Tesla Plans Model X in 2014

FREMONT, California — Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk confirmed the electric-vehicle maker is planning to introduce a battery-powered crossover, the Model X, in 2014, about two years after the mid-2012 launch of its midsize Model S sedan.

In an interview with Greentech Media at the formal opening of his company's production facility here in a former Toyota-General Motors plant, Musk said, "I'm hopeful we will unveil a prototype [of the Model X] toward the end of next year. When it will go into production is harder to predict because we want to make sure the Model S production line is operating smoothly before we introduce another variant. But certainly within two.... In less than two years when we start Model S production, we will have the Model X."

During investor briefings prior to Tesla's initial public offering last June, Musk provided preliminary details on the company's future products, including plans for a convertible and a compact van.

A slide in the pre-IPO says the Model X and companion vehicles will use the underlying architecture of the Model S, which is an "adaptable common platform," and will share a common powertrain.

Inside Line says: Will the convertible be dubbed Model C and the minivan Model M? Surely Tesla can come up with some sexier names. — Paul Lienert, Correspondent