Advertisement

2013 Tesla Model S: Green Car Reports' Best Car To Buy 2013 Page 2

 
10,793 views Dec 10, 2012
Follow John

2012 Tesla Model S

2012 Tesla Model S

Enlarge Photo

Related Photo Galleries


See more photos »

The 85-kWh model has a practical real-world range of at least 200 or so miles, no matter how it's driven.

We'll see what the comparable figures are for the other two, but even the entry-level Model S is likely to deliver the 120-plus miles that many observers feel is the minimum acceptable for owners to avoid range anxiety.


For longer trips, Tesla is rapidly opening a network of Supercharger quick-charge stations--and the power they provide is absolutely free.

Not cheap

The Tesla sport sedan, mind you, is hardly a cheap car.

Prices for the 2013 Model S start at $59,900 for the lowest-range version and rise in $10,000 increments from there, with the Performance version adding $10,000 more on top of the cost for the 85-kWh version.

On the other hand, almost no advanced automotive technology enters the market at the low end--and electric propulsion is just one reason to buy a Model S.

2012 Tesla Model S

2012 Tesla Model S

Enlarge Photo

It holds four people comfortably, five people adequately, and Tesla promises a pair of optional child-sized rear-facing jump seats to fit into the load bay at some future point.

No guarantees

Our award is no guarantee that Tesla Motors will survive, that the Model S will provide durable electric transportation for decades to come, or even that battery-electric cars will take noticeable market share any time soon.

But the disbelief, criticism, and sneering that often confronts startup companies with radical new ideas has, in the case of Tesla, already given way to grudging acknowledgment even by skeptics that the 2013 Tesla Model S is a viable, well-built, functional, and competent car that's also fun to drive.

For that reason, there was really little other competition for our Best Car To Buy Award for 2013.

Congratulations, Tesla.

+++++++++++

Follow GreenCarReports on Facebook and Twitter.






Tags:
Posted in:
 
Contribute
Send us a tip Comment Contact the editor
Follow Us

 

Have an opinion?

  • Posting indicates you have read this site's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
  • Notify me when there are more comments
Comments (62)

  1. CDspeed avatar CDspeed . Posted: 12/10/2012 6:49am PST

    There's no doubt it's a rolling revolution. P.S. nice article John.
     
    Post Reply
    +2
    Bad stuff?

     

  2. fb_1673478101 avatar Jackie Cox Posted: 12/21/2012 7:32pm PST

    its got 4 wheels
     
    Post Reply
    0
    Bad stuff?

     

  3. ragincajun84 avatar Darrel Thibodeaux Posted: 2/19/2013 6:24am PST

    Hey look, I want one of these for my weekday driving so I can afford to drive like a bandit on the weekend with my BOSS 302!
     
    Post Reply
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

  4. fb_1001015277 avatar John Briggs Posted: 12/10/2012 6:54am PST

    Well said. Nice job John Voelcker
     
    Post Reply
    +3
    Bad stuff?

  5. Chris O avatar Chris O Posted: 12/10/2012 7:50am PST

    Well deserved for Tesla and very well and positively reported by John Voelcker.

    Guess "the disbelief, criticism, and sneering that often confronts startup companies with radical new ideas" is indeed starting to change to "grudging acknowledgment even by skeptics that the 2013 Tesla Model S is a viable, well-built, functional, and competent car that's also fun to drive" and that's the sort of acknowledgement Tesla needs to survive.

    I think a startup needs to do things better than anyone else to prove it has a right to exist and the increasing number of awards testify that Tesla has really succeeded in doing just that.
     
    Post Reply
    +1
    Bad stuff?

     

  6. fb_1673478101 avatar Jackie Cox Posted: 12/21/2012 7:33pm PST

    public relations stunts are expensive, but compared to the millions in unwary investors when you get the ball rolling by buying 15 million of your own stock without actually having to put the money down, as 92 million coms rolling in when stupid investors buy the worthless stock, as the company has lost billions and currently unable to produce at break even much less count for the lost/missing cash
     
    Post Reply
    0
    Bad stuff?

  7. johnny mars avatar johnny mars Posted: 12/10/2012 8:17am PST

    Can't touch this, do-do-do-doo, da-da-da-da. Maybe Hammer can, but I don't have the dough. I'll stick with the C-Max.
     
    Post Reply
    +2
    Bad stuff?

