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Tesla Unveils New Model S, Its Quickest Production Car (bloomberg.com) 175

Posted by msmash from the fastest-car dept.
Electric car maker Tesla said Tuesday that it is launching a 100-kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery for its Model S and Model X cars. A report on Bloomberg says: Tesla is adding versions of its Model S sedan and Model X sport utility vehicle with a more powerful battery pack that the company said makes the Model S the world's quickest production car and gives it range of 315 miles on a single charge. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk is trying to appeal to sports car enthusiasts with the new Model S P100D with a 100 kilowatt-hour battery, which with Ludicrous mode can go from a standstill to 60 miles per hour in 2.5 seconds, compared with 2.8 seconds for the P90D Ludicrous version. The P100D Ludicrous upgrade costs $10,000 for customers who have ordered a P90D Ludicrous but haven't taken delivery, or $20,000 for owners who already have that vehicle type.
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Tesla Unveils New Model S, Its Quickest Production Car More

Tesla Unveils New Model S, Its Quickest Production Car

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  • *The* Quickest, Not *Its* Quickest (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Ziktar ( 196669 ) on Tuesday August 23, 2016 @03:43PM (#52758107)

    While true that the P100D will be Tesla's quickest production car, the news is that it is *the* quickest production car that is currently made and available to purchase new. That one little word makes a difference.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Cederic ( 9623 )

      That caveat also makes a difference. Two 2014 production cars were faster to 60, and I suspect there'll be a few that are rather faster around a track and significantly faster in a 2 hour race.

      • Which two *production* cars would those be?

        • Re: (Score:3)

          by Cederic ( 9623 )

          Hmm, one of them may be a 2015 car, depends how you count. But https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org] is a good start point, learn to use Google or DuckDuckGo if you'd like other references.

          • So, none that are currently in production. And were a very limited, hand built 'production' run.

            As long as we're being clear, that's cool.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by lazarus ( 2879 )

        This (for me) is actually the issue. These cars are not actually that "fast" generally, they are only fast in a straight line. You don't see any Teslas at amateur (or professional) racing events because they overheat after just a few minutes of spirited driving. To get the range and acceleration you want requires so much weight for the battery that they don't corner very well.

        What is the maximum Gs you can pull on a Tesla around a corner? Not too high, I would wager. But nobody talks about that.

    • Except it is not true.

      We're building a list of quicker cars down thread.

    • True. From Digital Trends [digitaltrends.com]:

      The automaker now bills the Model S as the quickest production car in the world, but there are a couples [sic] 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.”

      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.

      Dubbed P100D, the electric powertrain [with the new, 100kWh battery pack] drops the Model S’ 0 to 60 time 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.

      Not bad. If you got the garage space and some change for a charging rig, they've got a superfast car you can use to take the kids to the pool... if you can stand telling them "no" a million times when they beg, beg, beg you to gun it in "ludicrous mode" off the traffic light (I said... DO NOT TOUCH!) and Tesla should definitely offer some super-secure teen-driver proofing so your kid with the freshly minted driver's license doesn't squish himself on a joy-ride whilst you and the m

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by tholme ( 1385629 )

        ...Tesla should definitely offer some super-secure teen-driver proofing so your kid with the freshly minted driver's license doesn't squish himself on a joy-ride whilst you and the missus are reconnecting on holiday.

        They do. It's called valet mode: An in-depth look at ‘Valet Mode’ for the Tesla Model S [teslarati.com]

      • Lol. We charge our Tesla via a simple 120v, 20 a plug. Works fine. And when Xcel stops screwing us over in Colorado, I will move 240v and charge at nighttime.

        • Outstanding. My only thought is I wish they still made the roadster. There's a guy who parks one from time to time in front of where I work, and it always catches my eye cause of how good it looks. Tiny, as most roadsters are, but real good lookin'.

          • Roadster 3.0 will be back after model Y, which is expected in 2018/9. I would think 2020.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

            Outstanding. My only thought is I wish they still made the roadster. There's a guy who parks one from time to time in front of where I work, and it always catches my eye cause of how good it looks. Tiny, as most roadsters are, but real good lookin'.

            Roadster 3.0 will be back after model Y, which is expected in 2018/9. I would think 2020.

