Tesla "D" Oct 9

[lorenfb]

"There's probably been times that ICE car designers wished they could put two engines in a car, one for acceleration and another for efficient highway MPG."

It's called an ICE transmission. Imagine what your ICE vehicle's fuel economy would have been if you had
just 1st gear to drive with at all speeds, i.e. starting from the a stop and cruising on the freeway at 60 MPH.

The hybrid further achieves ICE efficiency by placing the required acceleration on an electric motor versus
an ICE and basically only utilizes the ICE for cruising where the ICE achieves it's best efficiency/fuel economy.

Reports indicated that Tesla did consider using a transmission but that development never yielded.
The reason for the consideration was the high RPM needed for the max speed desired for the MS.
Now with a second motor and higher gearing, that issue could be solved and better optimization
of each motor for different demands.

 

[muus]

It would make no significant difference in efficiency... Electric motors simply do not work that way...

The benefit I could see would not be from gearing the front motor up, but gearing the back motor down. Where it has a max speed of 120 mph now, make it only run up to 70 or 80 instead.

If I remember correctly, Elon explained that having two separate drivetrains allowed the engineers to tune them for higher efficiency at different speed/load. This is the reason why they chose not to offer the X in RWD which was originally planned. AWD turned out the be more efficient than RWD.

You can read more about this here:

http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/show...-does-it-reduce-range-Possibility-of-FWD-only

 

[lorenfb]

It would make no significant difference in efficiency... Electric motors simply do not work that way...

The benefit I could see would not be from gearing the front motor up, but gearing the back motor down. Where it has a max speed of 120 mph now, make it only run up to 70 or 80 instead.

If I remember correctly, Elon explained that having two separate drivetrains allowed the engineers to tune them for higher efficiency at different speed/load. This is the reason why they chose not to offer the X in RWD which was originally planned. AWD turned out the be more efficient than RWD.

You can read more about this here:

http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/show...-does-it-reduce-range-Possibility-of-FWD-only

The link to that Tesla forum adds just basic hyperbole to the issue of increased efficiency for an AWD.
Read the previous posts discussing the electric motor efficiency issue.

 

[BestPal]

C'mon you guys. D clearly stands for Diesel

 

[smkettner]

I am thinking D = Delays.

Where is it already?

 

[TomT]

I'll know in about 5 hours...

 

[charge]

Although it seems unlikely given all the tea leave reading I hope it the is some announcement on the model 3/E. The tesla for the rest of us.

 

[Wennfred]

This is a Live Blog which starts at 7pm PST of this event. 8 more minutes.

The Street guys is inside and taking pics and posting.

http://www.thestreet.com/story/12906534/1/elon-musk-and-tesla-unveil-the-d-and-something-else-live-blog.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

CARS
Tesla: No self-driver, but exotic features and go-fast model

Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY
1 hour ago
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Jessica Brandi Lifland, for USA TODAY
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motor, is making a big announcement.
HAWTHORNE, Calif. — Tesla Motors didn't announce the self-driving car that some had expected but did roll out an exotic suite of driver-aid and safety features Thursday night.

