the tesla model x suv is coming in early 2015 with gull-wing doors

reservation holders for the tesla model x received notice today that the electric suv will hit the production lines early next year. best of all, tesla confirms in this email that the gull-wing doors will make the production model and all models will feature all-wheel drive and there will be an option for a third row of seating. these are big updates, but they shouldn’t come as a surprise. because, you know, tesla.tesla is the master at under-promising and over-delivering. generally, in the automotive world, car companies load concept cars with pie-in-the-sky features like gull-wing doors and then remove them from the production model. but not tesla. with the model s, the company showed off rear-facing seats and few automotive pundits expected the option to be available on the production model. yet they are. and now, with the model x, the gull-wing doors were the marquee feature of the concept car and, surprisingly, will be the marquee feature of the production car.
what wasn’t announced iswhen the model x will ship, only that models for reservation holders will be produced in early 2015. historically, tesla has taken a conservatively approach to manufacturing as the company was much more lean when the roadster and model s first hit the lines. still, spinning up a manufacturing facility to full capacity takes time, so the model x might not be available for general purchase until much later in 2015. but gull-wing doors!