True; all arguments I've been making to date have been against people bashing the concept of the gullwings in general, but you have a perfectly valid point -- and one that does seem a bit silly to me. I would have stayed consistent and made both front and rear doors gullwings (or neither).

I've said this before, so here's the short version: gullwings need ~11" to fully open. Try opening your standard car door only 11" and squeezing out, noting that doors are generally at least 6" thick to begin with.

See reply below; gullwings need 11" to open. Try opening your car door 11" and squeezing out (even if you aren't really fat). Note that car doors are usually at least 6" thick to begin with, if not more.

Sorry, but the term SUV is not limited to "offroad/wilderness" situations; it is, in fact, a sporty-looking utility vehicle; I'd say this qualifies as sporty, and with more space than the Model S, is certainly more utilitarian.

Having said that, I agree with the other reply below; it is more of a crossover than strictly speaking an SUV; but there isn't much marketing distinction between the two in the existing market, anyway.

Correction: according to teslamotors.com, the range of the Model S on these batteries is actually 230 miles and 300 miles respectively.

It's a step closer to hub-motors, which is where I believe the future of electric vehicle propulsion lies.

Gullwing doors generally require about 11" on either side of the car; try opening your standard car door 11" and squeeze out (noting that most car doors are about 6" thick to begin with).

Granted; I was only really thinking outside and in your home garage. I don't park underground all that often, but I can only think of a handful of garages in Toronto that I have visited that might pose a problem here.

Gull wing doors take less width than standard hinged doors, because the pivot point is near the centre-line of the vehicle. Yes, they need more height -- outdoors, this is a non-issue; in your garage, it might be. Better measure before you buy one.

With respect to sliding doors, they don't offer the same level of third-row access -- if you look at any imagery of the Model X, you will see that the rear doors are about twice the width of the amount of vehicle remaining behind it. You need something for your sliding door to slide on.

With the Model S you can; depending on how you drive, the 60 kWh pack would be tight, but the 85 kWh pack should handle you no problem (going on your second 250 mile requirement). Those same numbers aren't out for the Model X, but as I said, they are the same battery packs, and the total efficiency will be in the same ballpark.

Also, note that just because one particular non-extended-range electric vehicle does not meet your particular driving requirements does not mean it is a useless endeavour, or even that it will fail in market at all. There are plenty of other people out there that don't drive 300 miles a day (I for one wouldn't want to); the base Model S would do all the driving I need fine, except when I go home for the holidays. Even then, the 85 kWh battery pack would handle that no problem. If you're going on a really long trip, say, once a year, you could always just rent.

Then you clearly didn't pass the screening question at the beginning of my post ;) The Model X is certainly not for everyone, but that's not to say there isn't a market for it. Remember that Tesla's goal is to make the best damn electric drive trains they can, and to develop a market for electric vehicles. They've hit the two-seater sports cars, now the luxury sedans, and are moving on to the family SUV. I wouldn't be surprised if their next announcement was the Model T ('T' is for 'truck').

Personally, I prefer the sedan -- I don't need the extra space of the Model X, but I need more than the two seats of the roadster. Before that, though, I need to live somewhere where I can actually plug the damn thing in =(

p.s. I'm a 'vette boy myself ^^, but it would have to be as a second car

How short is your garage? I admit that I have concerns about this (not legitimate ones, since I'm not really in the market to purchase this vehicle at this time), but I have considered the size of my garage and, although I'd like to take a tape measure to it, I suspect it will be fine. And mine is by no means a tall garage.

Whence comes your 30 mile driving range? The Model X is offered with a 60 kWh or a 85 kWh battery pack, the same as the top two options for the Model S. In the Model S, those packs give it 270 miles and 370 miles range respectively. Granted, the Model X is a larger, heavier vehicle, but a 90% drop in range? I don't think so.. probably closer to 10%. Also, the top two drive-train options have dual motors, which may offer better efficiency overall.

Because their founder has a lot of money to keep them afloat while they build up their technology and product line, and they are busy selling their drive-trains to companies such as Toyota.

I fail to follow your point; "Do you want an electric car? Do you need a little more space than the Model S can give you? Here, have a Model X." If your complaint is that it's an SUV, then it is a complaint without merit -- there are certainly practical advantages of this platform over that of the Model S (granted, not everyone that buys one will make use of them). If your complaint is about the gullwing doors, then I still disagree -- the take less space to open than a normal door, offer stand-up exits for mid-row passengers, and allow direct access to the third row. This last point is actually a big problem for anyone with two car seats -- if you can't get to the back row with the seats installed, you'll can't use it anyway.

I suppose lastly, if your complaint is that it's an electric vehicle, then get out.

Aikon-