With deliveries of the Tesla Model X SUV finally set to begin, what’s next for the company? That’s the question many — especially Model S owners and soon-to-be owners — are asking themself. Well, of course, there’s the Model 3 unveiling currently set for next year; there’s the ongoing work at the Gigafactory construction site; there’s the ongoing work on the company’s autonomous-driving technologies; and, also, there’s the somewhat recently unveiled battery line (Tesla Energy).
That’s all quite a lot on its own, but a recent interview that Elon Musk gave on Danish television revealed something else new as well — something really quite interesting, in my opinion. The company could be increasing the range of the Model S up to 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) “within (only) a year or two,” according to Musk.
Granted, Musk has a reputation for possessing an optimist’s mind (especially with regard to timelines), so who knows how this will actually pan out — but one can’t help but take heed at that suggestion, can they? A Model S with 600-ish miles of range in just a year or two? Who could say no to that?
Musk added an addendum to that comment, though — that the current distance record for the Model S currently stands at over 700 kilometers (achieved by traveling the whole trip at 25 miles per hour). Perhaps it’s just a throwaway comment to get the press’s attention? Elon has previously focused on “real-world” driving range under normal conditions.
Musk elaborated, noting that he expected a range of 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) to be achievable by 2020, amongst other things.
Here’s a highlight of some of the other interesting comments made by Musk in the interview:
- He wants to be selling 500,000 EVs a year by 2020.
- He expects autopilot autonomous features to be available by that date.
- While the technology is now simply in Beta testing, a “wide release” won’t have too long to wait.
- While the technology will at first be limited to an automated-passing function, he’s aiming for the creation of a fully-autonomous system. He expects this to be possible within only 3 years, though regulatory hurdles may delay legalization for a few additional years.
- “If civilization still exists” 20 years from now, Musk thinks that most new cars will be completely autonomous, and many of these will be EVs.
Source: CleanTechnica. Reproduced with permission.
