Arriving with Unique Styling

At the Los Angeles Auto Show, Toyota announced the electric vehicle "RAV4 EV", which is equipped with Tesla Motors' EV system. The "Model X," which can be considered the Tesla version of this, was unveiled on February 9th at 8 PM US time. Its modern styling, a significant departure from the "Rav4 EV," is unmistakably Tesla.

The Model X is Tesla Motors' third EV, following the "Roadster" and the four-door coupe "Model S," and is its first SUV model. It is an all-wheel-drive vehicle with motors mounted at the front and rear. By concentrating the motors and batteries required for driving at the bottom of the chassis, it achieves a spacious interior and ample luggage space, along with a lightning-fast 0-60 mph acceleration of 4.4 seconds. At the announcement event, it was stated to be faster than the Porsche 911's 0-60 mph acceleration of 4.6 seconds.

Reservations Start Tonight

Production is set to begin in 2013, with sales commencing in 2014. CEO Elon Musk concluded the announcement event with the statement, "Reservations start tonight," reminiscent of the late Steve Jobs' new product announcements at Apple. General reservations are scheduled to open on February 10th, 2012, at noon US time.