Last month, California-based Tesla Motors reveled a prototype of their third model, the all-electric SUV Model X. The Model X will feature a first of its kind on passenger doors called Falcon Wings which have hinges on the top and open upward, rather than sliding sideways like the doors of typical minivans. Tesla expects to begin production of Model X in late 2013, and have them ready to be delivered in early 2014. The all-electric vehicle has already received positive buzz and Tesla reported that just one day after the reveal of the Model X, it received over 500 reservation requests, representing almost $40 million in potential sales.

In a recent interview by GigaOM, Tesla’s CEO and co-founder Elon Musk mentions that the Model X will be marketed towards SUV and minivan consumers who look for a more functional SUV and a better style minivan. According to Tesla’s website, the Model X was “designed from the ground up to blend the best of an SUV with the benefits of a minivan, as only an electric car can. [The model X was] built around the driver—and six of her friends. It artfully provides unfettered performance and brilliant functionality.”

2014 Tesla Model X

According to The Detroit News, Tesla last year invited a dozen Palo Alto, California-area women to its headquarters for a free-wheeling, three-hour-long focus group led by Franz von Holzhausen, Tesla’s chief designer. Tesla asked the participants, most of whom drive minivans and SUVs, to talk about their cars: how they use them and what they like and don’t like about them.

Safety was a big issue for all the women, as was ease of getting kids in and out of car seats and access to the third-row seats. Some cared a lot about how the car looked, while others focused more on functionality. Many of the SUV drivers said they didn’t like having to climb up into their car.

“The focus group was great because it validated a lot of our own thinking,” said von Holzhausen to the Detriot News. “Women don’t want an overly feminine vehicle; they want to feel secure. But it has to be aggressive enough for a guy to feel confident, as well. We didn’t want to make a Hello Kitty edition.”

Tesla hasn’t said what the gender breakdown is for the Model X reservations placed to date. Online Tesla Motors forums, which tend to be dominated by men, include posts by men who are ordering the Model X for their wives after having ordered a Model S, which is scheduled to launch this summer, for themselves.

“She really likes her current vehicle, but I have a suspicion that she’s going to really like the convenience of never needing to go to the gas station once the Model S gets here,” wrote one man on the forum last month. “Basically I’m afraid that I’ll have to fight her for the S; if I have the X already on order, I can get away with it.”

It costs $5,000 to reserve a Model X, or $40,000 for those who want to reserve the limited edition “Model X Signature.”