$40 Million worth of Tesla model X

More than 5,000 orders were placed for the car that will not be produced until the end of 2013. Tesla Motors took in $40 million in advanced sales of its new crossover, the Model X, in just 24 hours after it was revealed at its design studio. The Model X is an SUV EV equipped with two electric motors fed from a lithium-ion battery.It is based on the Model S platform and both models will be manufactured on the same production line, though the Model X's wheelbase is longer than that the S sedan. "On Thursday evening, the night of the reveal, traffic to teslamotors.com increased 2,800 percent," Tesla said. "Two-thirds of all visitors were new to the website." That traffic helped also increase reservations for the Model S as well. The upfront payment to reserve a Model X is $5,000 for the standard trim and $40,000 for the upper level Signature, so in doing the math, it's quite certain Tesla received over 6,000 reservations. The Model X will be available with two distant ranges, one with a 60 kWh battery and the other with an 85 kWh battery. Production is expected to begin toward the end of 2013 while deliveries should begin in early 2014.Photos courtesy of Jason Davis.