Tesla’s Model X Electric SUV will Start Shipping in September

As reported by The Guardian: Elon Musk’s third electric car will be delivered to customers in the US after three years of delay, with over 20,000 pre-orders

Tesla’s much delayed electric sports utility vehicle is due to finally reach customers, starting in September, Elon Musk has announced.

The Model X was originally unveiled in 2012 alongside the first deliveries of the Model S sedan and was expected to go into production in 2013. Musk announced two subsequent delays as the company struggled to meet demand for the Model S and the motoring company’s expansion plans.

The Model X has a higher ride height, all-wheel drive and can seat up to seven, making it the largest vehicle available from Tesla Motors. More than 20,000 people have already paid a $5,000 deposit to reserve one of the new models. Pricing is expected to be similar to the Model S, which starts at $69,900 or about £50,000 in the UK.

Musk confirmed that the company’s Model X car configurator would be available online in the next three weeks and that customers will start receiving new cars by 30 September.

The Roadster, Tesla’s first car, the Model S, and now the Model X, are being used to pave the way for Tesla’s Model 3, which is Musk’s vision of a mass market

“The goal at Tesla is to produce a mass-market electric car, but we can only get there one step at a time by selling the Roadster and now the Model S to fund the mass market,” said Musk at the UK launch of the Model S.

The Model 3’s design is expected to be unveiled in the first quarter of next year and delivered to customers by the end of 2017, priced beginning  around $35,000 or £25,000.

Tesla also said it expects to ship a further 12,000 vehicles in the third quarter of this year, 2,000 up on the first quarter, matching the second quarter and up 60% year-on-year.