Tesla unveils its Model X

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) � Tesla has finally pulled the wraps off its mysterious Model X.

Tesla Motors Tesla Model X.

It was a meticulously engineered promotional campaign. After teasing the public for months with glimpses of a svelte silhouette, we finally got to gawk at a fully illuminated version during a webcast late Thursday from Tesla�s design center near Los Angeles.

And what did we see? A crossover.

Admittedly, the Model X is a very cool crossover. It�s got that Tesla electric-hot rod chic plastered all over it. It�s stylistically a bit edgy, with doors that flip up, not out, to make you feel like you�re climbing into a cockpit rather than a car. (Just don�t call them �gull wings�, which are forever wedded to the iconic Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing roadsters of the 1950s. No, the Model X carries �falcon wing� doors, riffing on the Falcon rocket ships in SpaceX, Tesla co-founder Elon Musk�s space program.)

Click to Play Cheap gas stuck in Minnesota

There�s $70-a-barrel oil in the U.S. that is virtually inaccessible due to the lack of a pipeline. Photo: Reuters

But for all the glam, it�s a crossover nonetheless, filling a role occupied back in the day by station wagons. This is Tesla�s bid to pad out its lineup with something more practical than its $109,000 Roadster and something roomier (it seats up to seven adults) than its Model S sedan, which starts at $49,000 and goes all the way up to $97,900 for the Signature Performance edition.

The Model X, which won�t hit showrooms until 2013, carries a price tag estimated by Tesla at between $55,000 and $75,000. At that price, it�s not going to pose a serious threat to General Motors� GM �or Ford�s F �market share.

But that�s never been Tesla�s objective. Tesla aims its cars at that happy market mix of wealthy environmentalists, hard-core geeks, performance fanatics and those who view luxury vehicles as public extensions of their wallets. Nothing says you�ve arrived like a Tesla in the driveway. Especially in Silicon Valley.

Predictably, initial reviews of the Tesla Model X are written by those who can�t wait to buy one. Or at least drive one.

But there�s another audience for the X Investors. They�re a tougher crowd. Tesla TSLA �shares fell 5% Friday, so clearly they need a bit more convincing.

� Jim Jelter