Tesla 'D' means 691-HP dual-motor option, autopilot, and more driving range

Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk’s big announcement regarding the 'D' turned out to be a new dual-motor option for the Model S that provides it with the extra traction of all-wheel drive. The dual-motor option also increases the driving range of the Tesla Model S by about 10 miles.

|
Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors Inc., unveils the 'D' in Hawthorne, Calif., Thursday, Oct. 9, 2014.

Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] CEO Elon Musk’s big announcement regarding the “D” has, as we suspected, turned out to be a new dual-motor option for the Model S that provides it with the extra traction of all-wheel drive. And the “something else” Musk also hinted at previously is a new semi-autonomous system dubbed an Autopilot. The system offers a few basic functions at present but it’s upgradable—via software updates—and will offer greater functionality in the future.

But getting back to the dual-motor option, it essentially adds a second electric motor to power the front wheels of the Model S and is being offered across the lineup, meaning a 60D, 85D and high-performance P85D. The 60D and 85D feature identical motors front and rear to give a combined output of 376 horsepower. The P85D’s rear motor is rated at 470 hp and the front at 221 hp, giving the car a combined output of 691 hp!

Incredibly, the P85D is claimed to accelerate from 0-60 mph in just 3.2 seconds, rivaling the times of many supercars and outmatching virtually all sedans on the market—including perhaps the world's most powerful sedan, the 707-hp 2015 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat.

The dual-motor option also increases the driving range of the Model S by about 10 miles versus the current single-motor, rear-wheel-drive models, allowing the 60D to travel about 225 miles at an average 65 mph, the 85D about 295 miles and the P85D about 275 miles. This is due to efficiencies designed into the new system, according to Tesla.

Deliveries of the dual-motor, all-wheel-drive Model S sedans will begin in February, 2015. The cost of the dual-motor option for the 60D and 85D is just $4,000 but for the P85D you’re looking at $14,600, bringing the price tag up to $120,170. Of course, you’re getting supercar performance in a sedan that can seat up to seven.

As for the Autopilot system, it relies on a forward looking camera, radar, and 360-degree ultrasonic sensors that have recently been added to the Model S and actively monitor the surrounding roadway (they can’t be fitted to older models, unfortunately). Progressive software updates over time will enable sophisticated convenience and safety features that use these sensors to respond to real world conditions. These features will ultimately give Model S self-driving capability on the highway from on-ramp to off-ramp, though there’s been no mention of a timeframe for this. It should be noted that rival automaker Mercedes-Benz already offers such technology.

What the Autopilot system can do at present is read speed-limit signs and adjust the car to the speed on the sign. It can also change lanes when the driver uses the turn signal. Yes, when highway driving, all you have to do is select left or right and the Model S with Autopilot will check for a free spot and slide over. We also hear that the system will be able to automatically park the Model S.
The Autopilot system is included with a Tech Package that costs $4,250.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Tesla 'D' means 691-HP dual-motor option, autopilot, and more driving range
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Business/In-Gear/2014/1010/Tesla-D-means-691-HP-dual-motor-option-autopilot-and-more-driving-range
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe