Tesla Announces Dual Motors, 'Autopilot' For the Model S

SchrodingerZ writes: Nine days after Elon Musk hinted about a new project, Tesla Motors has unveiled the P85D Sedan. This is Tesla's latest car design, capable of feats not yet seen in electric vehicles. The four door luxury car is able to go from zero to 60 miles per hour in a mere 3.2 seconds, an acceleration similar to the McLaren F1 super car. While the exterior remains the same build as the standard Model S, the interior will have a second motor in the front of the car to complement the rear motor. The D models will also have a slightly greater range of 275 miles on a single charge, 10 miles more than the 85 and P85 cars. Safety features have also been enhanced, adding "adaptive cruise control and the ability to read speed limit signs, stop itself if a crash is imminent, stay in its lane, and even park itself in a street spot or in your garage." Musk explains at the inaugural event, "this car is nuts. It's like taking off from a carrier deck. It's just bananas." The "D" version is available for the 60kWh, 80kWh, and P85 cars, and are expected to start shipping in December of this year.

Comments

Awesome

[Mr D from 63]

Another cool car for the 1%ers. Sounds like a lot of fun to drive.

Re:Awesome

[LWATCDR]

It is easy to make cool expensive stuff. Now when they get one down to say 50k loaded we can talk.
Or to steal an old idea from Jack Tramiel. We need electric cars for the masses not the classes.

Re:Awesome

[RingDev]

I would argue that a middle classer who bought a car that costs more than a year's salary has piss poor money management.

-Rick

Re:Awesome

[Ol Olsoc]

It is easy to make cool expensive stuff. Now when they get one down to say 50k loaded we can talk. Or to steal an old idea from Jack Tramiel. We need electric cars for the masses not the classes.

It's a supercar. It does have the unique position among the supercars that there are very few people arguing that McLaren needs to make a F1 for the masses

Re:Awesome

[MMC Monster]

I would complain about Tesla's marketing to people who can't afford their cars, but ... I can't recall any marketing done by them other than their blog and videos on YouTube.

Re:Awesome

[tsqr]

You don't need to make 100k/year to afford a Tesla. The stock P85 is around ~1300/month which is only about 1/3rd of what is the median income in the US.

Most middle classer's cannot afford a car greater than or equal to their income for a year.

Then they have pretty piss poor money management if true.

1/3 of your income for the monthly payment on a depreciating asset? That's just crazy. The payments on my family's TWO cars comes to less than 10% of my gross income, and I think that's too high.

Good money management does not mean figuring out a way squeak by while squandering your family income on something you don't actually need.

Re:Awesome

[RingDev]

A $70k car, with a 5 year note at 5.5% interest is a monthly payment of $1337.

A head house hold primary earner of family of 4 with a $100k annual salary is probably looking at ~80k after taxes.

A $250k mortgage, +PMI, +Homeowners insurance, +Property Tax is going to be ~1500 a month: 62k.

Health insurance, assuming they have a job with benefits is probably $600 a month (give or take depending on amorting the deductible over the year and out of pocket expenses), 55k.

Groceries are ~250 a week, 42k.

Electric/Gas/Water/Sewage/Home maintenance is another $500 a month, 36k.

Depending on your driving history/age/location, insurance is going to be between 1500 and 5000 a year, 34k.

Cable/Phone/Internet, pick your poison, you're likely out ~120 a month, 32k.

Add on that $1337/month car payment and you're down to $16k.

Note that at this point, you still need to buy clothes (especially for 2 growing kids) likely have a 2nd car, with insurance, a fuel bill, and maintenance (possibly even another loan), maybe student loans, heaven forbid either of your kids need braces, or your water heater dies.

So yes, an upper-middle income individual /could/ in theory do it. But it would mean living extremely modestly and surviving basically paycheck to paycheck. Any significant disruption would lead to immediate financial stability concerns.

That individual would be dramatically better off putting that 16k a year into a 401k and IRA or college funds for the kids. Buying a 70k car isn't an investment, even if it retains its value better than other vehicles, you're still losing out big time between depreciation and interest payments.

-Rick

Re:Awesome

[SunTzuWarmaster]

I don't understand why people want to buy things they can't afford.

I don't think that you understand: the car goes really fast and looks really cool , and I want one.

Note that this is different than:

I don't understand why people do buy things they can't afford.

Re:Awesome

[NatasRevol]

I don't think you know what inflation does...

Re:Performance

[mnooning]

Let me add to your reasoning. This is the same argument as for the television in the late 1940s, or the VCR in my own lifetime.

I remember many years ago walking out of a specialty store that sold VCR equipment. The prices were way high, and before I left I commented to the sales person that VCRs were a rich man's game. At that point, it was a true statement.

The 5% who can afford these electric cars will fund the initial manufacturing. Infrastructure will grow. Costs will come down. Given the power electricity has, and the relative safety of supplying outlets and other infrastructure, even more people will see the advantages, be able to afford it and buy it, and so on, increasingly, until it is being massed produced at ordinary consumer prices. The US, for one, is slowly but surely going to change in the transportation area.

Note: U.S. sales by luxury brands should easily top 1.8 million this year Source

Re:Autonomy

[NoImNotNineVolt]

I still don't get it. A deliberately stupid misreading of the summary is supposed to be funny because it's stupid?

Come on, Elon, quit fooling around.

[140Mandak262Jamuna]

Give us model E, the 40 K sedan. The rich people have paid enough money and you have built the credibility. Continuing to make play things too expensive for the masses is not how you are going to have long term impact or create disruptive technologies.

Re:Come on, Elon, quit fooling around.

[Jeremi]

Give us model E, the 40 K sedan. The rich people have paid enough money and you have built the credibility. Continuing to make play things too expensive for the masses is not how you are going to have long term impact or create disruptive technologies.

The Model 3 (nee model E) will only only be cheap if Tesla can get cheap batteries to power it. Tesla's plan for getting cheap batteries is to produce them at huge scale in their GigaFactory (tm). Therefore, don't hold your breath for cheap Teslas until after the GigaFactory (tm) is complete and functioning.

Re:Come on, Elon, quit fooling around.

[randallman]

How do you think the model 3 development is funded? This IS the business model. Make expensive cars to raise money for the development of (lower margin) affordable cars. Also, this doesn't inhibit the model 3's development. It's not like they have to do one thing at a time.

Used Model S

[j2.718ff]

When Tesla recently announced their certified used program, people were asking, "What would someone trading in a Model S buy? Another Model S?" Now we have an answer to that question.