The Drive Configures: 2017 Tesla Model X

Speccing out our dream cars online, one at a time.

byThe Drive Staff|
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Welcome to The Drive Configures, a new series in which we spec out some of our favorite cars just the way we'd like them using the automakers' online configurators. We do this because, like you, we love building out cars to our dream specifications. Unlike you, however, we get paid to do it. Today's installment: The Tesla Model X.

The Tesla Model X, as our own Alex Roy put it, is the SUV that will make you want to buy an American SUV. It's a technological tour de force, a seven-passenger crossover that's both environmentally friendly and capable of cracking off acceleration times that make the Corvette Z06 feel insecure. It's packed with engineering solutions both evolutionary and revolutionary, like its falcon wing doors, "monopost" second-row seats and massive panoramic windshield. It's stylish, it's capable and it's cool. If it weren't for the fact that it takes the better part of an hour to fuel up under the best of circumstances, it just might be the perfect all-around vehicle. So, we hopped on Tesla's online Design Studio and set about whipping up our ideal Model X.

Obviously, we started off with the full-bore P90D model, because if we can have an electric SUV that runs from 0-60 in less than four seconds, we will have an electric SUV that runs from 0-60 in less than four seconds. Of course, that bumps the Model X's price up from its $85,500 base to a Porsche-like $115,500, but hey, we'll save a bunch of money by using all those free Superchargers, so who cares?

Likewise, buying a P90D Tesla without the Ludicrous Speed update is like tumbling into bed with Kate Upton but stopping short of home base. Box: checked. Sure, it's an extra $10,000, but "Ludicrous" launches this almost-three-ton beast from 0–60 in 3.2 seconds. And it includes Inconel fuses. Inconel!

The subtle curves and facets of the Model X's body are hard to see under the dark colors that make up most of the Tesla color palette—we went with the Silver Metallic, for an extra $1,000. The 22-inch Onyx Black wheels may cost $4,500 and knock about 10–15 percent off the Tesla's range, but they look hotter than hell. Welcome, sexy wagon wheels.

Inside, we went with the seven-seat interior, mostly so we have a place to exile Goldberg to when he forgets to buy canola oil for our office popcorn machine. The third row folds flat when not in use, so apart from the $4,000 outlay, there's no downside to choosing it over the five-seat configuration. The available Ultra White upholstery promises to be "stain-resistant," but we've yet to meet a white interior that can withstand the onslaught of our collective Levi's, so we went with the $2,500 tan leather instead. And we're suckers for a nice matte accent trim, so we hypothetically ponied-up $750 dollars for the matte obeche wood decor.

Tesla's revolutionary Autopilot system is far and away the best semi-autonomous driving system on the market today, so that was an obvious choice, even at $2,500. We dropped another $1,000 on the Subzero Winter Package, because using seat heaters instead of the car's heater is a great way to save range in an electric car. And we also sprung for the $2,500 ultra high-fidelity sound system, because you ain't heard T. Swift until you've heard her through 17-speakers.

Add it all up, and our Tesla Model X came to $144,250. Factor in the $7,500 federal tax credit, though, and that drops down to $136,750. A steal!

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