Since it was launched in 2015, motoring journalists have struggled to define the Tesla Model X. Many have labelled it an SUV — including us in our full road test last year.
I've disagreed with that term since day dot. In my eyes the low-slung, seat-filled X is more a people-mover than an SUV; closer to car than to truck.
But a small off-roading company called Delta 4x4 have shown off some changes that aim to simplify the game. The Model X has been added to the list of vehicles they offer kits to; alongside bread-and-butter tuning platforms like the Ford Ranger and the new Mercedes-Benz X-Class.
The kit comprises of a beefy new wheel and tyre combination; rugged black 'phone dial' rims wrapped in thickly treaded 265/45R20 tyres. This, I'm sure you'll wholeheartedly agree, looks much more like an 'SUV' than the standard EV machine.
Delta 4x4 have said that they will fit this set-up to any Model X for €3900 (or NZ$6650), though how relevant that figure is to any Kiwis wanting to emulate the look is up for debate.
There's a few significant problems with all of this, of course.
The biggest one is that the 'kit' (and to Delta's credit, it's not necessarily spruiked about as anything more than a visual change) doesn't include any alterations in the Model X's suspension. Ride height appears to grow, but that's because of the growth in rubber stock.
This means that the rather heavy Model X, even in an all-wheel drive configuration, is probably only going to be fractionally better off-road than its road-car cousin. Improved tread pattern and tyre compound will be the only thing likely to produce performance gains. Delta 4x4 have said that a supporting lift-kit is "in the pipeline, if there is a demand for it".
In other words, it's 'all mouth and no trousers'.
The other problem is a fundamental one. Adding those tyres to standard suspension in a car that's near enough completely silent in general commuting is a recipe for tyre noise. Those owning a Tesla should probably consider this, given it'll probably increase road noise 10-fold.
To each their own, I suppose. I'm just sitting here hoping that someone gets the mad idea in their head of building a proper, off-road Tesla warrior. A zero emissions battler for the apocalypse.