Tesla claims the high-performance AWD version of the Model S will deliver McLaren-like performance.

Tesla Motors is giving its Model S battery-electric vehicle a “D,” but some buyers – especially those in the Snowbelt – are likely to reward the company with an “A.” As for investors, well, that’s another matter.

The new Tesla Model S D edition will be the first to get all-wheel-drive, a must in many parts of the country, as competing luxury carmakers have discovered. Meanwhile, a high-performance version of the AWD Model S will now be capable of launching from 0 to 60 in barely 3 seconds, on a par with a $1 million McLaren supercar, Tesla CEO Elon Musk boasted during a preview in Hawthorne, California.

Musk’s frequent tweets had been triggering a flurry of speculation about what Tesla might have in store. And, among other things, the start-up battery-carmaker also announced a new “auto-pilot” system that will allow nearly hands-free driving on the highway. But the technology fell short of expectations that Tesla would reveal a fully autonomous version of the Model S – or of its next-generation Model III.

Tesla’s all-wheel-drive system is significantly different from conventional AWD in that there will be no driveshaft linking the front and rear wheels. Instead, it will be what some have dubbed a “through-the-road” all-wheel-drive system where there are separate motors for each axle.

Tesla opts for a 2-motor AWD system.

This is, declared Musk, “taking the technology to the next level.”

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By adding a second motor, the D version also can deliver more power, and dealers will begin delivering a high-performance version, the P85D, in December. It will be, proclaimed Musk, “like having your own personal rollercoaster,” capable to matching the 3.2-second 0-to-60 times of the McLaren P1, which Musk admits is his favorite car.

But the AWD system should have broader appeal because of its abilities in snow and other inclement conditions. The 2-motor system is not designed for off-roading, however. That is likely to be left to the Model X SUV that Tesla expects to introduce in 2015 – more than a year after its originally scheduled launch date.

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Other versions of the Model S D will reach dealers by February. They will boost the potential range of the sedan to 275 miles, about 10 miles more than the existing two-wheel-drive package. That’s in contrast to traditional AWD technology that typically reduces mileage, and thus, range on gas-powered vehicles.

The second big announcement from Tesla was the addition of new safety features, such as forward-looking radar, a camera and a dozen other sensors, that can permit the vehicle to get a comprehensive view of what’s happening on the road around it. Such technology is coming into increasingly widespread use across the industry and will be essential to the autonomous vehicles that many makers are hoping to bring to market in the next decade.

Cadillac is promising a new SuperDrive system for hands-free highway driving by 2017. Nissan and its Infiniti brand could have fully autonomous technologies on sale by 2020.

But the system Tesla announced – with no hard production date – won’t take things quite so far. They will serve as more of a co-pilot on limited-access roads. Among other things, it will automatically adjust the vehicle’ pace to the speed limit. And it will automatically change lanes when the driver clicks on the turn signal.

One of the more interesting functions would allow passengers to get out of the vehicle which would then go and park itself. When they wanted to leave, “It will come to you wherever you are,” said Musk, with features such as climate control set to their preferences.

Volvo and Ford have shown similar technologies but have also failed to say when the technology might go into production.

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The Tesla announcements are expected to play well with the brand’s technophile buyers. How it will resonate with investors is another matter. TSLA has been trading well above the $200-per-share level most of this year, earning the sort of multiples that are normally reserved for Silicon Valley tech firms, rather than automotive companies.

But the maker’s stock took a tumble on Thursday and opened on a down note the day after the announcement, off by around 7%, to roughly $238, suggesting investors weren’t impressed enough with Musk’s latest news.