Tesla Motors, the electric car manufacturing company owned by visionary billionaire Elon Musk, has unveiled its latest model: an all wheel drive version of its existent Tesla Model S with some futuristic self-driving, accident-avoiding features and a convincing acceleration that takes it from 0 to 60 in a bit over three seconds – the P85D, that costs a bit over $120,000 if paid for in cash. The new Model S will be delivered starting this December.
The new features make the Model S P85D a much safer car to drive. Its new autopilot feature, using a combination of radar, sonar and video cameras, will allow the car to recognize stop signs, pedestrians and highway barriers, preventing accidents and even allowing the car to park itself. The new model will be delivered with twin electric engines – one for the front wheels, and another one for the rear ones. This configuration allows better road handling, improved efficiency and a serious boost to acceleration – according to Elon Musk, the car goes from standing still to 60 miles per hour in slightly over 3 seconds, beating sports cars like the Audi RS7 or the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG S-Model 4matic.
The new, autonomous driving features – autopilot technologies – will “create a protective cocoon around the vehicle”, Elon Musk said, warning about impending collisions. The goal, according to Mr. Musk, is for the driver to step out of the car and let it park itself in the garage. Make no mistake, these automated features will not make the Model S fully autonomous – the drivers will be informed of possible risks, and the car’s on-board computers will attempt to take evasive actions that the driver will be able to overcome.
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Tesla Motors, named after the famous electrical engineer and physicist Nikola Tesla, was founded in 2003 by Elon Musk. Their first product, the Tesla Roadster, was built using an AC motor descended from Nikola Tesla’s original designs created in 1882. In January 2014 Tesla Motors had over 6,000 employees, building electric cars and selling them through their own network of auto dealerships all across the US.