The third fastest accelerating production car is now a Tesla. The Model S P100D with “Ludicrous mode” is capable of going from zero to 60 miles per hour in 2.5 seconds. That is slower only than the Ferrari LaFerrari and the Porsche 918 Spyder two-seaters, according to Tesla.
By way of contrast, the Model S P100D sedan has four doors and seats five adults and has room for some cargo (Tesla claims the car can seat five adults plus two children and has ample boot space but we think this seems overly optimistic or based on the adults being being horse jockey size!). And we haven’t even got to the price yet…
The Internet has exploded into action on the heels of this news, with many sites crowning the P100D as the fastest production car on earth (it actually isn’t) and noting that its acceleration time beats gravity (it does; gravity accelerates objects to 100km/h in 2.75 seconds). As usual, Tesla founder Elon Musk shows he knows how to grab the headlines but we’re glad it isn’t for claiming we live in a simulation this time.
The P100D’s 100 kilowatt battery increases the range to an estimated 315 miles by US regulatory standards, or 613 kilometers by a European Union standard, making it the first electric production vehicle to break the 300-mile barrier, according to Tesla. The larger battery pack is also available on the Tesla Model X, making the world’s fastest SUV even quicker and giving it a range of up to 289 miles on a charge.
The new P100D had a starting price of $135,000 and has its top speed limited to 155mph. You should be arching your eyebrows in disbelief at that because its speedy competitors the LaFerrari and Porsche 918 were obviously priced north of $1 million.
“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,” the car maker said in a blog post. Tesla didn’t say anything about this but it should be noted that no other car at this price is able to achieve this level of acceleration. Furthermore, this is the only full production vehicle still available from the manufacturer because the Ferrari and the Porsche ended their runs some time ago.
Early this month, Tesla Motors reported a larger second-quarter loss than expected as it worked to speed production in the face of strong demand for its electric cars. Tesla reported a net loss of $293.2 million, or $2.09 per share, in the quarter ended on June 30, up from a $184.2 million loss in the same period a year earlier. Revenue at the California-based company climbed to $1.27 billion in the second quarter from $955 million a year ago. Tesla is touting the new models as it faces a wave of bad publicity about self-driving capabilities in its electric vehicles.
A fatal accident in the United States and other less serious incidents in China prompted concerns about the safety of autonomous driving systems, but Tesla remained devoted to improving the technology.
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