Tesla has throwing around the letter “D” for a little bit and they’ve now shown off what it represents. The Tesla D is an all-wheel-drive Model S with a few other enhancements. These include 10 more miles of range than the standard Model S, giving it a max range of 275 miles. Performance continues to gain as Tesla D models will deliver a 0-60 time of just 3.2 seconds and have a higher top speed cap of 155 mph. All this comes from an improved dual-motor engine under the hood. Safety’s important here as well and Elon Musk & Co. haven’t lost sight of that. The car has really powerful technology like a radar that lets the vehicle see through fog and snow and an image recognition camera that’s able to detect and understand traffic signs, lights and pedestrians. There’s even a full 360-degree ultrasonic sonar system. The vehicle’s software takes all this data and blends it with other key info like real-time GPS, navigation and traffic. That all sets up things nicely for Tesla’s autopilot feature, which leverages all this data and support to deliver an automated driving system to prevent accidents, enhance visibility and allow the cars to park themselves. Tesla’s saying these features are already making their way into current-production versions. In terms of pricing, the dual-motor Model S will bring with it a $4,000 premium, taking the base model 60kWh variant’s MSRP to $75,070 and the 80kWh Model S to $85,070, both of which will begin to deliver in February of 2015. The P85D, formally P85, is the performance-centric Model S and will get all-wheel-drive as well as acceleration boost and gets a pricetag of $120,170, up from $105,570. Look for this beauty to be available this December.
