Originally published on CleanTechnica.
By Rogier van Rooij
Although it will probably still take some more months for Tesla Motors to deliver its first Model Xs to European customers, two of the company’s electric SUVs have already been spotted on the continent’s roads.
The first time the Model X was reportedly seen in Europe was at the end of January this year, near Ingolstadt, Germany. (A hat tip to electrek for the find.) Since the number plate of the Model X revealed that the car was also registered in Ingolstadt, since Tesla doesn’t have any facilities in that city, and since Audi’s headquarters are located there, the car was presumed to be obtained by the German car manufacturer for monitoring its competition. Audi is working on an all-electric SUV as well (its e-tron Quattro), and it’s therefore not surprising that the company shows interest in comparable vehicles of other car brands. The fact that Audi seems to have managed to become the first European Model X owner, however, might say something about the level of attention the company is paying to Tesla.
A video of the event in Ingolstadt had been posted on Instagram. Unfortunately, it has since been removed. Pictures are still on the internet, though.
More recently, on the 19th of February, a different Model X was spotted in a different European country, and this time, video footage is (still) available. The electric SUV in question was seen driving on the A27 highway close to the town of Gorinchem in the western Netherlands. Since this is not too far away from Tesla’s assemblage factory in Tilburg, where all Tesla’s vehicles for the European market arrive from the US plant, it is expected that this one is owned by Tesla itself. Enjoy the corresponding video below!