Tesla has unveiled a third model for its all-electric line of cars and it is dubbed the Model X. This new vehicle is actually an SUV that borrows much of the Model S’ drivetrain with tweaks to make it all-wheel-drive. As big as this SUV is, Tesla claims it will scoot from 0 to 60 mph in only 4.4 seconds – impressive for a sports car, let alone an SUV. Especially one that can seat seven.

Anyone that grew up in the 80s will see those gull wing doors on the Model X and immediately think about the DeLorean and Back to the Future. I happen to know for a fact, that the doors on one of those DeLorean’s are very far from friendly in a crowded parking lot. As a kid I watched a local man that owned a DeLorean standing at the grocery store waiting for the person parked next to him to move their car so he could get in his stainless steel ride and drive home. The “falcon-wing” doors on the Model X shouldn’t have that problem; Tesla says they actually need less space to open than conventional doors. They also arc high enough that an adult can stand underneath them.

Production versions of the vehicle won’t arrive until 2014 and when they do hit dealer lots, they should sell for $50,000-$70,000. I would expect the car to have a driving range on a single charge in the 200 to 300 mile range, much like the Tesla Roadster and Model S, though that might go lower when fully loaded with passengers and cargo.

To see the reveal of the Model X for yourself, jump to about 13:30 in the video below:

[via Engadget]

If you don’t know what a Tesla turbine is – I didn’t until 5 minutes ago – it’s a turbine that has a Wikipedia entry. Go read about it. Okay, okay! You lazy-ass…beloved, esteemed, revenue-generating reader. It’s a bladeless turbine that relies on the boundary layer effect to spin. The turbine is made of a set of disks, air is applied to the edge of the disks, the disk spins very fast. Unfortunately, the turbine doesn’t create lightning or bursts in flames or anything cool. It just spins. Here’s the hacked sharpener in action, as demonstrated by its inventor. If you’re interested in how the gadget was created, you’re in for a treat. Folks like me who just want to see the thing work can skip to around 5:40. Actually skip 7:00; the device fails at 5:40.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

I desperately wished that the sharpener would eat the pencil in like half a second, or reduce it to sawdust, or even just fail and blow up, but apparently a sharpener being operated at 2,200 rpm isn’t all that different from one that’s being hand-cranked by a 3rd grader. So why did I even bother sharing this with you? To teach you this: with science, anything is possible. You’re welcome.

[via Hacked Gadgets]

Named after Tolkien’s Eye of Sauron, the theft deterrent device generates hundreds of thousands of volts of electricity to create an amazing and ominous light show. The Australian builder of this project achieved this incredible effect by rotating an aluminum conductor rod around the orbit of the coil, then capturing it with a time lapse photograph.

Now if only there were a way to make this thing portable, they’d sell millions.

[via Neatorama]