Tesla To Reveal Prototype of Model X Crossover by Year's End

Tesla said it is planning to reveal a prototype of the Model X crossover by the end of the year and will end production of the Tesla Roadster in December, in a filing Wednesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The filing said that Tesla is "designing the Model X to incorporate the functionality of a minivan with the consumer appeal of a sports-utility vehicle." It noted that the electric powertrain developed for the Tesla Roadster "has provided the foundational technology for the Model S, the Model X and for electric powertrain components that (Tesla) has begun selling to Daimler and its affiliates that (Tesla) intends to sell to Toyota."

In an interview late last year with Greentech Media, Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed plans 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 a pre-IPO pitch to investors last summer, Tesla said it was planning to build four derivatives from the Model S platform, including the initial car — a midsize sedan — followed by a convertible, a van and a crossover/SUV.

The latest SEC filing suggests the company may have combined plans for the van and the crossover into a single vehicle, the Model X.