     

  8. Chris O avatar Chris O Posted: 12/10/2012 8:59am PST

    Better be the Energi version. If you get the regular hybrid you might be in for a "I used to love her but it's all over now" (Rolling Stones)experience when you find out its real world mileage, which is currently under investigation by the EPA.
     
    Post Reply
    +2
    Bad stuff?

  9. fb_629637578 avatar Daniel Watkins Posted: 12/10/2012 6:36pm PST

    C-max only get about 40MPG real world average. EPA is investigating inflated MPG #s
     
    Post Reply
    +1
    Bad stuff?

  10. fb_1673478101 avatar Jackie Cox Posted: 1/2/2013 9:26pm PST

    coal powered GREEN ? "BRICK "
     
    Post Reply
    -2
    Bad stuff?

  11. robok2 avatar robok2 Posted: 12/10/2012 8:26am PST

    Whatever one thinks about Tesla and the reporting of the company here at GCR, this is great news, not only for Tesla itself, but for ther entire EV movement. Although Tesla certainly has struggles ahead as well, every bit of mainstream legitimacy it gets outside those of us here (just meaning those of us already interested and inclined toward EVs/HEVs/PHEVs) will help to make it seem better to the skeptics Tesla will also need to conveince eventually.

    Great choice and great work by Tesla!
     
    Post Reply
    +1
    Bad stuff?

     

  12. robok2 avatar robok2 Posted: 12/10/2012 8:27am PST

    *convince... Oops...!
     
    Post Reply
    0
    Bad stuff?

  13. fb_1470388190 avatar David Laur Posted: 12/10/2012 9:57am PST

    There will always be tradeoffs no matter which car you buy unless you are willing to pay several thousand more than the S85's sticker price. But for the money, it is very reasonably priced and that may seem like a difficult thing to wrap your head around but when most large luxury cars in the class are burning thru 15-20 cents for every mile in fuel alone, the balance sheet quickly moves into any EVs favor.

    When the smart consumer realizes that, EVs will start to come into their own. When consumers realize that they can incorporate a much shorter range (and cheaper), then the revolution will be in full swing!
     
    Post Reply
    +2
    Bad stuff?

     

  14. fb_527471544 avatar Brian Hall Posted: 12/10/2012 5:16pm PST

    Yeah, check out the calcs at teslarumors.com/teslanomics . "Can you afford NOT to buy a Tesla?"
     
    Post Reply
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

  15. fb_1673478101 avatar Jackie Cox Posted: 1/2/2013 11:04pm PST

    In a nation where more than 40,000 are killed on the roads each year personally I would rather pay the difference, My car has a 5 star front end collision rating, and 4 star side, between me and an EV I would walk away, The EV, call 911, and pray
     
    Post Reply
    -2
    Bad stuff?

  16. dRanger avatar Norm Satkoski Posted: 12/10/2012 10:21am PST

    In order to maintain some kind of journalistic balance somebody should probably come up with something a bit negative, but...it's not going to be me! Reservation #3902 - car coming next month - WOOHOO!
     
    Post Reply
    +3
    Bad stuff?

     

  17. fb_1673478101 avatar Jackie Cox Posted: 1/2/2013 11:15pm PST

    Hope you don't live in hilly country, or hot weather or traffic jams, enjoy life illusions are about all 7 or 8 billion of us still have, and be careful out there in the P R Stunt world, where they tell you what to buy, then sell it to you. Study wht the germans are doing with hydrides, or sticking complex electrodes into water creating hydrogen, really cheap, and not powered by coal fired power plants, like the black EV's painted Green, soon to be no more, except for the tiny light weight versions that don't have to travel on roadways, like those 2 wheeler mall guard transports, the real efficiency in matters of scale can be seen in the tiny Toy helicopters in malls, not on the roads, not green, not like hydrogen- oil lobbies prevent
     
    Post Reply
    -1
    Bad stuff?

  18. fb_208177 avatar Doug King Posted: 12/10/2012 10:47am PST

    The obvious winner. But it seemed to me this car would be disqualified by your own rules. The price limit was $60K (clearly so the Model S could qualify), but there is no way you guys got to test drive the $60K/40kWh version of this car by your deadline last week.
     
    Post Reply
    +1
    Bad stuff?

     

  19. john_v avatar John Voelcker Posted: 12/10/2012 3:33pm PST

    @Doug: You're right that we did not drive the 40-kWh version of the Model S that specifically falls within our price parameter. After discussing it internally, we concluded that if one model in the range that fell within our price cap, we could legitimately give the award to the entire model range.
     
