特斯拉：汽车没理由再断电

　　Elon Musk is trying to make it "virtually impossible" for anyone driving a Model S to run out of power.

　　艾伦·马斯克正在努力让驾驶Model S电动汽车的用户永无断电之忧。

　　The Tesla CEO announced Thursday a number of improvements that aim to make the electric car more appealing to potential buyers worried about getting stuck when their battery pack runs dry。

　　上周四，特斯拉CEO艾伦·马斯克公布了对该车型的一系列改进，力图吸引更多用户，而许多潜在的买家则担心这款电动车会受困于电量耗尽的问题。

　　The Model S can already drive roughly 270 miles on a single charge, depending the size of the battery pack. Musk announced a software update that won’t extend that battery range, but it will warn drivers when they’re going too far from a Tesla charger。

　　Model S充一次电能行驶大约270英里，行驶里程还取决于电池组的容量。马斯克宣称，软件升级不会增加电池的续航时间，但系统会在汽车驶离特斯拉充电站距离过远时向司机发出警告。

　　The improved navigation system will also plan routes taking into account available charging stations. To improve accuracy, the software will even factor in hills and winds that might reduce the car’s actual driving range。

　　改进的导航系统在规划路线的时候还会将可用的充电站考虑在内。为提高精确度，系统还会将地形和风向等因素计算在内，这些因素有可能会降低汽车的实际驾驶里程。

　　Tesla also announced that it is building out its network of superchargers at a faster pace. There are currently about 400 supercharging stations located throughout the U.S. that can recharge a Model S in about 30-45 minutes。

　　特斯拉还宣布，他们在加速组建超级充电站网络。目前，全美大约有400个超级充电站，能在30到45分钟内将一辆Model S满电。

　　Tesla says about 90% of the U.S. population is within 175 miles of a supercharger. Now Musk wants to fill in that last 10%

　　特斯拉称大约已有90%的美国人能在175英里范围内找到一家超级充电站。马斯克现在要做的就是完善剩下的10%。

　　The new software update will also give the cars the ability to brake automatically if the car’s camera and radar sense an object stopped in front of the car. Other car makers already have this kind of feature, and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has cited as important for crash prevention. For instance, auto-braking systems reduce rear-end collisions by 14%， according to the Institute。

　　新升级的系统还提供了自动刹车功能，通过车载摄像头和雷达来感应前方障碍物，从而实现自动刹车。其他汽车制造商也已经实现这种功能，美国公路安全保险协会认为此功能对于预防交通事故意义重大。例如该协会指出，自动刹车系统能降低14%的追尾事故。

　　The new software, which will download automatically while the car is parked, will also include a number of other smaller improvements。

　　新系统会在汽车停靠的时候自动下载，同时还包括其他一些较小改进。

　　Tesla issues these updates after a car has been sold, and they download automatically over mobile networks. By doing that, Tesla is effectively turning on its head the car industry’s century-old model of making customers buy a new car to get the latest technology。

　　该公司对已售出的汽车推送系统更新，并且通过移动网络就可自动下载。这样，特斯拉实际上开启了一种有别于传统模式的全新汽车销售模式，让客户购买新车来享受最新的技术。

　　"It almost feels like driving a new car," Musk said of the latest update。

　　“感觉就像是在开一部新车，"马斯克这样评价最近的系统升级。

　　The company is already working on the next version of the car’s software. That will include "active steering" functionality that will operate on the highway and, at low speeds, on private property. In tests, Tesla drivers have been able to drive hands-free from San Francisco to Seattle. Cars will also be able to pull themselves out of parking spaces and garages when summoned by drivers, according to Musk。

　　该公司已经在为这套汽车系统开发下一个版本了。其中就会有“自动转向”功能，车子既可以在高速公路上行驶， 又可以在自家车库中以低速运行。在测试中，特斯拉的驾驶者双手离开方向盘，从旧金山开到西雅图。马斯克介绍，得到车主的召唤后，该车能从停车位或车库中自动开出。

　　Teslas are already equipped with sensors and computers capable of doing automatic steering and braking, Musk said, so now Tesla is gradually "waking the cars up" and allowing them to use these capabilities as the software is ready。

　　特斯拉已经配备了传感器和计算机，能够自动转向和制动，马斯克说，现在特斯拉已逐渐“将汽车唤醒”，因为软件系统已经能够使汽车拥有这些功能。

　　The next update should be available in about three to four months, Musk said。

　　三至四个月之后将进行下一次系统更新，马斯克给出了升级时间表。