the world, during which, he took careful time to walk customers through.

In short, the Model X is at maximum a seven-seater SUV, but there is also an option to have the car with just six seats. The silhouette of the car itself is resemblant to that of a larger BMW 5 Series GT, if you will, but clearly visible is Tesla’s signature design language, and the underpinnings of a fully electric vehicle.

Speaking of which, we’ve known so far that the SUV features the same powertrain as the Tesla Model S: two electric motors, a 90 kWh battery, and then some.

The car’s electric motors can be found one each on the front and rear axle, and depending on which variant of the Model X you choose, these motors offer different power outputs. Here’s a closer look at each.

The standard Model X 90D boasts a range of 413 km from a full charge of the car’s traction battery. It also offers the same 250 km/h top speed as its more powerful sibling, but a slower 4.8 second century sprint. This is because unlike the more powerful P 90 D, the electric motors here are equally rated at 259 hp apiece. You still get the same all-wheel drive system.

In the more potent P90D, the electric motor on the rear axle has its power output bumped to 503 hp, while the front remains at 259 hp. This gives it a 0-100 km/h sprint of 3.8 seconds, and a full electric driving range of 402 km. If you require more, the Ludicrous Speed Upgrade will let you burst off the line to 100 km/h in just 3.2 seconds.

Elsewhere, the most attention-grabbing feature has to be the Model X’s Falcon Wing doors. Now, the front doors may look completely normal and rest-assured they operate just the same, but the real magic is with the car’s rear doors, which open upwards in a sort of “gullwing” fashion.

The Falcon Wing doors have two hinges on them, one being on the roof itself, and allows passengers to enter or exit a vehicle with ease in tight spaces. Tesla tells us that only a space of up to 30 cm is required for the doors to be able to open completely.

To demonstrate the impressive feat, Musk called on an Audi Q7 (with conventional doors) and a Honda Odyssey (sliding doors) to be parked on either side of the Model X, and demonstrated how easy it would be for a passenger to get into the car despite the tiny gap between.

Fair point, when you consider that the Q7 would have no chance at opening its doors wide, or even the Odyssey, which needs to “pop” its doors outwards before sliding backwards. Still, Tesla must have little concern for drivers of the Model X, which have to use normal doors.

The Falcon Wing doors are rather intelligent, though, equipped with ultrasonic sensors that can measure for sufficient space outside the car before opening up, and capacitive sensors which can detect close objects and prevent the door from knocking into anything. The rear doors fully open and close in seven seconds.

For the benefit of the driver, Tesla has equipped the Model X with front doors that can sense when he/she is approaching, and opens automatically. It also shuts the door automatically when it detects that a driver is in the car already.

Moving along, Tesla is also proud of its panoramic windshield, which Musk claims is the largest windshield ever equipped on a series production car. There’s also an industry-first HEPA filter which strips outside air of pollen, bacteria, viruses and pollution before circulating it into the cabin.

Inside, there’s a lot of tech reserved for the Model X, like an impressive 17-inch touchscreen system that can be activated and operated via voice control, GPS navigation with Homelink system and more.

Particularly impressive is the 17-speaker audio system, which Tesla claims to have completely developed in-house, because it wanted to make sure that it could create as powerful an audio system as it could without sucking up too much energy from the battery. It’s a common issue for full electric vehicles.

Safety wise, the Model X features various sensors and radar systems which give the car autonomic emergency braking capabilities, along with the ability to monitor surrounding traffic the vehicle, and more. Impressive?