Elon Musk promises all-wheel drive and falcon doors for the forthcoming Model X

By Trevor Dermody Published February 12, 2014

Recently Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk held a townhall meeting at the company’s international headquarters in Amsterdam. Among the topics of discussion were the announcements of three important improvements to the car company. Musk announced that Tesla Model S vehicles will be offered with an AWD system, available around the time of the highly anticipated Model X late this year or 2015.

For current owners, the company has released the latest software update, dubbed 6.0. The update will allows the driver to access real time traffic updates and more control over the suspension settings and ride height adjustments.

The Tesla CEO also announced a new factory that will make batteries for the company. The factory will be built somewhere in the U.S. and will be able to recycle old battery units in-house and refit visiting Teslas with new battery packs.

The goal of the company is to reduce battery costs between 30 and 40 percent as well as putting out 30 gigawatt-hours of production capacity. The new factory will be necessary if Tesla is to complete it’s goal of producing a $30,000 mass production car with a 200-mile range.

Also announced at the casual town hall meeting was the completion of a trans continental supercharger network, allowing for trips across the U.S., marked with a road trip to celebrate the achievement and is adding capacity with five of the stations coming on per week.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Topics

Cars

Rivian R2 first drive

Smart engineering meets real-world performance in a surprisingly premium $50K electric SUV

Rivian R2 First Drive Impressions

Rivian has officially launched the R2, a smaller, more affordable two-row electric SUV. Despite the lower price point, the company does not seem to have cut any corners on the new vehicle. Instead, many of the savings seem to have been achieved through more efficient engineering.

Examples of that efficiency can be seen in things like the vehicle’s wiring, which has ditched around two miles of cable when compared to the R1. A lot of the vehicle’s systems and chipsets have been compacted and condensed too.

Cars

Rivian R2 SUV deliveries have begun, just not for the version most buyers may want

The budget-friendly R2 is not here yet

Rivian R2 in Catalina Blue.

As promised, Rivian has started deliveries of its R2 electric SUV. The first version reaching buyers is the R2 Performance with Launch Package, which starts at $57,990 before fees.

That model gives early R2 customers the most powerful version in the confirmed lineup. It comes with dual-motor all-wheel drive, 656 horsepower, 609 lb-ft of torque, and an EPA-estimated range of up to 330 miles. Rivian claims it can go from 0 to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds.

Cars

Audi tackles Ferrari Luce fever with the hybrid Nuvolari, it’s fastest and beefiest car ever

Meet the Audi that makes Formula 1 technology street legal.

Audi Nuvolari

Audi has just pulled the wraps off the Nuvolari, its first hybrid supercar, and the numbers are genuinely hard to comprehend. Named after Tazio Nuvolari, one of motorsport's most iconic figures, the car produces 1,001 PS and can reach a top speed of over 350 km/h. Only 499 people will ever get to own one, with deliveries kicking off in the first half of 2027.

The Nuvolari can go from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.6 seconds and can hit the 200 km/h mark in just 6.8 seconds. Under the hood is a 4.0-liter V8 biturbo engine producing 800 hp, paired with three electric motors for a combined system output of 1,001 PS. The electric motors at the front axle alone deliver 2,150 Nm of torque, which is a number that feels almost fictional.