The company claims that its Model S P100D is the third-fastest-accelerating production auto in the world after the LaFerrari and Porsche 918 Spyder, going from 0-60 miles per hour in 2.5 seconds in a driving mode called “Ludicrous”.
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Tesla has unveiled new electric vehicle models that can travel 300 miles on one charge and accelerate from 0-60mph in 2.5 seconds.
This means the P100D Model S will sit above the current range-topper, the P90D, which is capable of doing 0-6-mph in just 2.7 seconds and has a maximum range of around 330 miles.
It wasn’t that long ago that Tesla announced “Ludicrous mode” for the Model S, pushing it to 60mph in 2.8 seconds.
It says the expensive frills of the P100D models will go to good use – it notes in its official blog post that the sales of these will help “pay for the smaller and much more affordable Tesla Model 3 that is in development”.
The models S and X will periodically receive over the air updates which will make them safer.
That’s a major boost compared to the P90D’s 2.8 seconds, although the P100D version of the Model X SUV will only hit 60 miles per hour in 2.9 seconds. That vehicle starts at US$79,000 new after estimated savings in the United States, according to Tesla’s website; the P100D is about $121,500 delivered to start.
Alongside the recently revealed entry-level Tesla Model S P60 and P60D, a new super-high performance version of the luxury electric vehicle – the P100D – has been confirmed.
Forgetting about outright performance for a moment, the extra 10 kWh of battery capacity provides the Model S with a 21 mile (34 km) range boost.
In a direct shot to Volkswagen which recently said it was going to create all-electric cars that could reach 300 miles on a single battery charge, Tesla says the larger battery pack will will make its vehicles the longest range production electric vehicles to date.
As for Tesla’s May announcement of its new target of building a 500,000 vehicles a year by 2018, the analyst was skeptical.
“It is a very expensive auto”, said Musk.
Tesla acknowledged that the LaFerrari and Porsche 918 Spyder with gasoline engines were faster than its new high-end S and X models. Exisiting P90D owners can get their cars to P100D spec for $20,000 (Rs 12.63 lakh) to cover costs of old battery recycling.
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Musk said the battery cell chemistry was the same as in previous Tesla models, but the battery pack was reconfigured to store more energy in the same space and handle increased cooling requirements. This is the largest range of production electric auto so far.
