Tesla Launches Electric SUV

Kenneth Adelman has had to learn to be patient. An electric-car enthusiast and retired “computer geek,” in February 2012 he was the first person to plunk down a $40,000 deposit for Tesla Motors Inc. TSLA -3.30 % ’s Model X sport-utility vehicle. At the time, Mr. Adelman didn’t know the Model X’s total price, but Chief Executive Elon Musk said the vehicle would be in his hands by the end of 2013. 

He is still waiting. After nearly two years’ worth of delays, Tesla kicks off Model X deliveries Tuesday. Although first on the order list, Mr. Adelman, 52 years old, doesn’t know when he will get his vehicle and he is showing little concern. “I’m happy to have waited for the X to be all that it could be,” Mr. Adelman, who also owns a Tesla Roadster and Model S sedan, said in a recent interview.

He is confident the vehicle is a “home run.”

Topping out at $132,000, the Model X will test the Silicon Valley electric-vehicle company’s ability to preserve momentum that has been largely unaffected by low gasoline prices and turbulence in emerging markets. Tesla is banking on the new vehicle to help it to achieve sales of at least 50,000 vehicle in 2015 and 500,000 by 2020.

 

Initial demand looks strong. Tesla has booked roughly 30,000 reservations for the vehicle, according to reservation data shared by buyers and on Tesla fan forums. A small number of those have been cancelled, but the order book can be considered hefty when compared with the 21,537 Model S sedans the company sold globally in the first six months of 2015. 

 

Important details remain undisclosed. For instance, the price of the top-end Signature models has been published, but the base price is anyone’s guess—the Model S, a sedan with a shared architecture, begins at $75,000. Information on features, such as whether there will be fold-flat second-row seating, will be made public at Tuesday night event hosted by Mr. Musk.

 

The event opens a roughly two-year window during which Tesla will be the only player in the high-end electric SUV market. Audi, owned by embattled German auto maker Volkswagen AG, announced this month it will build an electric luxury SUV in 2018, and other luxury makers are expected to follow in an effort to meet stricter emissions standards. 

The launch isn’t the only big project for Tesla, which has consistently burned cash and posted quarterly losses despite consistent revenue growth since its initial public offering in 2010. It aims to open a $5 billion battery factory in Nevada next year.

 

Electric vehicles have generally lost traction amid low gas prices since late last year, but Tesla remains an outlier. Tom Libby, a senior auto analyst with IHS Automotive, expects the Model X to continue that winning streak because of the segment it will occupy.

“Tesla has this unique design, and it is going right into the heart of the market in terms of body style,” Mr. Libby said. “As a pure status symbol I don’t know how you get close to this.

But there is still potential for a letdown. A big selling feature for the Model X is its large storage area and family-friendly size. When Mr. Musk first showed the prototype, he touted the option to fold the second and third rows of seats down to make room. Free of an engine or transmission, it has more interior space than a standard SUV. 

But Mr. Musk has talked about the difficulty of designing the second-row seats on several occasions and has hinted that the seats were one reason why the Model X was delayed, leading to speculation the second row may not fold flat based on images the company has shown.

 

“My expectations are so high that the car has to blow me away,” said David Waldman, 41, a business owner near Philadelphia planning on purchasing a Model X. “If it does fold all the way down, I will be much happier, but if it doesn’t it will be the first disappointment.” 

Tesla declined to comment on features ahead of the media unveiling.

Mike Ramsey wrote in.