Tesla Service Vehicle...

Tesla provides probably the best service of any auto brand--and thay have to given the cost of their vehicles and the intense scrutiny they are under with their electric car technology.

Today was the first time I've seen one of their service vehicles.  Spotted at the Best Buy in Salem, NH with MA plates and parked along with all the rest of the customers the Ford F150 was unattended but looked fully prepped for work.

In the bed of the truck and strapped down under a mesh cover were about eight mounted Tesla wheels and tires.  This shocked me a bit as thats about $3200 worth of wheels and tires just sitting out in the open for easy pickings...given the clientele in Salem I know I wouldn't leave my gear in the open like that--a tonneau cover or cap would be a good idea if Tesla is going to keep their valuables out in the open.

Inside the cab of the truck were the tools necessary for the usual roadside assistance--a jack, hand tools, fluids, etc.    There were no Teslas in the parking lot that I could spot so I'm still not sure what he was doing there nor why they would leave their expensive gear in the open...but what do I know...

Tesla Introduces (kinda) its Model X

This was at the grand opening of Tesla's home town Palo Alto store this weekend.  In addition to showing off their new digs, Tesla brought out a real life version of its Model X CUV.

To reach the market in '14 and sell for approximately the same amount as the current Tesla Model S.  Some cool things to note are the touch screens located ON the steering wheel as well as the "falcon" (for some reason they aren't calling them "gull wing") doors and the inclusion of sideview mirrors that were thought to be eliminated with rear facing cameras.  Evidently the Feds haven't signed off on this idea and so a version closer to production is now including them.

The CUV is based on the Model S chassis but will not include the rear jump seats that the Model S does and instead increases the roofline and flips the rearmost seats around supposedly creating a true seven adult seating vehicle.  The photos make the seating look pretty tight so it will be interesting how that is reviewed when the vehicle is available for review.  We'll see a lot more of the Model X in the coming months but its nice to see Tesla's second production model coming to fruition.