
Watch This Tesla Drive Itself at the Press of a Button [video] - prateekj
http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/10/watch-this-tesla-drive-itself-at-the-press-of-a-button/?ncid=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%29&utm_content=FaceBook
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dave1619
I did a test ride of a P85D last night. It was breathtaking. The car explodes
(silently) of course like a rocket. It feel much, much faster than a regular
P85. Here's the test ride I took:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm5CQZalLg8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm5CQZalLg8)

It's difficult to explain in just words how fast 3.2 seconds is and I had a
difficult time grasping it myself until I actually sat in a Tesla P85D and
experienced it going from 0-60 in a blazing quick three seconds. It felt like
a completely different (and much quicker) car than the previous single-motor
P85. The car accelerates so quickly with so much force that I found myself in
disbelief and awe. Tesla truly engineered an amazing new version of the Model
S.

This new dual-motor version of the Model S is available to order in the
performance version and will be available in the 60kwh and 85kwh version
vehicles in February. Overall, having an AWD dual-motor version expands the
appeal of the Model S to more market segments, especially those in colder
areas. And the addition of a dual-motor performance version catapults the P85D
into the realm of a true super car.

Also in an unexpected and shocking move, Elon Musk announced Tesla's Autopilot
hardware at last night's event. Most people were expecting some trivial driver
assist features like lane departure warning and adaptive cruise control.
Further, in previous interviews Elon had alluded to Autopilot being ready by
the end of 2015. But in last night's announcement, Elon outlined a 4-part
Autopilot system that would allow for driving to become increasingly
autonomous over time.

The Autopilot system comprises of cameras, radar, sonar, and gps/navigation
integration. At first, the system will allow for drivers to use Autopilot to
keep in one's lane and to slow down or speed up depending on objects in front.
Over time with software updates, Autopilot will allow for full autonomous
driving from freeway on-ramp to freeway off-ramp. Autopilot will also allow
for the car to be able to park itself or even for it to be summoned by the
owner.

In my test ride last night in a P85D, there was a brief section where we were
able to see the car drive itself autonomously. The car followed the roads as
it curved and also adjusted for speed limits. It also managed to change lanes
by the driver just turning the signal light on. It was quite impressive.

What's further impressive is that Autopilot is a feature that is now added on
to the Tech Package at an additional minimal cost (new Tech package costs
$4250 vs old Tech package costed $3750). This is a great deal and will make
the car even more appealing to more people.

Here's the official video from last night's presentation by Elon regarding
dual-motor and Autopilot. The Autopilot description is especially interesting.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ6lZJWL_Xk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ6lZJWL_Xk)

(ps, for those interested I curate a weekly email newsletter called Tesla
Weekly, [http://teslaweekly.com](http://teslaweekly.com), with the latest news
regarding Tesla)

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jmtame
I ride a GSXR 600 and it has the same 3.2 sec 0-60. It still rattles me every
time I push it that fast. I'm having trouble wrapping my mind around how they
can replicate that experience inside of an _electric_ car. Can't wait to test
drive it :)

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agumonkey
I thought you were talking about another car. Then I reread he model number.
Now we all have a (very telling) comparison point.

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scott_karana
> Now we all have a (very telling) comparison point.

Yes, an oranges to apples one. A $10,000 bike compared to a $100,000 car? A
~400 pound machine compared to a ~5000 pound one?

Yes, the Tesla is really cool, and has staggering acceleration, but let's not
get silly with comparisons (and accolades) here.

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agumonkey
Come on, I meant about communicating what kind of acceleration you'd
experience. I rarely bump into sports car, but I've seen a lot of GSXR-class
bikes.

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scott_karana
Sorry, in that case! I made a poor assumption :-/

You're right, it sounds like a reasonable frame of reference.

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agumonkey
Classic internet. Have a nice day :)

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MPSimmons
That acceleration is a bit like a roller coaster that you can drive.

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zaroth
Truly not far from it... 0 - 60 in 3.2s = .85g

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hauget
That looks amazing! But, if someone "gets funny" and paints a 25mph sign as
55, then what? Any countermeasures for this?

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ceejayoz
I had a Tom Tom about 5 years ago that knew the speed limit on major roads.
I'd imagine Google et. al. are collecting that data even if it's not publicly
available in their mapping APIs yet.

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runeks
> I'd imagine Google et. al. are collecting that data [...]

They are. All phones who have Google Maps installed, and have enabled
reporting (anonymous) position data (might be default on some phones) are
helping Google both see if there's a traffic jam somewhere, and see what the
actual driving speeds on the roads are (by sampling at a certain interval and
seeing distance traveled over time).

I happily contribute to this, I think it's a great idea to crowd-source
traffic data. I do hope Google makes the data publicly available though.

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Ecio78
Waze[1] is all based on users' feedback and has been acquired by Google in
2013, so I think we'll see this more and more..

[1][http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waze](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waze)

