Elon Musk worked up the crowd on Twitter last week when he said in a cryptic tweet not void of innuendos that he was getting ready to "unveil the D and something else," spurring a spate of speculations about what the D could be aside from being a reference to a part of the human body exclusive to the male half of the species.
About time to unveil the D and something else pic.twitter.com/qp23yi59i6
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) Oct. 2, 2014
Much of the evidence that has surfaced on the Internet point to a new car named Model D, which would actually be the dual-motor all-wheel-drive version of Tesla's Model S luxury sedan. D supposedly stands for dual-motor, since the new car will have two motors to power the front wheels and the rear wheels separately. The rumors seem to be on the dot, except for the car's name, which isn't actually Model D but Model S P85D.
That is according to a new photo making the rounds of the Tesla-loving part of the Internet taken by a user on the Tesla Motors Club community named Adelman. The photo is what looks to be Tesla's luxury sedan with the word "Model S" on the left side of the trunk and "P85D" on the opposite side. Its EXIF data shows the photo was snapped using an iPhone 5S and the nameplate on the car shows a reflection of the photographer taking the photo.
While the D part most likely stands for the dual-motor system adopted from the Model X, a Tesla crossover still yet to come from the company, the P85 stands for the Model S P85 variant that comes with a 416-horsepower electric motor, an 85-kilowatt hour battery and a 265-mile driving range.
A dual-motor all-wheel-drive Model S would be attractive in northern areas, where the cooler climate requires better performance vehicle performance. Musk has made it clear Tesla is not limiting its market to its home state in warmer California, so a car made for colder places would seem like a sensible move for a company looking to expand its reach.
If the new Model S P85D will come with two motors, drivers could see the car's top speed record of 0 to 60 miles per hour in 4.2 seconds drop to lower figures, but the added weight of a second motor could also negate acceleration. Currently, the motor powering the Model S tips the scales at 350 pounds, although it's likely that Tesla will use lighter motors for the P85D.
All this, however, is pure speculation, but the automotive industry will not have to wait for a long time until Tesla clears the mystery surrounding its CEO's cryptic tweet about "the D" when it holds its media event on Oct. 9.
