In a press event at the company's Fremont, California headquarters Tuesday night, Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk finally took the veil off the company's first-ever fully electric SUV, the Model X. The event also saw Musk giving the keys to a few lucky customers who had already pre-ordered their Model X version choices.
According to the blurb posted on Tesla's website, the Model X is one of the safest, fastest, and most capable sports utility vehicle. The post underscores some of the vehicle's features, saying "Standard with all-wheel drive and a 90 kWh battery providing 250 miles of range, Model X has ample seating for seven adults and all of their gear. And it's ludicrously fast, accelerating from zero to 60 miles per hour in as quick as 3.2 seconds."
Meanwhile, in officially presenting the Model X to the public, Musk stressed two features unique to the Model X. The first one is the visually striking gull-wing design of the rear-seat doors, lifting upward instead of the usual side-to-outward swing. This feature saw the return of the door design of the American automobile scene, with the last falcon-wing design by one of the major American car manufacturers for the DeLorean made during the '80s.
However, getting these falcon wing doors right for the vehicle took a lot of work, which was the reason for Model X's delay of its first intended public release, in 2013.
The second feature that Musk unveiled and had onlookers curious is a "bioweapon defense mode." Apparently, this option will make the Model X a fully functional vehicle even in the midst of a catastrophic event. This is achieved by overclocking the vehicle's air filters, which will make the car's inside environment safer by filtering smog, allergens, bacteria, and even viruses. The Verge quoted Musk as saying: "The button should come in handy 'if there's ever an apocalyptic scenario of some kind."
