Tesla Model X SUV will ONLY be available with four wheel drive

The Tesla Model X – the electric SUV based on the Model S – will only be offered with four wheel drive when it arrives in 2015 say Tesla.

The Tesla Model X does promise to be a very appealing SUV, even if its main USP for business users – zero BIK – will have been scrapped by the time it arrives in the UK.

When it does arrive, prices are expected to be similar to the Model S Saloon and, just as with the Model S, Tesla are planning a variety of battery capacity options and, we thought, an entry-level rear wheel drive model.

But Green Car Reports, in response to a reader enquiry, has got confirmation from Tesla that they have now decided that all Model Xs will come only with the 4WD powertrain fitted.

Tesla say the dropping of the rear wheel drive option on the forthcoming Model X is down to customer feedback (just like the decision to drop the 40kWh battery option on the Model S) and because the Tesla 4WD drivetrain is just so good.

With electric motors, Tesla say the 4WD platform on the Model X offers better dynamic control and stability compared to other 4WD platforms thanks to effective instant torque vectoring applied to individual wheels.

We still don’t know when the Tesla Model X will arrive in the UK (although much before the end of 2015 seems unlikely) but it is a very promising – if expensive – luxury SUV.