BMW racing to create Tesla Model X rival

BMW is secretly working on an all-electric rival to the Tesla Model X SUV, according to a German business magazine called Wirtschaftswoche.

According to the German magazine the new SUV will be targeted at the US market and will be built at BMW’s Spartanburg, South Carolina, plant hinting that the new all-electric vehicle could be based on the existing X5 SUV.

Despite BMW declaring the report as “pure speculation”, the insider insists that only board approval now stands in the way before it’s green lit for production – and approval shouldn’t be a problem.

According to the BMW mole the electric SUV has already won backing from BMW’s CEO, Harald Krueger.

Using know-how gained from the BMW i3 and i8 sports car the SUV is seen as a knee-jerk reaction within the industry to Tesla's growing popularity, with the fear that the new Model X could be its breakthrough vehicle.

Industry experts predict that the new iSUV won’t go on sale before 2018, which means the arrival could clash with the all-electric crossover Audi Q8 that has also been confirmed for production.

Meanwhile, Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk has announced at an annual shareholders meeting in California that Model X SUV will begin being delivered to customers in “three to four months.”

Some buyers, it has been reported, have been on the waiting list for up to three years for the Model X.

Speaking at the shareholders meeting Musk didn’t confirm any more details about his car maker’s first ever SUV other than saying: "The Model X will be a better SUV than the Model S is a sedan”.

As well as the SUV, Tesla is also well under way developing what it’s calling the “Model 3” a smaller BMW 3 Series-sized vehicle that’s due in 2017.

This month, as part of a software update, Tesla will introduce its first stage autonomous driving aids to existing customers. The new update is said to add new “driver-assist” tech.