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Tesla Model X seat tweak adjusts sales, vehicle delivery strategy

Ensuring a smooth ride for those enjoying the electric SUV back middle seat doesn’t come without some bumps.

August 6, 2015

Sometimes a back seat, specifically a middle back seat, can make or break an auto buyer’s vehicle purchase decision.

At least that’s what Tesla CEO Elon Musk obviously believes as he is clearly driven to ensure everyone riding in any Tesla seat will get the best experience possible. Even if it potentially hinders fleet sales and new model launch projection dates.

The issue is the middle back seat on Tesla’s impending Model X, which is set to arrive next month, according to a Bloombergreport.

“Our biggest challenges are with the second-row seat,” Musk told analysts during a conference call Wednesday, according to Bloomberg. “It’s an amazing seat, a sculptural work of art, but a very tricky thing to get right.”

But seat tweaking is just one challenge ahead for the company’s first-ever SUV. The production efforts on Model X may trigger a slower production of Tesla’s Model S sedan. But Musk is confident Tesla will makeabout half a million cars annually by 2020 and that’s the year he expects his company to be profitable. Right now the company can make 600 cars in three days. Just five years ago the company was making 600 cars in a year.

 “The Model X is a particularly challenging car to build, maybe the hardest car to build in the world,” he told Bloomberg. “But it is an amazing vehicle and I think it will blow people away.”

The Model X SUV will feature gull-wing doors and seat seven, according to CNET. The seating capacity, notes CNET, may make it a compelling choice for families and families with extended relatives.