Thank heavens for the Interwebs, which have now surfaced a video of a Tesla Model X electric SUV being tested in the San Francisco Bay Area.
There's just over 60 seconds of footage of what's clearly a Model X, with camouflage patterns covering the details of its bodywork.
DON'T MISS: Tesla Model S P85D 'Insane' Mode: NSFW Video Shows How Fast It Really Is
The video, shot on an iPhone 5 that had been zoomed in as far as possible, was posted on YouTube yesterday by a user named Juan del Real.
He "just happened to notice the Model X being driven on the adjacent runway," he writes, while he was at the skate park next to the former Naval Air Station in Alameda, California.
Tesla Model X at 2013 Detroit Auto Show
The test vehicle appears to be doing acceleration tests from a standing start, followed by braking tests.
Then there are a couple of scenes of the Model X doing loops at speed, presumably to test its cornering.
ALSO SEE: Want An Electric Car That Can Tow? That's The Tesla Model X
The Model X is now expected to start deliveries in the third quarter of this year, after multiple delays from the original late-2013 when it was first announced.
Among its innovations are the so-called falcon doors, which rise vertically from the spine down the roof.
They are cleverly articulated from two different hinge points, so they take no more room than the width of the vehicle.
Tesla Model X CES 2015 walkaround by TechVideo screencap
While final specifications, options, and prices haven't yet been released for the Model X, Tesla says it has received enough deposits to cover several months of early production.
The Model X will be fitted with all-wheel drive as standard, a system previewed by the extremely fast Tesla Model S P85D announced last November and now in production.
MORE: 2014 Tesla Model S P85D: First Drive Of All-Electric AWD Performance Sedan
Neither Tesla CEO Elon Musk nor the company's marketing division has said much of anything lately about the Model X.
Sources suggest that the company doesn't want to draw attention away from the Model S, which is still its sole vehicle on sale, to avoid any possibility of potential Model S buyers deciding to wait for the Model X instead.
_______________________________________________
