Mark Templeton Shares His Thoughts On The Model X (After Owning It For A Few Months)

The CEO of Citrix Systems, Mark Templeton, was one of the lucky ones to have taken delivery of his Tesla Model X SUV at the Model X launch event at the end of September — more than 2 months ago, as of the time of writing this.

As a result, he’s now had enough time to get some real-world experience with the electric SUV and gather his thoughts on the matter; and he’s also now decided to publicly share his thoughts on the Model X.

Without further ado, here are some highlights taken from his initial review of the Founders Series Model X (the photos are courtesy of Mark Templeton as well):

Tesla gave me dealer plates so I could drive the car in California before shipping it to my home in Florida – about a week before Thanksgiving. The Tesla West Palm Beach team did a great job with the delivery. We loaded up and did a road trip to Raleigh from South Florida. The supercharger experience was great! Every Tesla owner you meet there has a fabulous set of stories to share – and great travel tips. The superchargers are well-located and I got 350 mph charging at a couple of them. I dropped in on the Tesla Raleigh team so they could touch the excitement. I also visited my alma mater – NC State College of Design – and let students check it out. Our hotel – The Umstead – is a member of the Tesla Destinations program. Universally, this car has a magnetic personality.

I have to admit that I like it better than my Model S. In the fossil fuel world, I like the Porsche zCayenne over the Panamera for the same reason – it’s a sports car, a sedan, and an SUV. The multi-purpose aspect of the X is stunning. The storage space is amazing. In fact, the deep trunk allows two of the 34″ rolling luggage pieces to stand side-by-side! Add the folding third row, it far exceeds SUVs of similar size. The underseat space is great – more comfortable for passengers and added space for storage. The seats are by far the best of any vehicle I’ve owned – design, comfort and function. And, I love how the middle row sets tilt and slide.

From a quality perspective, you’d think VIN 3 would have issues. It was likely “hand built” on the production line, and it’s been almost flawless. Sometimes, the Falcon Wings pause when opening – taking a failsafe approach to avoid striking anything. I like the false-positive approach – especially as the sonar in the doors gets more sophisticated over time. As Elon said, it’s FAST! Ludicrous mode makes acceleration from 30 mph just like at 0 mph! Smooth, continuous, multi-G acceleration – pure joy at the tip of your foot!

For those getting perhaps a bit “irritated” or impatient reading this, it’s probably worth remembering that Model X deliveries and production are now finally beginning to pick up, and that you may not have to wait much longer for yours…

(Tip of the hat here to “slyastro” on the Tesla Motors Club forum for the story find.)