Tesla Doesn’t Have Much Breathing Room

After two years and over 25,000 pre-orders, Tesla Motors newest foray into the automotive world will begin rolling out of the plant this week.

In case you would like to carry your bikes and they don’t fit (naturally) in your Model X SUV, Tesla has the solution: the accessory hitch that can hold four bicycles or six pairs of skis. As far as safety is concerned, a five-star rating isn’t good enough according Musk. The Tesla Model X is Tesla’s first SUV model.

While the rear-falcon-doored, all-wheel-drive, all-electric, premium SUV is first and foremost geared towards the family vehicle market, that doesn’t change the fact that the Model X in top-tier trim can do a “ludicrous” 0-60 miles per hourrun in 3.2 seconds from a standstill and run up to 155 miles per houror 250 km/h. A range of sensors, like camera, radar and sonar systems, provides real-time feedback about the surroundings to avoid accident.

The doors have sensors to detect nearby objects, which should keep them from striking objects or limbs that might be in the way.

Besides it novel doors, Tesla was touting other features about the Model X like the fact that it can tow 5,000 pounds, thanks to its electric power, which gives it a lot of low-end torque which can be used for towing trailers or boats. For instance, its so-called “Falcon Doors”, which are very much like Mercedes-Benz’s famous gullwings from the 1950s 500SL sports auto and its more modern AMG-badged supercars today, are unlike any production SUV’s rear doors.

How long can she go? The fully-loaded version of the auto, which was made available on Tuesday to a select group of customers that forked over a down payment, costs about $132,000. Triggering issues delayed the launch plan of Model X, which was originally announced in 2012.

So, will the Model X dominate our roads and sell like hotcakes? There’s a “blind holster” for your cell phone that’ll somehow allow you to plug your phone in without looking at what you’re doing, and the car’s “Bio-weapon defense mode”, which kicks the car’s air filter into overdrive, is getting all the blog headlines this morning, precisely because it’s the kind of feature that is both totally strange and sort of makes sense.