By: AFP Reporter and IOL Motoring Staff
Fremont, California - Tesla CEO Elon Musk has finally brought a battery-powered vwehicle to the politically incorrect world of SUV's.
The 44-year-old South African said at the long-overdue official launch party on Tuesday evening at the Tesla plant in Fremont: “Any type of car can go electric. We showed that you can do it with a sedan and now we're going to do it with an SUV.”
The Model X comes to market two years later than initially planned, alongside the company's only other offering, the Model S sedan, at a base price of $130 000 (R1.8 million) - almost double the cost of the sedan.
The X has a surprisingly rounded and tapered profile for an SUV compared to the more massive frames and rectangular lines of its competitors.
Familiar Tesla styling cues such as the LED headlights and sloping roofline combine with a three-position active rear spoiler to give it claimed drag coefficient of just 0.24.
It also has what Musk says is “the largest windshield in production”, stretching back to gull-wing rear doors that can be opened from a distance, with sensors adjusting the angle to avoid other cars parked close by.
TWO VARIANTS
Musk, who also founded space exploration company Space X, and who has a large family, mentioned his twins as he highlighted the SUV's three rows of seats. The second row has either two individual seats or a three-seat bench, for a total of six or seven seats, and the third row folds flat when not in use to make room for luggage.
The floor-mounted battery pack lowers the car's centre of gravity and strengthens the monocoque against side impact, while the front 'engine compartment' becomes a large boot that's also a impact-absorbing crumple zone.
The all-wheel drive Model X will be available in a choice of two variants. The standard 90D has a 190kW electric motor on each axle, taking it from standstill to 100km/h in a claimed 4.8 seconds, with an estimated battery range of 400km.
The range-topping P90D has 190kW front and a 370kW rear motor, and hits the hundred in 3.8 seconds (or 3.2, with the aptly-named Ludicrous Speed upgrade).
“This 4x4 goes so fast it's wrong,” grinned Musk - but did not quote an estimated range for the P90D version.
Extra-cost options include air suspension, an active safety system that automatically applies the brakes in an emergency - even at highway speeds - and a 'bioweapon defence mode' that lightly pressurises the cabin to blow any nasty fumes out.
Musk reckons on combined Model S and Model X sales of 50 000 to 55 000 a year, increasing to 500 000 a year by 2020 with the planned introduction of the smaller, more affordable Model 3 in 2018, at a planned base price of $35 000 (R485 000).
AFP, IOL