    Post Reply
    +2
    Bad stuff?

  20. fb_1559222512 avatar Xiaolong Li Posted: 12/10/2012 2:44pm PST

    Best Car To Buy 2013, if money is no concern...
     
    Post Reply
    +1
    Bad stuff?

     

  21. JRP3 avatar JRP3 Posted: 12/10/2012 4:12pm PST

    Not true, a number of Model S customers are stretching the budget to afford this car, with the full knowledge that some of the premium will be paid back with lower fueling costs.
     
    Post Reply
    0
    Bad stuff?

     

  22. fb_599454693 avatar Jan Durzynski Posted: 12/11/2012 8:10am PST

    I really feel so bad for those Tesla S buyers who need to stretch their budgets to afford the car... Is there anything else that us common folk can do to help? More tax write-offs maybe?
     
    Post Reply
    0
    Bad stuff?

     

  23. jeffhre avatar Jeff Hre Posted: 12/11/2012 12:17pm PST

    Just keep stretching out those mpg's as far as you can in "regular" cars. So maybe more petro-dollars will stay here, and can be used to hire our people at some point, as well as the Saudis and Venezuelans that are being hired with petro-dollars now. Which could help us all live better and maybe even start looking for better jobs again.
     
    Post Reply
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

     

  24. jeffhre avatar Jeff Hre Posted: 12/11/2012 12:18pm PST

    Hey, it just occurred to me, maybe that was the point of those tax write-offs.
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

  25. dRanger avatar Norm Satkoski Posted: 12/11/2012 1:30pm PST

    No, no - I think I'm good for now, but you might join me in shedding a tear for the oil companies and the gas I won't be buying. I really hope the $4 billion they get in annual subsidies helps them over the rough spot.
     
    Post Reply
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

     

  26. fb_1559222512 avatar Xiaolong Li Posted: 12/11/2012 2:32pm PST

    I believe Leaf and Volt have more than 200 Million Electric miles.

    That is probably more miles than all the Tesla S sedans going to cover in the next 2 years.

    The point is to build many EVs for the mainstream consumers, not few super good EVs for the wealthy.
    +1
    Bad stuff?

  27. fb_1134791105 avatar Mittar Khalsa Posted: 12/12/2012 7:01am PST

    I'm so tempted to do such a stretch, but I really have no business buying this car in my current financial position.
     
    Post Reply
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

  28. fb_1559222512 avatar Xiaolong Li Posted: 12/11/2012 2:09pm PST

    Don't get me wrong. I support Tesla and its effort at creating the S sedan.

    But selling few thousands of Tesla S @ $100k per year aren't going to saving nearly as much oil/gas as a cheap version of the Nissan Leaf that gets 150 miles EV range that sells in the tens of thousands.

    Or even extra 100,000 45mpg+ cars on the road to replace the 25mpg+ cars...

    When Tesla can come out with a sedan that goes more than 150 miles AND cost less than $35k, then I would really think they "did" it.

    For now, it is still the "BEST CAR TO BUY WHEN MONEY IS NO CONCERN".
     
    Post Reply
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

     

  29. dRanger avatar Norm Satkoski Posted: 12/11/2012 3:16pm PST

    I am not going to bore you with the stories about how there would probably be no Chevy Volt if Tesla had not built the Roadster. You could look up Bob Lutz, the GM father of the Volt and find out what convinced him to build theVolt. Bob has a lot more credibility than me, for sure. You will find a similar story at the root of the decision to build the Leaf. That Roadster is a REAL toy for the wealthy, and yet it had a major influence on the industry You can find Tesla's original strategy clearly laid out on their website. Bluestar is coming - Tesla just needs to be successful enough to finance it. Tesla is trying to get that financing from the wealthy because ...they have money.
     
    Post Reply
    +1
    Bad stuff?

     

  30. fb_1559222512 avatar Xiaolong Li Posted: 12/12/2012 11:28am PST

    Sure, I agree that Tesla has proven the industry "wrong" and make a huge impact in the direction of EVs.

    But with the "low" number of EVs on the market today, I would say that impact is still FAR SMALLER than what the hybrids did in improving the overall fuel consumption. (I am saying this with the fact that I don't like Prius). Prius probably has done FAR MORE in saving gas than Tesla has done in its existance.

