First it was Insane. Then it was Ludicrous. At this point, it’s almost absurd.
Tesla has officially announced a new, 100kWh battery pack for the Model S and Model X, pushing the performance and range of each vehicle into the stratosphere. Dubbed P100D, the electric powertrain drops the 0-to-60 time for the Model S down to just 2.5 seconds, and total range has been increased from 294 miles to 315 miles. The Model X P100D sees similar improvements, as the heavier vehicle can now sprint to 60 mph in 2.9 ticks and drive for 289 miles without recharging.
Read more: First drive: Tesla Model S P90D
These figures are undeniably impressive on their own, but according to Tesla, they’re record-breaking. The automaker now bills the Model S as the quickest production car in the world, but there are a couple of issues with that statement. Both the Ferrari LaFerrari and Porsche 918 Spyder are quicker off the line by one tenth of a second or so, which would make the Model S the third-fastest car in the world, not the first. Don’t worry though, Tesla has an explanation.
“Both the LaFerrari and the Porsche 918 Spyder were limited run, million-dollar vehicles and cannot be bought new,” the brand said. “While those cars are small two seaters with very little luggage space, the pure electric, all-wheel drive Model S P100D has four doors, seats up to 5 adults plus 2 children and has exceptional cargo capacity.”
Fair points, Tesla, but the numbers don’t lie. Perhaps “quickest car in the world that can be purchased new in 2016” would be a better title, however that doesn’t exactly roll off the fingertips. At any rate, the Model S and Model X are now faster than almost anything on the road, and with its new power source, the Model S is the first production EV to cross the coveted 300-mile range mark.
The news was previewed by a vague tweet by company CEO Elon Musk today, who simply declared that a Tesla product announcement would go live at noon. Many speculated the announcement would center around the brand’s controversial self-driving software, however it looks like Autopilot 2.0 will have to wait for now.
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