            I don't think it would be as good looking. The original Tesla Roadster had a body made by Lotus (basically from the same molds) based on the Elise. Unfortunately, for some re

  • How fast is the 0 to 88 MPH speed? (Score:4, Funny)

    by Joe_Dragon ( 2206452 ) on Tuesday August 23, 2016 @03:44PM (#52758123)

    How fast is the 0 to 88 MPH speed?

  • >"The P100D Ludicrous upgrade costs $10,000 for customers who have ordered a P90D Ludicrous but haven't taken delivery, or $20,000 for owners who already have that vehicle type."

    What is ludicrous is not just the speed, but the price! :)

    Oh, and do note, in that mode your range will be ludicrously low...

    • It's not abnormal
      The battery, not the motor, is the most expensive part in an electric car.

      There are electric car makers who sell you only an empty car, and rent you the battery.
      e.g.: Renault's Zoé
      These cars are rather cheap.
      (And in case of the Zoé, Renault have stated that:
      - they DON'T do remote kills, even if they technically own the battery
      - in fact they don't do any DRM on the battery
      - you could in theory stop paying the battery, bring it back, and refit the car with something else (yup, they

    • built the scale version (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward

      lol, very true.

      I just added a Ludicrous mode to my mobility scooter last weekend. Was even going to call it that, but label too long :(

      24v scooter now runs off of 60v and uses the little wheelie bars on it extensively :))

      Mine is more like 0-6 mph in .25 seconds. Really it is probably close to that and top end of 20 mph or so in 1 sec

      The 'hold my beer and watch this' mode is next but i doubt the motor will survive 72v for long.

      If the full size car is half as much fun..... ;)

    • I gotta admit, I read the first sentence:

      [...] a more powerful battery pack that the company said makes the Model S the world's quickest production car and gives it range of 315 miles on a single charge.

      And my first thought was, "I think you meant 'OR'."

  • Why's it called the Ludicrous version? Does it go to plaid?

  • Do you think I can get this "Ludacris" mode retrofitted onto my '95 Mazda Protege?

    https://youtu.be/G9ITtVbx-c4 [youtu.be]

    I'm not a Musk-car fan, but knowing it has a Ludacris mode makes me really want one.

     

  • Alarming Battery Costs (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Luthair ( 847766 ) on Tuesday August 23, 2016 @04:23PM (#52758441)
    Oddly enough I was messaging a friend about the high cost of the battery upgrade for the old roadster model earlier today. Personally the extreme cost of the batteries (much higher than say a replacement engine) leaves me with big questions about how viable electric cars will be from a maintenance perspective.

    • Re:Alarming Battery Costs (Score:4, Interesting)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 ) on Tuesday August 23, 2016 @04:55PM (#52758667) Homepage Journal

      The battery is good for 900,000 miles to 80% capacity remaining. Accelerated testing confirms it, as do drivers with 300k miles or more on their cars. It's basically 2x a typical petrol engine, similar to a diesel.

      When it's end of life you can sell it for recycling into other applications like home UPS/solar storage.

      • Being that Musk wants to get into that business for the home, couldn't they just set it up so you can replace your battery in your Tesla then have the old battery delivered and installed for a personal UPS/solar storage? I assume if you're wealthy enough to own a Tesla, you can probably afford this as well.

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Thelasko ( 1196535 )

      Personally the extreme cost of the batteries (much higher than say a replacement engine) leaves me with big questions about how viable electric cars will be from a maintenance perspective.

      They said the same thing about Prius batteries 15 years ago. Battery prices came down, and the batteries are very reliable. I still see some first generation Prii running around.

    • Re:Alarming Battery Costs (Score:5, Informative)

      by WCLPeter ( 202497 ) on Tuesday August 23, 2016 @11:22PM (#52760291) Homepage

      While on the surface that sounds like a lot of money, its important to remember that current model Teslas are premium products and are priced accordingly. More modest EVs, with their smaller packs, will be much more economical.

      For example Chevy has said they've gotten the pack price for their upcoming Chevy Bolt down to around $145/kWh, since they're planning on a 60kWh pack that works out to about $8,700 for the pack - after "profits" they'll probably sell replacements for 10k. That sounds like quite a bit, but when you consider that the pack should provide a usable lifetime range between 6-8 years its not that bad.

      * At 6 years that's about $1,666 annually, or $32/week.
      * At 8 years that's about $1,250 annually, or $24/week.