    With that said, I do agree that Tesla has started a "revolution". Debunking the myth that EVs can't be competitive or people don't want it. But we should realize the fact that the largest IMPACT to overall efficiency will come from the LEAST efficent segment (SUV/Truck) and highest quanitity (Affordable midsize family car).
     
    Post Reply
    +1
    Bad stuff?

     

  31. fb_1673478101 avatar Jackie Cox Posted: 12/21/2012 7:17pm PST

    what they saved in petro, they more than made up for in coal used to power the green car painting over the color of coal, which causes untold deaths as emissions are released in the gas phase and speciate in the clouds, raining down the SO's NO's HG, etc etc into our hydrological mess
    -3
    Bad stuff?

  32. fb_1673478101 avatar Jackie Cox Posted: 12/21/2012 7:19pm PST

    if Gm faces faiure again it will be somewhat attributable to the wasted dollars in trying to please barry soretoe, with his clouded perspective of wind and solar powered electric grid, which after 4 years and untold lost/wasted billions, wind and solar provide near 2 % at a cost 40 % greater that grid suppliers, without costing in the wasted dollars---I_D_I_O_T_S---disbarred lawyers and internet philanthropist making decisions they pull outta their oversized a---s
     
    Post Reply
    -1
    Bad stuff?

     

  33. john_v avatar John Voelcker Posted: 1/3/2013 7:03am PST

    @Jackie: I note that of the 50 comments on this article, you have contributed 20 of them--or fully 40 percent.

    It appears that you are deeply unset by our selection of the Tesla Model S as our 2013 Best Car To Buy. Got that.

    Can we move along to another topic now?
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

  34. fb_1673478101 avatar Jackie Cox Posted: 12/21/2012 7:28pm PST

    I could buy " car of the year " with an edsel if I paid for the add, what is it about public relations stunts, luring the unwary investor do you not understand ?
     
    Post Reply
    0
    Bad stuff?

  35. fb_1134791105 avatar Mittar Khalsa Posted: 12/12/2012 6:58am PST

    Nice write up.
     
    Post Reply
    0
    Bad stuff?

  36. Starliner avatar Kent Stuart Posted: 12/12/2012 8:01am PST

    I had a bad dream recently, that Tesla went bankrupt and was sold to a Chinese conglomerate with controlling interest in a SuperPAC....
     
    Post Reply
    -1
    Bad stuff?

     

  37. robok2 avatar robok2 Posted: 12/13/2012 2:07pm PST

    LOL! But then again, it's not that farfetched, except it'd be an American anti-environment, pro-oil PAC...
     
    Post Reply
    +1
    Bad stuff?

  38. fb_1673478101 avatar Jackie Cox Posted: 12/21/2012 7:10pm PST

    YOU BEAMED IN ON THE FUTURE OF TESLA, EXCEPT NO CHINESE COMPANY WOULD BE SO STUPID, Its kinda like the chinese solar cells elon gets paid to hire installers on military bases slotted for closure, funny thing, China doesn't use them ? Could it be wind and solar cost 40 % more than current electricity, without paying back the billions in failed windmills and solar experiments, where all but barrys butty, elon is still around. imagine a disbarred chicago illigal immigrant and internet philanthropist BANKRUPTCY ARTIST, making decisions about what science and technology to use in americas energy supply---germany on the other hand have spent a few decades developing hydrides or hydrogen fuel cells that are not coal powered, leaving no signature
     
    Post Reply
    -1
    Bad stuff?

  39. fb_1673478101 avatar Jackie Cox Posted: 12/21/2012 7:00pm PST

    400 miles at near 40 mph, thats 10 hours, without pitt stops, hilly, country, or hot weather, discharge the battery and it has to be replaced 40,000 dollars, one guy got what ? 26 miles in L A Traffic, the AC depleted the battery in LA 's parking lot, people take to and from work, spending more tme in traffic than work...How much does it cost to be named car of the year in motor trend magazine, for a G-R-E-E-N ??? coal powered car
     
    Post Reply
    -2
    Bad stuff?

     

  40. fb_1673478101 avatar Jackie Cox Posted: 12/21/2012 7:10pm PST

    Its sad to see america under occupation by criminality
     
    Post Reply
    0
    Bad stuff?

  41. john_v avatar John Voelcker Posted: 12/22/2012 10:46am PST

    @Jackie: Actually, Jackie, Tesla doesn't advertise in magazines, so there is no possibility that Motor Trend was influenced by ad spending in its selection of the Model S as its car of the year.
     
    Post Reply
    +1
    Bad stuff?

