Elon Musk Officially Launches Its 762 HP Tesla Model X
By Paulo Acoba
The Tesla Model X is officially for sale and it’s everything we’d hoped it would be.
If you were standing outside the building where the Tesla Model X was being unveiled, you’d think there was a motivational speech going on with all the whooping and the hollering. But in front of packed crowd of investors, fans of the company and early adopters earlier yesterday night (Sept. 29, 2015) Musk went ahead and took the wraps off its highly awaited Tesla Model X. Six customers also had the privilege of being amongst the first customers to receive their all-electric SUV’s at the nearby Tesla Factory plant earlier in the day. With 762 HP, innovative styling inside and out and expected to surpass all safety ratings, the Tesla Model X is finally here and is the ONLY electric SUV offering being made, unlike many other companies who have plans for one with a production model nowhere near completion. Check out the entire reveal video below!
The first couple of Tesla Model X’s will come equipped with a 90 kWh battery providing 250 miles of range. Power is split between the front and rear wheels with a total available 762 HP and 713 lb-ft of torque. 0-60 comes and goes in 3.2 seconds using Ludicrous mode (3.8 seconds without) and a top speed of 155 MPH is more than achievable.
The Tesla Model X is slippery. With a Cd of .24, it’s the most aerodynamic SUV ever built thanks to not being constrained by a bulky engine up front. Outback there’s an adjustable spoiler with three positions. Above 45 MPH, the spoiler partially retracts and increases highway speed efficiency by 1.6 percent. And thanks to batteries low in the floor, the probabilities of a rollover are slim to none.
Those Falcon Wing passenger doors. The passenger doors are double hinged and can be raised and lowered with less than 30 cm of space between the doors and an obstruction. If the doors are going to hit something, sensors can detect the imminent collision and automatically stop the Falcon Wing Doors from hitting. In addition, all doors open and close automatically as a driver approaches and enters a Tesla Model X. No touching needed. Check out what happens when you open a Tesla Model X’s Falcon Doors in a tight parking spot below.
Keen eyes will also notice that the front windshield is one gigantic piece of glass that swoops well over the drivers head giving the driver an unparalleled view of the road from all vantage points.
Finally, the Tesla Model X was built to be safe both actively and passively. First, Tesla plans to ace whatever NHTSA throws its way with a five-star rating in all categories including the small frontal overlap test. No engine up front means there’s a large energy absorbing crumple zone. Batteries low to the floor means a very low center of gravity.
"Model X comes standard with automatic emergency braking and side collision avoidance to prevent accidents from happening in the first place. Tesla makes the only standard AEB system that works at high speed.Every Model X carries a forward-looking camera, radar, and 360 degree sonar sensors to enable advanced autopilot features. Tesla’s over-the-air software updates regularly improve the sophistication of these features, enabling increasingly capable safety and convenience features like Autosteer and Autopark, and bringing the Model X ever closer to autonomous operation."
Right now the Founders Series models start at $132,000 but not to worry as cheaper Tesla Model X’s are on there way which will cost in the neighborhood of $5,000 more than a Tesla Model S as it stands. So look for an MSRP of $75,000 to get yourself one.
Electric SUV’s aren’t exactly like smartphones where you can rush a product to market in a matter of months. It will be a long while until someone comes up with a comparable competitive offering to Elon’s Tesla Model X. With the infratructure for charging already in place and actively growing, it’s a wonderful time to work for Tesla.
Yahoo pointed out earlier that the Tesla Model X was the “Right car, Wrong Time” citing cheap gas and an expensive price. With the volatility of gas prices and sales of niche luxury vehicles stronger than ever, we don’t see any clear obstructions to Tesla selling as many Tesla Model X’s as they can make.