When Jaguar unveiled the I-Pace late last week, it carried a UK price tag of £63,495, which converts to a hefty $88,301. Thankfully, pricing doesn't always work like that, because the I-Pace is significantly cheaper than that in the States.

The 2019 Jaguar I-Pace will go on sale later this year for $69,500 before federal or state tax incentives.

Enlarge Image Jaguar

That gives the I-Pace a $10,000 gap between it and the least expensive Model X, the 75D. Range on the two cars is similar, with the Model X 75D offering 237 miles of range while the I-Pace squeaks past it at an estimated 240 miles. The I-Pace also out-accelerates the 75D, taking 4.5 seconds to hit 60 mph versus 4.9.

The one thing that Tesla has over the I-Pace is its Supercharger network, which can replenish a majority of the battery's charge in less than an hour. Jaguar doesn't have its own network, but it can add 80 percent charge in about 40 minutes using a standard 100-kW DC fast charger. Using a traditional 230-volt, 32-amp Level 2 home charger, the I-Pace will take 10.1 hours to achieve the same charge level.

There's also the concern of dwindling tax incentives. Tesla only sells electric vehicles, and it's selling a decent amount of them. Tesla expects to deliver its 200,000th credit-qualifying vehicle in 2018, according to an SEC filing, at which point the credit will halve for six months, then get halved again for another six months before disappearing entirely.

Jaguar doesn't offer any vehicles that meet the criteria for the full $7,500 tax incentive, and as such, it has a very long way to go before it achieves that same milestone. Such is the drawback of being one of the first automakers to bring EVs to market in a big way.