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Despite Tesla's astonishing technical achievements, perhaps Elon Musk's most valuable achievement to date may be that he has made the Electric Vehicle exciting, drawing the general public's attention to an auto segment that had been earnest and striving to gain a foothold, but which was basically pretty snoozeworthy to most folks until Tesla started breaking the molds.
With the Tesla D, a $4,000 Dual Motor All Wheel Drive new option to the Tesla S models, the "rocketship" of EVs just got better. Here are the basics:
Dual Motors give All Wheel Drive performance, especially useful in rainy, icy, or snowy driving conditions.
The new controller for the Dual Motors increases both top speed AND driving range. Wait! How is that possible? By switching power back and forth between the motors in millisecond intervals, in response to constantly changing driving conditions, the car uses the power in its battery more efficiently, boosting performance. The top model with the performance package can now do 0 - 60 in 3.2 seconds, and the top speed has been raised to 150 mpg... exceptional performance for a high end sports car, much less a luxury 4 door, 5 passenger family sedan like the Tesla S... but remarkably the top range is extended to 275 miles.
IOW, it simply gets more miles of travel out of the same battery by being more efficient at converting that battery power into forward motion.
In addition, the Tesla D incorporates a sophisticated Driver Assist package...
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Along with the change to the motor configuration, Tesla’s added new built-in safety features that help its S models do certain things on the road without driver intervention. It’s using cameras and other sensors, something the company has been installing on all new Model S vehicles produced over the past month to conform with European safety regulations. It allows the car to look for objects — including other cars — as well as road lines. That’s not a new thing in the auto industry, but an important step in getting cars to be completely autonomous, something Musk has said is still five to six years away from being a reality.
The car employs an array of different systems, including forward-looking radar, a camera with image recognition, as well as 360-degree sonar. Musk referred to the system as “autopilot,” saying that the company would be pushing this to see what it could do in terms of hardware as well as with regulations. That gives it lane control, active emergency braking, and self-parking (including automatic parallel parking).
Self-driving technologies that do more than just keep the car from drifting out of lanes and hitting objects are the next logical step, promising to increase safety and allow drivers to essentially become just another passenger. Computer-controlled cars also promise to react to things faster, and could open up certain sections of roadways to higher speeds given the extra reaction time — speeding up long-distance car travel.
Even more remarkably, Musk revealed this new "auto-pilot" package is now being included on all models, as it already has been for all cars manufactured for the last 2 weeks.
This is part of how Tesla is out to transform the automobile industry, with a program of constant improvements and rollouts when a feature or model is ready, rather than saving them for the next model-year release.
The Tesla D is impressive. The D's technology and neat features eventually will "trickle" down to the affordable mass-produced Teslas many people are waiting for. As more and more Teslas sell and initial R & D expenses are recovered unit costs will come down. These features will be the difference for someone purchasing a Tesla instead of an ICE vehicle. People like technology and gadgets!
It would be terrific if Tesla came out with a truck or an off-road Jeep-type vehicle... perhaps similar looking to the iconic Toyota FJ-40!
In conjunction with the earlier news that Tesla is going to launch a Certified Pre-owned program, I'm optimistic that a used Tesla Model S may be widely available for under $60k. Hopefully a lot of the early purchasers will be trading in their 'old' Teslas for a D or an X. If Tesla swaps in a new battery and prices CPOs at around $50k - $60k, they could start stealing buyers from the Leaf. Right now, I can't think of anything at that price point that's appealing.
In conjunction with the earlier news that Tesla is going to launch a Certified Pre-owned program, I'm optimistic that a used Tesla Model S may be widely available for under $60k.
They've had a certified pre-owned program a long time, so I'm not sure how that counts as news. In the past they've had a number of Tesla S vehicles listed, but used Teslas are hot, and as of today they only have two Roadsters listed, a couple of years after they stopped making them... One is Electric Blue, with 17K miles for $80K; and one has custom body work and Lightning Green paint, 2.5K miles, $120K. As part of the CPO program, they both come with full "as-new" warranties, which on the Roadster are 67 months (5 1/2 years) and 67K miles.
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Hopefully a lot of the early purchasers will be trading in their 'old' Teslas for a D or an X. If Tesla swaps in a new battery and prices CPOs at around $50k - $60k, they could start stealing buyers from the Leaf.
Customers who financed through Tesla have guaranteed buyback prices as part of the deal. Long waitlists for new cars have created strong demand for used Teslas... hence the nearly empty CPO list at present.
Edmunds reported that the Tesla S they bought for $105K, one of the first off the production line, and drove for 17 months and 30K miles was sold for $83K, nearly 80% of the new price, so I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for a $50K Tesla.
What they will do, in 2017, is start producing the slightly smaller 4 seat Model III for a projected $40K price. I expect that to create a competitive surge and a huge upswell in the EV segment.
They've had a certified pre-owned program a long time, so I'm not sure how that counts as news. In the past they've had a number of Tesla S vehicles listed, but used Teslas are hot, and as of today they only have two Roadsters listed, a couple of years after they stopped making them... One is Electric Blue, with 17K miles for $80K; and one has custom body work and Lightning Green paint, 2.5K miles, $120K. As part of the CPO program, they both come with full "as-new" warranties, which on the Roadster are 67 months (5 1/2 years) and 67K miles.
Customers who financed through Tesla have guaranteed buyback prices as part of the deal. Long waitlists for new cars have created strong demand for used Teslas... hence the nearly empty CPO list at present.
Edmunds reported that the Tesla S they bought for $105K, one of the first off the production line, and drove for 17 months and 30K miles was sold for $83K, nearly 80% of the new price, so I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for a $50K Tesla.
What they will do, in 2017, is start producing the slightly smaller 4 seat Model III for a projected $40K price. I expect that to create a competitive surge and a huge upswell in the EV segment.
Interesting. My understanding was that the current CPO program was for Roadsters only, hence the recent spate of articles:
Regardless, even before the Model 3 comes out, I do think that there will be a surge in used Teslas coming into the market in 2015 and 2016. Until the Model X and Model S D-variations come out, there hasn't been much of an impetus for current Model S owners to upgrade. There should be far more used Teslas available in 2015 and 2016 than there have been to date.
The used Tesla market in Norway has already started growing, and the D-versions aren't even out yet.
Yes, I'm sure the AWD version will be a hit in Scandinavia.
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