Tesla Model S 90D Rated 302 Mile Range By EPA

The Tesla Model S 90D is the first electric car with more than 300 miles of range. The latest official figures from the EPA show the car has 302 miles of range on the highway. Yes, that is under ideal conditions travelling at steady speed on level ground with the climate control system off, but as the fossil fuel crowd has been saying for decades, “Your mileage may vary. See dealer for details. The EPA numbers are for a car equipped with the standard 19” wheels and tires.

Unlike the city driving tests, the EPA highway protocol assumes the Model S will accelerate up to speed and maintain a fairly high speed, with only minor variations, throughout the entire test. The dual motor configuration of the Model S is a big benefit under those conditions. Tesla has devised sophisticated algorithms that individually control the torque provided by each of the individual electric motors.

The Model S with the 90 kWh battery is only available with dual motors. In the standard car, both motors are rated at 193 horsepower. The mighty performance model, the P90D, has a rear motor rated at 375 horsepower. Even though both motors in the standard car have the same horsepower rating, they have different gearing. That’s where the sophisticated control software comes into play. It can select the optimum output from each motor individually based on power needs at any given moment. It samples conditions and makes adjustments 100 times a second.

Rumors continue to swirl about a 100 kWh battery waiting in the wings. Elon Musk has often said he expects battery performance to increase at the rate of about 5 t0 8 percent a year. If that is true, a Tesla with 350 miles of range may be available in the next few years. Coupled with its high power Supercharger network, Tesla is working hard to make range anxiety nothing more than a distant memory.

Source: Teslarati  Photo credit: Tesla Motors

Elon Musk Delivers a 10 Second Car: Tesla Model S P90D

The new Ludicrous Mode enabled Tesla Model S P90D apparently managed to do 0–60 mph in just 2.6 seconds on its way to an astonishing 10.9 second 1/4 mile pass during recent testing by Motor Trend, according to reports. That kind of performance puts the big Tesla sedan on par with just about anything on wheels in the Fast and Furious franchise!

The news was noteworthy enough that Tesla CEO Elon Musk himself felt the need to share a link to the article via Twitter. Going from a dead standstill to 60 mph in just 2.6 seconds is rather ridiculous, to be fair. So why not brag about it?

Elon Musk 

✔@elonmusk

Model S Ludicrous Mode achieves 2.6 sec 0-60 mph and 10.9 sec 1/4 mile in Motor Trend test http://m.motortrend.com/roadtests/sedans/2015-tesla-model-s-p90d-ludicrous-upgrade-first-test-review/??sm_id=social_aumomotortrendhub_MotorTrend_20151028_54607566&adbid=659489836311556096&adbpl=tw&adbpr=25383000 …

9:33 PM - 28 Oct 2015

 
•  1,2751,275 Retweets
 
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The Motor Trend coverage of the new Tesla offering is rather fun overall, so I recommend heading over there if you have time to read the full article. If not, here are some of the highlights (in my opinion):

Stop what you’re doing right now. Stop texting. Get off YouTube, close Facebook, and pause for a moment so you can truly appreciate the times we’re living in, a world where if you have the means you can go out and buy an American-made, 762-hp, all-wheel-drive electric car that’s as capable of driving itself as it is smoking supercars off the line. That car is the new Ludicrous-enhanced 2015 Tesla Model S P90D.
As fabulous as Tesla’s new semi-autonomous autopilot feature is, the 762-hp Model S P90D is a car that begs to be driven. The P90D starts life as an already-insane Model S P85D but with the P85D’s 221-hp front and 470-hp rear (691 hp combined) motors swapped for a front motor that makes 259 hp and 244 lb-ft of torque and a rear motor that produces 503 hp and 469 lb-ft of torque. Total output is 762 hp and 713 lb-ft of torque.
Hold those horses, though; to get the most out of your P90D — and to get something less Insane and a little more Ludicrous — you’ve got to drop a cool $10,000 on the Ludicrous Speed upgrade. The upgrade adds a couple of pieces of hardware to the P90D, including main battery pack contacts made of Inconel (a “space-grade super alloy”) that allows Tesla to increase the current flow rate from 1,300 to 1,500 amps, and an advanced new fuse for the 90-kW-hr battery. This fuse has its own electronics and a tiny lithium-ion battery built into it that allows Tesla to better bridge the gap between a Model S’ normal operating current and max current. In plain English, it gives the motors access to more of the battery’s power and does it faster, without risk of the fuse being blown.

As noted in the Motor Trend coverage, amongst all of the many, many vehicles tested by Motor Trend, only two can beat the P90D outright in a 0–60 miles per hour sprint- and both of those are hybrids. The Porsche 918 Spyder, which carried a $845,000 starting price when it was still being produced, and Ferrari’s unbranded LaFerrari at around $2 million US.

One final note: as tested by Motor Trend, the P90D very reliably does a quarter-mile in just 10.9 seconds. That’s quite an advertising statement on its own, isn’t it? Here’s a final quote:

Although the Tesla Model S generally specializes in short sprints that are perfectly suited for metered freeway on-ramps, it’s also a capable drag racer. With a full charge, the P90D reliably rips through the quarter mile in 10.9 seconds, hitting 122.7 mph. Those numbers make the EV the fastest four-door sedan we’ve ever tested, besting both the mighty 707-hp Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat and the Audi RS 7 at the strip. The P90D is a supercar beater, too, beating the Porsche 911 Turbo S and Nissan GT-R NISMO (among others) through the quarter mile, though in sprints much longer than that, the Porsche will walk away as the Model S nears its 155 mph top speed.