And it said it'll have a hopped-up version of its Model S that has all-wheel drive and blasts to 60 mph in little more than 3 seconds.
Tesla's moves are closely watched by its shareholders, who seem to bid up stock prices wildly, then sell, so the Tesla shares rocket, then tumble, somewhat like technology stocks. And the electric-carmaker's moves are considered a foretaste of what mainstream automakers might need to emulate to stay abreast of the latest technology.
Tesla announced Thursday that the all-wheel-drive versions of its Model S electric car will manage a slight increase in range of about 10 miles on a charge vs. the rear-drive models — for a maximum of 275 miles — because of efficiencies designed into the new system.
The AWD cars have a second electric motor to drive the front wheels. AWD hybrids, such as the Lexus RX, likewise use separate electric motors front and rear to accomplish all-wheel drive. That eliminates the need for a front-to-rear driveshaft and other cumbersome hardware.
CEO Elon Musk called his system "a huge improvement" that he claims is "taking the technology to the next level."
The AWD cars will carry the designation D, and the new top version of the Model S, the AWD P85D, will be among the fastest-accelerating sedans ever: 0-60 mph in 3.2 seconds, according to Tesla. Five or six seconds is considered very quick.
The 85D models start being delivered to buyers in December. The other AWD models, 60D and 85D, arrive in buyers hands in February.
The addition of all-wheel drive will allow Tesla to compete more vigorously in the snowy East and Midwest, broadening is buyer base beyond the Sunbelt.
Jaguar made a similar move to AWD in 2013, figuring it was competing in a shrinking minority of the luxury market without AWD.
Tesla's suite of safety features and driver aids is partly catch-up, partly leapfrog.
Brands from Mercedes-Benz and Infiniti to more mainstream nameplates such as Hyundai have features that will keep a car in its lane, steer it back if it begins to wander, stop without driver help if it's racing too fast toward the car ahead.
But Tesla CEO Elon Musk says Tesla is adding innovations to those.
Two highlights:
•The new system will move the car over a lane when the driver uses the turn signal.
•The car reads speed-limit signs and adjusts the car to the speed on the sign.
Other features match the lane-departure warnings and other safety and driver-help features that are getting common.
Tesla says the cars it's building now have 12 sensors each able to "see" 16 feet to enable the safety tech. Those can't be retrofitted to older models, Tesla says.

 

[nosuchthing]

How important in this world is it to accelerate 0 to 60 in 3.2 seconds?

 

[muus]

It would make no significant difference in efficiency... Electric motors simply do not work that way...

If I remember correctly, Elon explained that having two separate drivetrains allowed the engineers to tune them for higher efficiency at different speed/load. This is the reason why they chose not to offer the X in RWD which was originally planned. AWD turned out the be more efficient than RWD.

You can read more about this here:

http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/show...-does-it-reduce-range-Possibility-of-FWD-only

Dual motors it is and as I suspected dual motors are more efficient: "According to Musk, the system is a "huge improvement" that actually adds efficiency over a single motor -- about 10 miles in range per charge"

All the juicy info here:

http://www.engadget.com/2014/10/09/tesla-d-awd-driver-assist/

 

[muus]

Dual Drive!
Better Acceleration - 3.2 0-60
Better Top Speed
Better Range
Driver assistance
self parking

P85D - Almost 50% more power
Personal Roller Coaster
Three Settings - Normal, Sport, Insane

 

[quantumorbit]

Tesla shut its website down in Apple's style due to the Model D.

 

[AlanSqB]

P85D $120 - $170K. Hoping there are lots of trades so I can pick up a nice used S sometime soon.

 

[asimba2]

I was just about to point out that checking the "D" option box costs as much (if not considerably more) than what I paid for my 2013 Leaf.

 

[smkettner]

How important in this world is it to accelerate 0 to 60 in 3.2 seconds?

+1

For that price I would prefer a fat battery (double size) vs the extra power.

 

[lorenfb]

It would make no significant difference in efficiency... Electric motors simply do not work that way...

If I remember correctly, Elon explained that having two separate drivetrains allowed the engineers to tune them for higher efficiency at different speed/load. This is the reason why they chose not to offer the X in RWD which was originally planned. AWD turned out the be more efficient than RWD.

You can read more about this here:

http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/show...-does-it-reduce-range-Possibility-of-FWD-only

Dual motors it is and as I suspected dual motors are more efficient: "According to Musk, the system is a "huge improvement" that actually adds efficiency over a single motor -- about 10 miles in range per charge"

All the juicy info here:

http://www.engadget.com/2014/10/09/tesla-d-awd-driver-assist/

About a 4% improvement and at what speed? Most likely when cruising @ > 100 MPH.
That's a "huge improvement", right, i.e. 4%? Please!

The "announcement" was basically a big yawn, as most luxury vehicles already had most
of what has now been added in features to the Tesla.

 

[JeremyW]

I think the $4k cost to add dual motors to a "regular" S is actually pretty cheap!

 

[Berlino]

I was just about to point out that checking the "D" option box costs as much (if not considerably more) than what I paid for my 2013 Leaf.

If you don't select the Performance Model, it's only a $4,000 upgrade. They're also claiming an increase in range of 11% for the standard 85kWh model if you choose the Dual Motors.

 

[Berlino]

The "announcement" was basically a big yawn, as most luxury vehicles already had most
of what has now been added in features to the Tesla.

Not really.