NEWS
DETROIT MOTOR SHOW: Model X to be a hit in Oz, says Tesla
But still no confirmed local release date for first Tesla SUV, which will be followed by smaller Model 3, new Roadster and perhaps a pick-upTesla expects its first SUV, the Model X (pictured), to be a hit Down Under but is yet to confirm an exact release date.
Revealed almost three years ago, the Model X is due in production – complete with the concept's gullwing doors – alongside the Model S sedan
in California in the third quarter of this year.
in California in the third quarter of this year.
Production of what Tesla expects to be its top-selling model was originally due to commence by the end of 2013, but was delayed due to overwhelming demand for the Model S, which just went on sale in Australia priced from under $100,000.
However, Tesla's vice-president of marketing and communications Ricardo Reyes told motoring at the Detroit motor show that it was still "too early to tell" how soon the all-electric SUV will be released in Australia.
"I think Model X will be a very, very exciting car in Australia for us. I think Model X will be extremely popular around the world," he said.
"Production starts in Q3 and then we'll have to see obviously what the market demand is ... hopefully not too much thereafter. We are big on announcing around start of production – or very close to it – deliveries.
"When you announce something today in today's market people want it tomorrow – that's what they expect, so that's what we're working towards.
"Hopefully deliveries will start soon after start of production, but I can't give you specifics on Australia. We're shooting for making that timeline very tight."
The Model X will be launched with the same Dual Motor all-wheel drive system that recently became available in the Model S, the P 85D version of which can hit 100km/h in just 3.2 seconds.
But Reyes said the Model X may eventually also be offered in a rear-drive configuration like the standard Model S. In the US, the AWD Model S costs about $4000 extra, but Reyes said the rear-drive Model X may not necessarily be cheaper.
North American pricing is tipped to start at $US50,000, thanks to economies of scale with the Model X sharing about 60 per cent of its hardware with the Model S.
When it was revealed, Tesla said the most potent version of the seven-seat Model X will sprint to 100km/h in 4.4 seconds, while offering a driving range of more than 430km on a single charge.
After the Model X, Tesla has confirmed it will release a third model in 2017 – a smaller sedan called the Model 3, after Ford prevented it using the Model E name – followed by a new-generation Roadster possibly called the Model R
.
.
Reyes confirmed that, like all Teslas, the Model 3 will be a global model built in both left- and right-hand drive for markets including Australia, priced and sized around the same as the BMW 3 Series (from under $US40,000 in North America).
"All our learnings will be poured into the Model 3," he said. "And we'll relentlessly continue to pull the price down."
Reyes would not comment on rumours of a small city-car potentially dubbed the Model C, but admitted the company had discussed the prospect of an electric pick-up truck.
"We discussed it a while back and the idea there is if you can use the torque capability – and we have amazing pick-up and acceleration – then instead of making it for acceleration you make it for torque to do things like towing.
"We'll see. The Model is really going to teach us a lot of things like that."
The all-new Roadster will be a very different car to Tesla's original Lotus Elise-based sports car, which Reyes described as an exercise to show what an electric vehicle can be.
"Most car companies are focussed on building and selling as many cars as possible. That's obviously something we have to do, because we're a business and we have to stay in business.
"But the way we started and the purpose we try to serve is to show there's an alternative to petrol cars. It started with the Roadster, which was actually a kind of proof of concept. We needed to show with the Roadster that the electric vehicle actually has potential beyond golf kart functionality.
"With Model S we took it another step and reduced the price as the technology gets better. Not only is a great EV but it's potentially rivalling the best sedans in the world."
Reyes said Australia was perfectly suited to the sort of EVs already sold by Tesla.
"Australia traditionally has a car culture very much like I would say the US but even more like California. There's historically been a car culture with manufacturing that goes on forever and there's an appreciation for two things: really good automotive design and engineering, but also a keen understanding of the environmental impacts, partly because Australia is so isolated.
"Any time you have a country that is heavy on natural resources, gets as much sunlight as you get and can harness this energy for a vehicle that can potentially run purely on the sun, it's a great market for us.
"There's no reason in most of Australia that you couldn't run a Model S purely on solar power, and so for all those reasons we should be able to have similar success in Australia as we've had all over the US and in California."
Tesla's ambitious expansion plans revolve around the establishment of its well-publicised 'Gigafactory', which will allow the electric car-maker to boost its manufacturing capacity from the current 10,000 cars per year to a claimed 500,000 vehicles per year by 2020.
Share this article
Written byMarton Pettendy
See all articlesOur team of independent expert car reviewers and journalistsMeet the team
Stay up to dateBecome a carsales member and get the latest news, reviews and advice straight to your inbox.
Related articles
Disclaimer
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
If the price does not contain the notation that it is "Drive Away", the price may not include additional costs, such as stamp duty and other government charges.
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
If the price does not contain the notation that it is "Drive Away", the price may not include additional costs, such as stamp duty and other government charges.
Contact
Local marketplaces
International marketplaces
Download the carsales app
