Tesla to reveal Model X electric SUV on February 9
Tesla's third car, which the company confirmed will be a seven-seat electric SUV, will make its first public appearance on February 9 at Tesla's new Southern California design facility.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed in an interview with GigaOM that the Model X will be shown at an event on February 9.
An alpha build of the car was apparently shown to investors last month. Autoblog reports that the Model X will be shown at Tesla's design studio in Southern California.
The Model X will be Tesla's third production model, after the Roadster and Model S. Based on the same platform as the Model S, it will have a larger, SUV-like body reportedly capable of seating seven adults. The Green Car Reports blog posted an article with more facts and informed speculation about the Model X.
A slide from an investor presentation previously leaked on the Internet shows four model proposals based on the Tesla electric car platform: the Model S sedan, the Model X SUV, a convertible, and a utility van. The images from the slide are more likely examples than actual design concepts.
Tesla is just on the verge of beginning series production of its Model S on completely new lines at its revamped manufacturing facility in Fremont, Calif., so the Model X should be very much in the early design stage.
During a test drive in the Model S beta, a Tesla employee said that Musk wanted it to have the "handling of a Porsche and the comfort of an Audi." Expect similar goals for the Model X, along with similar design language to the Model S sedan.
As the Model X is based on the same platform as the Model S, its battery and motor configuration should also be the same.