Tesla Model X "safest SUV yet"

The show-stopping Tesla Model X electric SUV is a make-or-break vehicle for the progressive Californian car maker, but the company told motoring.com.au it's ready for anything.

During an interview and hands-on session with the innovative Model X vehicle at the Geneva motor show, it's European premiere, Tesla spokesman Ian Kenny claimed the silent seven-seat SUV will surpass buyer expectation in virtually every respect.

Featuring novel 'falcon-wing' doors and able to travel around 400km on a full battery charge, the Telsa Model X is expected to arrive in Australia late 2016.

"We’re really excited about the safety of this vehicle," said Kenny.

"We haven't crash tested it yet, but our own internal assessments suggest it will be the safest SUV ever crash tested."

"It has two to three times larger crumple zones at front [than a conventional car]," he said, showing the front trunk (frunk) that's big enough to fit a golf bag.

The battery structure that's integrated under the floor of the vehicle is also super strong, says Kenny, improving side-impact protection.

The vehicle is priced at $US80,000 in its country of origin – less when hefty green car tax incentives not offered in Australia are factored in – but local pricing will be slightly higher than the Tesla Model S so expect to pay around $160K as a guide.

"It blends a perfect combination of performance, utility and efficiency," said Kenny, who points out the vehicle's 3.4sec 0-100km/h acceleration time makes it "the world's fastest accelerating SUV, when equipped with the Ludicrous acceleration option”.

But can it go offroad?

"It's not a trail rated vehicle but it's fully capable," said Kenny, noting that it's offered with three motor types, 70d, 90d and the full-monty P90d.

"It's got a triple shield titanium underbody, so it can really take a beating. But I wouldn't necessarily put it out there [off road] on 22-inch wheels."

It's unlikely the Model X will be able to go further than an unsealed road, however, as Kenny admits the ultra-aerodynamic vehicle (0.24 cd) has "the ride height of an SUV and the dynamics of a sports car, so you can push it through corners".

Other features include a three-mode automatically adjusting rear wing and 'bio-weapon defence mode'.

"It's got massive air ducts in the front, which push air through a medical grade air filter," explains Kenny.

"The car has a feature on it called the bio weapon defence mode, just for a little bit of fun. But it is functional; it's probably the biggest air filter on the market, for really clean cabin air".

The expensive falcon-wing doors are a calling card of the Model X. Opening vertically, the doors have two hinge points and six hidden sensors that stop the doors hitting people or garage roofs or pillars etc. We tested the system on a colleague and it worked.

"The reason why we have these two hinges is to help the car fit into very narrow spaces. It also creates an incredibly large aperture, for getting into the car easily," Kenny said.

The wing doors are slow in operation, taking around eight seconds to fully open or close. Asked if this could be an issue for some buyers, Kenny said there's scope to speed up the process.

"We're open to feedback on the speed of the door. There's certain things we may explore, can we speed it up, can we slow it down. It's optimised based on how we think people will use it most. It's certainly something we can look at."

There's also a massive windscreen that stretches well past the heads of front occupants, and is claimed to be "the largest piece of curved glass ever fitted to a production vehicle".

But like the complicated doors, the large windscreen has been thorn in Telsa's side, with development of these elements causing the company big headaches.

"So our CEO Elon [Musk] has been really forthcoming about this. Some of the initial challenges to production included the doors, second row seats and sourcing of the windshield. He mentioned this in our recent earnings call.

"With that being said, those issues have been resolved and don’t really don't present a barrier to production at this point in time."

Kenny said the doors in particular were "very challenging car from an engineering stand point" but believes it’s going to be "a pretty incredible product to live with every day".

Kenny says Tesla will be able to meet the expected high levels of demand of the US market.

"Right now we're on target to build about 1000 cars per week, that we're ramping towards."

But the burning question is whether the Model X can turn a profit for the company. Asked if it would put Telsa back in the black, Kenny was evasive.

"I can't comment on the specific profitability of either car, but it certainly fits within our roadmap for how we get to a sustainable transportation future," Kenny hedged.