Car manufacturers worldwide are now starting to see Tesla – specifically its Model S EV sedan as a serious threat to their business. A couple of weeks ago, the American EV company unveiled its P85D Model S Sedan which promises performance comparable if not better than gasoline-powered cars.

The performance of the P85D has put Tesla on the map getting the company attention from its competitors. This week, several reports indicated that other carmakers including Mercedes Benz, Porsche and Ford are planning to create competitors for Tesla’s cars.

The two German brands will reportedly go after the Model S and create EV sedans comparable to its Panamera, E-class and S-class offerings. Ford on the other hand, might focus on improving its mid-range Ford Focus EV though its CEO suggested that Ford can build a Model S competitor if it wanted to.

The cars Porsche and Mercedes are working on will allegedly have a range of 250 miles and will be offered on sale sometime in 2018 and 2021 respectively.

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American car manufacturer Tesla is raising the bar once again for electric cars as it introduces the new Model S P85D, an updated version of its very successful Model S but now equipped with two motors and a special auto-pilot mode.

On the looks department the P85D is identical to the basic Model S and is differentiated only with its badges. But under the body lies a new rear motor which when combined with the cars existing front drive unit can produce an additional 50 percent of torque. This translates to a 0-60mph performance of just 3.2 seconds – which is faster than a McLaren F1 supercar and power output of up to 691hp (470hp at the rear and 221hp up front).

Aside from the blistering performance, the new Model S P85D also comes with a new standard hardware package that enables autopilot functionality. This hardware pack will include forward radar, 12 long range ultrasonic sensors positioned to sense 16 feet around the car in every direction at all speeds, a forward looking camera and a digitally controlled electric assist braking system.

This autopilot system will allow the car to stay within a lane, change lanes with a simple tap of a turn signal and manage speed by reading road signs and using active traffic aware cruise control.

Tesla is clear to point out that the Autopilot system is not meant to enable driverless cars. The system may be compared to the Autopilot mechanism used by pilots in airplanes to increase comfort and safety when conditions are clear. They added that the system is a way to relieve driver stress but doesn’t remove the control of the vehicle from the driver.

The Tesla Model S P85D is now available for pre-order and will be shipped to customers in North America by December while European and Asian buyers will get the car in the months afterwards.

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Tesla made a surprise move this week allegedly in the spirit of progress. The company which has made a name for itself by putting electric car technology mainstream.

The electric car-maker has opened its doors to the public and has made its patents available to everyone who wants to contribute to the development of sustainable transportation. According to Tesla, its open sourcing its patents in the hopes that bigger car companies can use Tesla’s technology in their production lines and help fill the gap in the supply for electric cars.

At present, Tesla’s annual production is at 100 million units. And the company is admittedly saying that they cannot build electric cars fast enough to address the carbon-emissions problem. Will going open source prove beneficial to Tesla and the society? Well, we’ll just have to wait and see.

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Back in 2008 the US Congress created a $25 billion direct loan program to provide debt capital to the US Automotive industry for the purpose of funding projects that will improve US-manufactured vehicles meet higher mileage requirements and help the United States of America go green and reduce fossil fuel dependence. The program was dubbed as the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) loan program and was implemented in 2009.

One of the recipients of this loan is a Silicon Valley-based company in the name of Tesla Motors. At the helm of the company is Elon Musk a South African American entrepreneur which many people consider as the real-life model for the character of Tony Stark in Iron Man. Elon Musk and his company have so far created 3 electric cars: the Tesla roadster, Model S and the Model X from the loan it received from the program which is valued at around half a billion dollars.

Yesterday the company has announced that it had made a final payment of $451.8 million to the US Department of Energy. This puts Tesla as the first company to ever fully repay its loan from the ATVM program. The money used to pay off the loan was derived from the revenue the company generated through the sale of its stocks last week which amounted to over $1 billion.

Tesla Model S Sedan

The loan is supposed to be repaid by 2022, which makes Tesla’s $450 million repayment 9 years advanced. In contrast, loans from other companies such as Ford and Nissan, although complies with the Department of Energy’s terms are still far from being repaid. There are even companies such as Fisker who now faces bankruptcy.

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