2016 Tesla Model X: What's New

Vehicle Overview

Tesla has updated its Model X SUV with a new base model. The Model X 75D replaces the old 70D and includes a larger 75-kilowatt-hour battery pack. The changes boost the base Model X’s range from 220 miles to 237 miles, but doesn’t affect acceleration or top-speed performance. Those remain given as 6.0 seconds from zero-to-60 mph and 130 mph, respectively.

The other models are the 90-kilowatt-hour P90 and P90D, with a Ludicrous Speed upgrade that’s optional on the latter. Both models employ front and rear electric motors with 259 horsepower apiece on the P90, or 259 hp up front and 503 hp in back on the P90D.

Walk up to Tesla’s Model X and the front doors automatically open. The second-row “Falcon Wing” doors, also powered, go through an elaborate up-and-out sequence, and Tesla sensors in all four will detect an obstruction to stop before hitting it, whether an adjacent car or a low garage roof.

Some other details Tesla revealed:

• With no conventional engine, the hood opens to offer a second trunk. Tesla claims it can hold two golf bags.
• The automaker says the Model X is the most aerodynamic SUV in the world, with a self-adjusting, three-position rear spoiler.The P90 has an EPA-estimated range of 257 miles, while the P90D’s range is 250 miles. Maximum towing capacity tops out at 5,000 pounds.
• The climate control includes a massive high-efficiency particulate air filter, which enables “air cleanliness levels which [are] comparable to a hospital operating room in the car,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk said at the SUV’s Sept. 29 unveiling. A “bioweapon defense mode” maxes out the filtration, Musk continued, adding that “this is a real button.” Zombie apocalypse, do your worst.
• The second-row seats tip forward, like in the Nissan Pathfinder and Infiniti JX-turned-QX60, to enable third-row access without having to remove a car seat from the second row. Here, they’re powered.