Tesla Motors has unveiled its most powerful electric car yet – but dashed hopes that it would be a self-driving model.
The new electric car, The Model S P85D, has dual motors allowing it to accelerate from nought to 60 in just over three seconds, USA Today reports. It was launched last night at a much-anticipated event at Hawthorne Airport, just outside Los Angeles.
There will be three versions of the vehicle, costing between $89,000 and $120,000 (or about £55,000 and £75,000).
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"This car is nuts," Tesla's billionaire CEO Elon Musk boasted. "It's like your own personal roller coaster."
Although hopes it would be a self-driving car were dashed, those rumours were not entirely wide of the mark. The model can read speed limit and stop signs, warn the driver if they are edging out of their lane and apply the brakes to prevent collisions.
Commentators were almost universally impressed. The Independent loved the model's "cute" features, such as the car's ability to change lanes all by itself when the turn signal is used. It says the "laziest drivers" will delight in the D's self-parking ability.
While TrueCar website president John Krafcik told Mashable that the new model means Tesla is merely "catching up with the industry", current Tesla driver Nikki Lennertz believes the company is "a game changer" that is leading "the auto industry in general". Brian A Johnson, an analyst with Barclay's, told CBC News that he too thinks Tesla is ahead of the game. "It's a year ahead of the timeframe I was expecting," he said.
Brandon Hill of Daily Tech evoked the talking car of 1980s television series Knight Rider when he wrote: "It's basically one step closer to Kitt." He loved the "cool feature" that is its ability to "use its onboard, forward-facing cameras to read speed limit signs and adjust your vehicle speed automatically to match".
But Matthew Debord, of Business Insider, was unmoved. Reporting from the launch he shrugged: "Overall, nothing mind-blowing."
That dour assessment was in stark contrast to the opinion of cleantech news and commentary website Clean Technica, which concluded: "Tesla D Is Insane!" It added: "Expect a surge in Tesla stock today. Tesla's 'D' announcement did not disappoint."
