Tesla delays "falcon-winged" Model X SUV to early 2015

If you are wondering when, if ever, you’ll see Tesla’s sleek Model X crossover arrive with its electrified falcon wings on an actual road rather than an auto show floor, you’re going to have to wait just a little bit longer. According to an email addressed to “Model X reservation holders, Tesla will start building Model X prototypes in its Fremont, Calif., production facility this fall, with the first customer cars scheduled to be built starting in early 2015. Deliveries for the Model X had been promised for this year. 

The letter provides a few other details, including confirmation that the Model X’s so-called “falcon wing” rear doors, which are hinged in the center of the roof, will indeed make it to production, and that not only do they “look amazing,” but that ingress/egress is “so much easier” than with conventional, front-hinged doors. “You can even do it standing up,” the letter says.

Tesla has previously provided assurances that the elaborate, electrically actuated doors will open just fine in tight parking spaces or low-roofed garages due to an elaborate system of dual hinges and proximity sensors. “The goal with the X is that if you can physically fit between the car [next to you] and the Model X, then the door will open and not hit anything,” said Elon Musk at a town hall meeting with Teslaphiles in Norway earlier this year.

All-wheel drive will also come standard on the Model X, making it the first Tesla model to come so equipped (unless the expected all-wheel drive Model S sedan beats it to market). The email also states that a third row of seats will be optional, and that both second- and third-row seats will fold to create a “flat platform for storage.”

Pricing remains rather speculative at this point, but Tesla had previously promised that base models would start close to $50,000 after tax credits, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see the price creep a bit higher, especially considering that the weight of the Model X necessitates the use of two of Model S’s larger (and pricier) battery packs (60 kWh and 85 kWh) in order to give it sufficient range. As for performance, Tesla promises that 0-60 mph will take less than five seconds for the Performance model. 
Tesla plans to produce about 10,000 to 15,000 Model Xs per year, while Green Car Reports says that more than 10,000 reservations have been made in North America alone. So if you haven’t already plunked down your $5,000 deposit for one, don’t expect to see yours roll off the line until very late in 2015 or possibly even 2016. For its part, Tesla’s Model X webpage states that the estimated delivery date for new reservations is fall 2015.

Tesla describes the Model X as “the most stylish way to combine an SUV’s utility with a sports car’s performance,” and that the Model X “will be a production car that exceeds the promises made when we first showed the concept.” To what extent that may ring true, we shall see once it arrives (hopefully) next year.