Tesla Motors Inc. emailed customers Monday concerning its plans to begin production for the Model X in early 2015.
The electric car company said in the emails that it is looking to finish building Model X prototypes by the end of this year, according to CNN Money.
Tesla had previously said that it expected to increase production of the car in spring of next year.
The Model X, a blending of SUV and minivan, was introduced by Tesla in February 2012. The car comes with "falcon wing" rear doors. In the same month, the company made $40 million in preorder reservations for the vehicle in one day, PC Magazine reported.
The vehicle will be Tesla's first new electric car since the company released the Model S all-electric sedan in 2012. The new car is reported to start at $55,000. The Model S starts at $62,400.
The company said the Model X will keep the falcon wing doors. It also said the car will have an all-wheel drive system and will be a standard for the car, Ubergizmo reported.
Tesla added that the vehicle will include the option of adding a third row of seats. Driver can also fold the second and third rows of seats down to make room for extra things drivers want to put in the car.
The Model X has a total of seven seats and a new dual-motor. The falcon wing doors have an extra hinge that lets drivers open them in tighter quarters, PC Magazine reported.
The new car will have the same 17-inch touch-screen control panel on the dashboard as the Model S. However, the new car will also reportedly include a pair of small touch-screen control panels on the steering wheel.
"The idea was to create a more functional vehicle [than the Model S]," said Franz von Holzhausen, chief designer for Tesla. "Nobody really wants to own a minivan, right? But you do it because you have to. So maybe you move to an SUV or crossover, but those really aren't as functional as a minivan. So the Model X is trying to provide functionality of minivan but in an attractive package."
