Tesla Model X is finally here: the ultimate guide

Tesla has pushed back the launch date for its Model X SUV multiple times, but the very first deliveries are expected before the end of this month. Here's our complete coverage of the hotly anticipated Model X over the years. 

|
David McNew/Reuters/File
Tesla CEO and co-founder Elon Musk unveils the Tesla Motors Model X electric vehicle at the Tesla Design Studio in Hawthorne, Calif, in 2012. After many delays, the first deliveries of Tesla's SUV are expected later this month.

The first Tesla Model S electric sedans hadn't even been delivered when the company announced its Model X electric crossover utility vehicle in February 2012.

Since then, it's become one of the most anticipated new electric cars.

The Model X's incorporation of Model S styling and technology features into a more practical utility vehicle body--along with its unusual roof-hinged "Falcon doors"--made it popular from the get-go.

While Tesla has pushed the vehicle's launch date back multiple times, public enthusiasm doesn't seem to have diminished. Indeed, Tesla now says it has more than 20,000 orders for the car.

Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] originally planned to begin Model X deliveries in 2014, but like all of its production cars so far, there have been delays.

The very first deliveries are expected before the end of this month, though, so we've compiled all of our related articles for you to peruse.

The newest articles are at the top of each section, with older coverage further down.

Basic information

The Model X is an electric crossover that's expected to use a platform based on that of the Model S sedan, with some version of that car's dual-motor all-wheel drive system. Tesla has shown prototypes before, so the styling is already somewhat familiar. And, of course, the Model X has those wicked Falcon doors.

Spy shots and video

Anticipation of the start of Model X deliveries means that every time a prototype ventures out for testing, someone is sure to capture photos or video of it. Activity has increased considerably over the past few months, as Tesla completes final testing and prepares for its promised late 2015 launch date. Here are all of the spy shots and videos we've compiled so far.

Development

Tesla unveiled its first Model X prototype in February 2012, and originally planned to begin deliveries in early 2014. There have been several delays, but Tesla claims the firstvehicles could be delivered to customers as early as this month. For now, follow the twists and turns of the Model X development saga with these stories from the past few years.

 

2014 Tesla Model X all-electric crossover with 'Falcon Doors' openRivals

Established luxury carmakers have been pretty slow to conjure up rivals to theTesla Model S, but there are already reports of a few potential Model X competitors. Audi will build an all-electric SUV based on its upcoming Q6, BMW is mulling a similar model, and as Tesla earns more respect from existing automakers, there may be more that follow.

[hat tip: Brian Henderson]

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Tesla Model X is finally here: the ultimate guide
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Business/In-Gear/2015/0902/Tesla-Model-X-is-finally-here-the-ultimate-guide
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe