Tesla’s New Model D Lets You Pick Your Nose And Text While Driving Very Fast
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“The D stands for dual-motor,” says Elon Musk as he introduces Tesla Motor’s new model, which the company says is an improvement on the previous model, the S.
In addition to the dual motor, the D can seriously dial up the speed. The car goes from zero to 60 miles per hour in just over 3 seconds, which means it can keep up with Mercedes Benz and Porsche models. Drivers of the D have three choices: normal, sport, and insane. You have to love how Tesla doesn’t even pretend the speed of the car is anything other than crazy, especially because it can reach a top speed of 155 miles per hour.
With the Tesla Model S 85 kWh battery pack, the D can go for 275 all-wheel-drive miles, while the S can go 265 rear-wheel-drive miles. On the D, one motor powers the front wheels while the other powers the back. That explains how the vehicle achieve such ludicrous speeds in 3.3 seconds. Drivers can even switch between front and rear wheels on the fly to maximize output. According to Must, the dual motor improves “everything” about the car.
The new model also has some automated features you might find in driverless cars. It has sensors and cameras to help prevent drifting or tailgating, and the car automatically adjusts if it senses movement that seems dangerous or unintentional, like straddling lames. It also assists in changing lanes by maneuvering automatically when the driver puts on the turn signal, and cameras identify and process speed limit signs as well, so it prevents you from receiving annoying speeding tickets.
While on this automatic mode, you don’t even have to keep your hands on the wheel and can use them to text or pick his nose—the sky’s the limit with the Tesla D. Oh, and the car parks itself too, and even responds to a retrieval command on private property. I guess that means the car can turn itself on, crank the heat, and even back out of the garage if you want it to. But if all this automated stuff is too much, you can remain hands-on and use a kind of “semi-automatic” mode instead.
The Model D will be more expensive than that $80,000 Model S, but car experts think this is inevitable. All cutting-edge car manufacturers tend to release pricey, suped-up models first, and after they’ve become established they release a model that real people can afford. The Model D sounds like Tesla’s Cadillac, but I’m still waiting for the sedan.
