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Tesla's 'D' Adds All-Wheel Drive, Safety Features

Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk unveiled a new version of the luxury electric car maker's Model S sedan that includes all-wheel drive and self-driving "auto pilot" features. The open-to-the-public event Thursday night included free alcohol and test rides on an airport tarmac. With more than 1,000 Tesla fans in the audience, Musk explained that the current Model S is a rear-wheel-drive car with one motor, but a new version will have two motors - one powering the front wheels and one powering the rear wheels. All-wheel drive helps grip slippery roads and is standard on many luxury sedans. Analysts have said Tesla needed it to boost sales in the Northeast and Midwest, as well as Europe. The company sold 13,850 cars in the U.S. this year through September, down 3 percent from a year ago, according to Autodata Corp. Unlike all-wheel-drive systems on gas-powered cars, Tesla's system improves speed, acceleration and mileage by optimizing which motor is used, Musk said. The dual motor version of the P85 performance sedan will have a top speed of 155 mph, compared with the current 130 mph. It will accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 3.2 seconds, akin to exotic sports cars. "This car is nuts. It's like taking off from a carrier deck," Musk said at the municipal airport near Los Angeles where another of Musk's companies - the commercial rocket firm SpaceX - is based. The crowd obliged with cheers and applause. Tesla is also significantly upgrading its safety features through a combination of radar, image-recognition cameras and sonar. The Model S will right itself if it wanders from its lane and brake automatically if it is about to hit something. Those features are offered on luxury competitors, as well as mainstream brands such as Ford, Hyundai and Toyota. But Tesla is going a step further. Its new system will move the car over a lane when the driver uses the turn signal. It will also use cameras to read speed limit signs and decelerate accordingly. Volvo has a system that reads signs and alerts drivers if they are over the limit but does not change the speed. Musk said "auto pilot" does not mean the car could drive itself - as he put it, a driver cannot "safely fall asleep." Pulling together all the driver-assist features impressed Brian A. Johnson, an analyst with Barclay's. "It's a year ahead of the timeframe I was expecting," he said.

Tesla Model S scores 5 stars in Euro NCAP crash test

If you've been aching to see more Tesla Model S crash test videos, it's your lucky day. The European New Car Assessment Program (Euro NCAP) safety agency has announced that the EV scored a 5-star safety rating in a new battery of tests. And it released the video footage for you to "enjoy," which you can do below. Five stars is the highest score that Euro NCAP hands out, and this shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who's familiar with the way the Model S handled the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) tests a year ago. Tesla says that its popular luxury EV scored five stars overall as well as "every NHTSA subcategory, including frontal impact, side impact, and rollover" and that, "only two other cars have earned the same recognition since 2011 (when NHTSA introduced its latest rating scheme)." Euro NCAP says that three vehicles that are comparable to the Model S are the Volvo V60 Plug-In Hybrid,, the Lancia Thema and the Infiniti FX. You can find the details Model S results in the gallery below or in this PDF and find out why Tesla thinks it did so well on both the American and European tests – "our holistic approach to safety" – in the press release below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Model S Achieves Euro NCAP 5-Star Safety Rating AMSTERDAM, November 5, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- We're pleased to announce that the Tesla Model S has received a maximum-possible 5-star safety rating from the European New Car Assessment Program (Euro NCAP). Model S is one of just a few cars to have ever achieved a 5-star safety rating from both Euro NCAP and the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Additionally, Model S is the only car this year to have achieved both a 5-star Euro NCAP rating and 5 stars in every NHTSA subcategory, including frontal impact, side impact, and rollover. Only two other cars have earned the same recognition since 2011 (when NHTSA introduced its latest rating scheme). The reason so few models achieve 5-star ratings in both Europe and the U.S. is that each program places emphasis on different safety aspects in the assessment process. NHTSA emphasizes structural and restraint safety, with a deep focus on how well the vehicle can withstand and absorb the energy of an impact while protecting its occupants. It is also primarily concerned with adult occupants.

Iowa gives Tesla the red light on direct sales

The Iowa Department of Transportation was recently tipped off that Tesla Motors was offering test drives in the state. This led to the state DoT shutting down those test drives in West Des Moines earlier this month, according to USA Today. Tesla reps said that the company was just trying to offer test drives and wasn't actually trying to sell cars, but that argument didn't fly. The issue is that Tesla is neither licensed as an auto dealer nor is allowed to sell its vehicles directly to customers because of franchised dealership laws. Iowa stands among states like Texas, Arizona, New Jersey and Maryland in its position that a third-party franchised dealership is legally required for car sales. Recently, Georgia said it may revoke Tesla's dealer license because of opposition from the Georgia Automobile Dealers Association. On the flipside, Tesla won a recent legal victory in Massachusetts. Oh, and the tip to the Iowa Dot? It came from the Iowa Automobile Dealers Association.