Tesla Model S gets ‘ludicrous’, with new speed, range upgrades

Luxury electric vehicle maker Tesla has launched a series of upgrades to both the low and high end of its Model S range, including the option of a boosted acceleration function that allows the cars to achieve the “ludicrous” speed of 0-100km/h in 2.8 seconds.

In an announcement on Friday, the Californian car maker said new and existing Model S buyers would now have the option of upgrading the car’s battery pack from 85 to 90 kWh – extending the maximum range by 15 miles (just under 25km) to a total of around 300m at 65mph – for an extra $US3,000.

For those aspiring Model S owners for whom range was not a concern, a smaller 70kWh rear drive only Model S would also be made available, for $US70,000 (or as Tesla points out, ~$50k after incentives & gas savings) – a saving of around $US5,000 on the original entry-level all-wheel-drive model.

(Similar reductions will be made to the offering in Australia).

An upgrade to “ludicrous mode”, meanwhile – a $US5,000 option for existing owners of the high performance model, or a $10,000 added extra for new buyers – would see the car go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 2.8 seconds; a 10 per cent improvement from the Model S’ former max acceleration, aka “insane mode”.

“Fast than falling,” according to Tesla CEO and founder Elon Musk, ludicrous mode can also achieve a quarter of a mile (just under half a kilometre) in just 10.6 seconds.

“It’s like having your own private roller coaster,” Musk has said, referring to a rate of acceleration that pins you to the seat.

The company says the speed breakthrough came via the idea for an advanced smart fuse for the battery.

“We developed a fuse with its own electronics and a tiny lithium-ion battery. It constantly monitors current at the millisecond level and is pyro-actuated to cut power with extreme precision and certainty.

“That was combined with upgrading the main pack contractor to use inconel (a high temperature space-grade superalloy) instead of steel, so that it remains springy under the heat of heavy current.

“The net result is that we can safely increase max amp throughout from 1300 to 1500 Amps. If you don’t know much about Amps, trust me this is a silly big number of Amps to be going through something the size of your little fingernail.”

The new, more energy-dense battery pack – for better range – is a result of the forthcoming Model X SUV, which is heavier and needs more energy to get about the same range as the Model S, Musk said. It is the same size and weight of the current pack, but uses a new chemistry.

So, to summarise, customers can now buy one of three model S versions:

Model S P90D: truly Ludicrous performance; 0-60 in 2.8 sec with a quarter mile time of 10.9 seconds.
Motor Power: 259 hp front, 503 hp rear, 253 miles range

Model S 90D: the longest-range Model S ever produced, 90D travels up to 270 miles on a single charge. 417 hp

Model S 70: 230 miles range, 0=60: 5.2, 328 hp

“With the announcement today, we are improving both the low end and the high end,” Musk said in a call with reporters. “We will continue to make improvements.”

One of those will be an even faster acceleration rate, which according to Tesla is one speed faster than ludicrous, but is reserved for the next generation Roadster in four years: stay tuned for “maximum plaid.”