The cult Of Elon Musk and a night with The ‘D’

Steve Jobs used to rehearse and rehearse before a presentation. Every moment was choreographed, every word picked with purpose. Elon Musk does not do this. He wings it.

Last week, the chief executive officer of Tesla Motors unveiled a new version of the Model S all-electric sedan in Los Angeles. The short of it is that the car is amazing. It has two motors — one in the front, one in the back — and all-wheel drive. It’s a sedan that can go 0 to 60 in 3.2 seconds. The technology was certainly impressive, but so too was Musk’s performance.

Thousands of people showed up, and Tesla turned the area into a giant bar. The whole thing felt more like a concert than a product unveiling. When Musk appeared, the audience erupted in cheers, and people held their smartphones to get photos.

“This car is nuts,” Musk said. “It’s like taking off from a carrier deck. It’s just bananas.” The car gets 275 miles of range and has a top speed of 155 mph. On top of all this, Musk revealed that Tesla has already equipped the most recent cars coming off its assembly line with autopilot technology.

And Tesla has tied its GPS into the system to let some interesting things happen. “You can step out of the car and have it park itself,” Musk said. “Later, you will be able to summon the car. That’s also something else I would like to do.”