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Musk: Next Tesla cars will self-drive 90 percent of the time
by Brooks Hays
Washington (UPI) Oct 2, 2014


Tesla shares rev up after mystery tweet
New York (AFP) Oct 02, 2014 - Tesla Motors shares raced higher Thursday after founder Elon Musk tantalized fans via Twitter with a hint the electric carmaker will unveil a new model next week.

"About time to unveil the D and something else," Musk said in his tweet, without elaborating.

The message included a photo of a partially open garage door with the letter "D" and the silhouette of an automobile. Underneath was written October 9, 2014.

Tesla shares jumped 4.5 percent to $251.09 in afternoon trade, amid frenzied speculation about the announcement.

Some analysts said the carmaker, which has seen unstoppable demand for its $75,000 vehicles, would announce a new, more affordable model.

Trip Chowdhry at Global Equities Research said he expects Tesla will announce both a Model D and technology partnerships, probably with Apple and the mobile navigation group MobileEye.

Tesla last month announced plans to build the world's largest lithium-ion battery plant in Nevada, as part of an effort to bring down costs and boost popularity of electric vehicles.

Tesla will run operations while its Japanese partner Panasonic will make battery cells destined for the plant and invest in equipment and machinery.

Panasonic and Tesla said the plant should drive down the cost of batteries and eventually help popularize electric vehicles.

While Tesla produces relatively few vehicles, it has become a star in the sector due to keen demand and a reputation for high quality.

A surge in its share price over the past year has pushed its value over $30 billion.

Tesla's Model S sells for around $75,000, but it is working on a less expensive Model 3 that is expected to garner wider appeal.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors, had already scheduled a series of announcements -- presumably about the company's new line of electric cars -- for October 9, but he may have already let one of most buzz-worthy talking points out the bag.

In an interview Thursday with CNN Money, Musk said Tesla's new cars, set to be unveiled in 2015, will feature self-driving, or as Musk prefers to say, "auto-pilot" capabilities. Though they won't apparently be entirely autonomous, Musk said they will be able to self-drive 90 percent of the time.

"Autonomous cars will definitely be a reality," Musk said. And according to Musk, Tesla will lead the way. "Of course. I mean, Tesla's a Silicon Valley company. If we're not the leader, shame on us."

"You combine cameras with image recognition with radar and long-range ultrasonics, that'll do it," Musk said, explaining how Tesla will make autonomous cars a reality.

It's expected Musk will elaborate on Tesla's self-driving car plans in his press releases planned for October 9. On Wednesday, Musk tweeted a Tesla door with the letter D, teasing a possible third model. Tesla followers also think the company will release new details about the forthcoming Model S and Model X.

About time to unveil the D and something else pic.twitter.com/qp23yi59i6— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 2, 2014

A number of other companies, including Mercedes, GM and BMW have reportedly been testing self-driving technology, but even the most aggressive projections don't predict autonomous cars until the end of the decade. Musk's latest announcement, however, suggests Tesla intends to take the technology to market much, much sooner.

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