Tesla unveils the D: Dual-motor Model S uses sensors to steer and brake - and the car can be 'summoned' remotely
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After a week of speculation, Tesla Motors boss Elon Musk has taken the cover off the firm's mysterious 'D' car.
During an event at Hawthorne Airport in Los Angeles, Mr Musk took to the stage to announce that the 'D' stands for 'dual motor.'
The current Model S is a rear-wheel-drive car with one motor. The 'D' will have two motors - one powering the front wheels and one powering the rear wheels.
During an event at Hawthorne Airport in Los Angeles, Mr Musk (pictured) took to the stage to announce that the 'D' stands for 'dual motor.' The current Model S is a rear-wheel-drive car with one motor. The 'D' will have two motors - one powering the front wheels and one powering the rear wheels
More than 1,000 Tesla fans attended the unveiling.
Mr Musk said unlike all-wheel-drive systems on gas-powered cars, which tend to be heavy and make the cars less efficient, Tesla's system 'improves the speed, acceleration and mileage by optimising which motor is used'.
The dual motor version of the P85 performance sedan will have a top speed of 155 mph (249 km/h), compared with the current 130 mph (209 km/h).
It will accelerate from 0 to 60mph (96km/h) in 3.2 seconds, akin to sports cars.
'This car is nuts. It's like taking off from a carrier deck,' Musk said at the the airport, where the Mr Musk's rocket firm SpaceX is based.
After Musk left the stage, the audience was shown demonstrations of the car's acceleration and safety features.
TESLA'S DUAL-MOTOR MODEL S
Mr Musk said 'auto pilot' does not mean that the car could drive itself - as he put it, a driver cannot 'safely fall asleep.' Although, he said, on private property - not public roads - a driver could summon the car remotely
The current Model S is a rear-wheel-drive car with one motor.
The 'D' will have two motors - one powering the front wheels and one powering the rear wheels.
The dual motor version of the P85 performance sedan will have a top speed of 155 mph (249 km/h), compared with the current 130 mph (209 km/h).
It will accelerate from 0 to 60mph (96km/h) in 3.2 seconds, akin to sports cars.
Tesla is also significantly upgrading the model's safety features.
The Model S will steer itself back if it wanders from its lane and brake automatically if it is about to hit something.
Its new system will also move the car over a lane when the driver uses the turn signal.
It will also use cameras to read speed limit signs and decelerate accordingly.
Volvo has a system that reads signs and alert drivers if they are over the limit, but does not change the speed.
Mr Musk said 'auto pilot' does not mean that the car could drive itself - as he put it, a driver cannot 'safely fall asleep.'
Although, he said, on private property - not public roads - a driver could summon the car remotely.
The dual motor will be a $4,000 (£2,480) option on the base and mid-range Model S, which start at $71,000 (£44,100).
The base price for the P85 with all-wheel drive - which will be known as P85D - is $120,000 (£74,400).
The cars went on sale immediately on Tesla's website; the P85D will be delivered beginning in December, while the other versions begin delivery in February.
The all-wheel-drive system helps grip slippery roads, and analysts have said Tesla needed it to boost sales in the Northeast and Midwest, as well as Europe.
The company sold 13,850 cars in the U.S. this year through September, down three per cent from a year ago, according to Autodata.
Tesla is also significantly upgrading its safety features.
The Model S will steer itself back if it wanders from its lane and brake automatically if it is about to hit something.
The dual motor version of the P85 performance sedan (pictured) will have a top speed of 155 mph (249 km/h), compared with the current 130 mph (209 km/h). It will accelerate from 0 to 60mph (96km/h) in 3.2 seconds, akin to sports cars
The dual motor will be a $4,000 (£2,480) option on the base and mid-range Model S, which start at $71,000 (£44,100). The base price for the P85 with all-wheel drive - which will be known as P85D - is $120,000 (£74,400). The cars went on sale immediately on Tesla's website
Those features are offered on luxury competitors, as well as mainstream brands such as Ford, Hyundai and Toyota.
But Tesla is going a step further.
Its new system will move the car over a lane when the driver uses the turn signal.
It will also use cameras to read speed limit signs and decelerate accordingly. Volvo has a system that reads signs and alert drivers if they are over the limit, but does not change the speed.
Musk said 'auto pilot' does not mean that the car could drive itself - as he put it, a driver cannot 'safely fall asleep.'
Although, he said, on private property - not public roads - a driver could summon the car remotely.
The Model S will steer itself back if it wanders from its lane and brake automatically if it is about to hit something. Its new system will also move the car over a lane when the driver uses the turn signal. It will also use cameras to read speed limit signs and decelerate accordingly
Mr Musk teased the announcement on Twitter last week, saying: 'About time to unveil the D and something else'. The image (pictured) resembled the front of a Model S, which led to correct predictions that the announcement would be an update to an existing model
While the addition of all-wheel drive catches Tesla up with others in the luxury car market, pulling together all the driver-assist features impressed Brian Johnson, an analyst with Barclay's.
'It's a year ahead of the timeframe I was expecting,' he said.
Raj Rajkumar, a pioneer of self-driving cars with Carnegie Mellon University, was similarly impressed but wondered about the limitations of 'auto-pilot' - how would it perform in different weather and road conditions.
The dual motor will be a $4,000 (£2,480) option on the base and mid-range Model S, which start at $71,000 (£44,100).
The base price for the P85 with all-wheel drive - which will be known as P85D - is $120,000 (£74,400).
The cars went on sale immediately on Tesla's website.
The P85D will be delivered beginning in December, while the other versions begin delivery in February.
Mr Musk teased the announcement on Twitter last week, saying: 'About time to unveil the D and something else.'
But when internet commenters revealed that 'the D' had some rather rude connotations, Musk let slip some more information.
'I love the Internet. Comments had me literally ROFL. No, it wasn't intentional. Glad I didn't mention the other letter!'
Pictured is a black 2010 Bugatti Veyron on a rural road in England. The Bugatti Veyron has a top speed of 252.97mph (407.12km/h). It was named Top Gear's Car of the Decade from 2000 to 2009. It goes from 0 to 60 in 2.46 seconds
Based on Musk's next tweet (shown) some correctly speculated that the announcement would be a driver-assisted version of one of Tesla's previous cars
Put the internet to work for you.
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