Tesla has announced new versions of its electric Model S and Model X cars with faster acceleration and a longer battery range.
The company claims that its Model S P100D is the third-fastest-accelerating production car in the world after the LaFerrari and Porsche 918 Spyder, going from 0-60 mph in 2.5 seconds in a driving mode called “Ludicrous”.
That rate of acceleration is slightly slower than the LaFerrari and Porsche 918 Spyder, but those are both limited run, million-dollar two-seater cars, Tesla points out in a blogpost. The new Model S has four doors, can seat five adults and two children and has “exceptional cargo capacity”.
Tesla’s Ludicrous mode is made possible thanks to an advanced fuse system that allows the battery to fire out more power, which means more speed.
The Model S P100D comes with a 100 kilowatt hour battery, the largest Tesla has offered, which allows the vehicle to travel 315 miles on a single charge – although not if it is in Ludicrous mode.
The Model X P100D crossover, which also comes with Ludicrous mode, goes from 0-60 miles per hour in 2.9 seconds and will have a range of 289 miles on a single charge.
Improving the battery capacity by a little over 10% was a major challenge, Musk told reporters. “It’s more like a 50% increase in difficulty,” he told reporters.
The Model S will start at $134,500 and the Model X will start at $135,500.
“It is a very expensive car,” said Musk. The cash flow and research and development, however, will go towards making the the company’s Model 3 affordable. The Model 3, which has been 10 years in the making and is designed to take the electric car to the masses, is due to launch in 2017 and will start at $35,000.
The announcement will help Tesla shift attention away from the current Model S’s autopilot mode, which is under scrutiny following a fatal crash in June this year.
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