TelsaTeslaUnited States of America, 2003 > present4 models
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is not resting while it launches it European business and works on its Model X crossover. The company has also detailed new technology that it plans to introduce in the coming years. Tesla is working on autonomous vehicle tech that it wants to be ready in the next three years, and it has just received a patent for a hybrid system that uses two different types of batteries.

Tesla says that its autonomous drive system would control 90% of the vehicle, but drivers would still have to pay attention to the road. A fully autonomous car is even farther off.

The Tesla autonomous technology will be developed by the company and not licensed from another automaker or supplier. It has posted a job opening for a driver assistance engineer. The worker “processes input from a variety of vehicle sensors, evaluates possible vehicle strategies/trajectories, and automates safe control of the vehicle.”

If successful, the project would keep Tesla on par with DaimlerDaimlerGermany, 1889 > present12 models
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and NissanNissanJapan, 1932 > present159 models
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who have both promised autonomous vehicles by 2020. Mercedes-BenzMercedes-BenzGermany, 1924 > present197 models
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has even shown an S-ClassMercedes-Benz S-Class 6Germany, 2014 > present39 versions
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than can drive hundreds of kilometers with no driver input.

Tesla has also just received a patent for what could be called an electric-electric hybrid. The patent is titled "Electric vehicle extended range hybrid battery pack system," and was originally filed in December 2010 but not granted until late June 2013.

The new hybrid system would use two batteries. The first battery would be a modern lithium-ion or nickel metal hydride battery and the second would be a new metal-air battery. The metal-air battery is only used when necessary or when the car is extended range mode.  

The point of only using the second battery temporarily is that, given modern technology, metal-air batteries have a shorter lifetime and fewer charge cycles than Li-ion or NiMH batteries, but metal-air batteries have higher power densities. By using two battery packs temporarily, Tesla could use metal-air batteries sooner than other automakers.

Solid-state batteries like lithium-air and metal-air batteries are seen as the future for electric cars because they have power densities on par with gasoline. ToyotaToyotaJapan, 1937 > present155 models
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and BMWBMWGermany, 1918 > present87 models
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have formed a joint venture to find a way to extend the batteries’ lifetimes.

Source: Autoblog Green and Automotive News