      Granted your experience will differ, for me its about $1 daily to fill up my 2015 Nissan Leaf since I don't drain the battery to empty. I'd expect a similar experience even if the pack size were larger than the current 24kWh pack I have. I've owned the Leaf two years now and I've spent perhaps, at most, $600 to fuel my car - or about $300 annually or $5.75 weekly. So using the examples above that takes the "fuel" costs up to:

      * 6 years = $1,666 + $300 = $1,966 or $37.80/week
      * 8 years = $1,250 + $300 = $1,550 or $29.80/week

      When I drove gas I spent upward of $40/week, about $2,080 annually, in fuel. When I consider the maintenance I'm no longer doing - oil changes, spark plugs, various belts, transmission, etc... - along with the cheaper insurance, my rates actually went down and I'm now paying about $75 monthly on a brand new car!, it works out to be cheaper overall. All in, without digging out my old receipts and doing the math, I was easily at least $50-$60 weekly ($15k-$25k total over 6/8 years) keeping my gas car running.

      However unlike a gas car which has these charges spread over the 6 to 8 years, making it easy to not notice them, when the time comes to replace the pack in an EV you pay it all out at once and this makes it looks like an expensive vehicle to maintain. Granted it is a lot of money to spend at one time on a car, but Total Cost of Ownership between EVs and Gas over time have no contest - EVs are far cheaper over the long term to maintain and run than a gas car. The biggest expense on EVs are tires, brakes, suspension, air conditioning, and the battery pack. Brakes seldom need to be replaced due to regenerative braking, tires are tires - everyone replaces those, and suspension and AC are just parts of the standard vehicle maintenance. But all the rest that comes with owning an ICE engine you just don't have that and you couldn't pay me to go back, I've got better things to spend my money on.

      And this, of course, assumes that you're going to replace the pack after 6-8 years. If the degraded pack still meets your needs, you can continue to drive on it until it doesn't. Additionally the battery tech is getting better all the time, so as the technology improves replacements will get cheaper and existing packs in newer vehicles will maintain their usable life for longer periods - the TCO will just get lower.

    • Some people pay $300 for a pair of jeans or $90 for a T shirt. Alarming yes, but not abnormal.

  • If a snail were driving it fast. (Score:5, Funny)

    by InterGuru ( 50986 ) <interguru@gm[ ].com ['ail' in gap]> on Tuesday August 23, 2016 @04:33PM (#52758487)

    Observers would say "Look at that S car go!'

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by Whibla ( 210729 )

      Very few people know, but some years back I actually used to be a professional snail racer. I was very successful too, as my primary racing snail, Guinness, was so fast, by snail standards anyway, that for years he was unbeatable.

      Unfortunately, like for all of us, age started catching up with him and he started slowing down. Not much at first, but, race after race, it became more and more noticeable. I must admit watching him get slower and slower was a thoroughly depressing experience and I tried everythin

      • If there needed to be an excuse for a "groan" mod, parent would have won it for the year. 3 paragraph buildup to a dad-joke. I don't know if you should be proud or ashamed.
  • Do they perform well on a track? I used to be all about straight line speed but I've been watching Top Gear a lot recently.
    • Love how our 85 handles the road. I have not taken it to a track, but on regular roads, this car tracks well and handles like a decent sports car.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by b0bby ( 201198 )

      Probably not too well. I know a guy who can buy whatever car he wants, pretty much loaded. He just bought a BMW M2 because it's small and light and he loves the way it handles. He tried the Tesla and just found it too ponderous for his taste. It is a heavy family car, after all.

  • A stupid-fast car that I can't take to the track without overheating the battery after one lap and replacing the tires after tearing them up trying to put a 2100kg car around a corner at speed.

  • I thought this was an odd statement:

    "While the P100D Ludicrous is obviously an expensive vehicle, we want to emphasize that every sale helps pay for the smaller and much more affordable Tesla Model 3 that is in development. Without customers willing to buy the expensive Model S and X, we would be unable to fund the smaller, more affordable Model 3 development."

    https://www.tesla.com/blog/new-tesla-model-s-now-quickest-production-car-world

    Given Tesla's history of missed dates and missed production numbers, sh
  • How long will the battery last if a person does the 2.5 second acceleration at every stop light? Because in all honesty I would have trouble not doing that.

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