     

  42. jackiecox avatar jackie cox Posted: 2/23/2013 12:44pm PST

    Who reads magazines, other than in waiting rooms, People spend more time on the internet reading the cloudy P R Stuntmasters with a room full of laptops ad a computer not online to keep track of their multiple personalities that appear on phony video blogs where you read what appears to be many people but only a few. If you have doe your investigative journalism about elon musk and his relationship with obama, and the chronological timeline of history in tsla, spacex, and solar city, I wonder why you would even bother to write, giving his stunt masters a free opportunity to spout off about his phony claims to be an engineering design, manufacturer, internet philanthropist, etc etc, I would think a report to the FBI would be more appropriate
     
    Post Reply
    +1
    Bad stuff?

  43. fb_1673478101 avatar Jackie Cox Posted: 12/21/2012 7:33pm PST

    I would get one but living in LA the towing fees would bankrupt me
     
    Post Reply
    0
    Bad stuff?

  44. fb_1673478101 avatar Jackie Cox Posted: 12/21/2012 7:39pm PST

    One thing about the internet, anyone can say pretty much anything they like, its similar to las vegas ethics or the NYSE insiders, its all about cash, parallel with the gold rush, except gold has no real value, but last more than the few years lithium laptop batteries last, until they swell up from use and become worthless, and have to be replaced, but hey ! 40 thou is nothing if you want to buy a tesla, used to throwing your money away, on near worthless fashion, and don't drive much
     
    Post Reply
    0
    Bad stuff?

  45. fb_1673478101 avatar Jackie Cox Posted: 12/21/2012 7:40pm PST

    ha ha ha ha ha words are cheap, like the idea a coal powered car is green
     
    Post Reply
    -1
    Bad stuff?

     

  46. john_v avatar John Voelcker Posted: 12/22/2012 10:48am PST

    @Jackie: Actually, if you'd bothered to do any research, you'd know that a mile driven on grid power is lower carbon than a 25-mpg gasoline car in all 50 states.

    In states with the very dirtiest grids--ND + WV, IIRC--a 50-mpg car like the Toyota Prius is slightly greener. In California, however, where more plug-in cars will be sold than in the next 5 states combined, the grid is relatively clean and electric cars are DECISIVELY cleaner and lower carbon.

    But as you say in a prior comment--one of seven you seem to have spewed out--"anyone can say pretty much anything they like" on the Internet.

    It just might help make your case if you had actual facts & data behind you when you say it.
     
    Post Reply
    +2
    Bad stuff?

     

  47. fb_1673478101 avatar Jackie Cox Posted: 1/2/2013 10:30pm PST

    @john, actually for the last 10 years I have been studying Coal Fired Power Plants costs to america in terms of economic costs, compared to gasoline, but my primary time was/is spent in finding ways to eleminate the toxic downstream flow of releasing SO, NO, HG etc in gas phase they speciate into particulate toxic winds and rains, The new plants are virtually emission free, both of them, The other near 1200 release emissions from near 500 degrees, and above 800 degrees, HG-mercury, most damaging to our planet, causing untold deaths for each plant, before studies of early deaths downwind were discontinued, before Mercury was even discovered, being only 8 to 16 parts per million, avg study exposed 144 per plant, the tip of deaths iceberg...
     
    Post Reply
    -1
    Bad stuff?

  48. fb_1673478101 avatar Jackie Cox Posted: 1/2/2013 10:42pm PST

    I figure no one would be much different from anyone else if they had the data of others, who rely on our academic caste system and political arena lobbies for data---where people are told what to buy then its sold to them---TRUTH---is our future, fostered by the information revolution where data doubles every few years that used to take centuries, unfortunately we still depend on human opinion enacted into law for greed, lust,ambition, as our leaders shun information technology, like IBM's mainframe Watson, designed for our educational, legal-medical-political realm, capable of storing infinite amounts of data, allowing direction based on variables, so our decisions will see and end to most wrongful diagnosis, incarceration, group learning.
     
    Post Reply
    -1
    Bad stuff?

  49. fb_1673478101 avatar Jackie Cox Posted: 1/2/2013 10:54pm PST

    Again simply stating regions, and not discussing geophysical, topographical, trade winds, ocean streams, populations, demographics, surface area, land use, etc, your information lacks validity, without a math platform to provide real numbers based on the cycles of known variables creating an objective data regression decision, or empirical matrix, capable of predicting the present, with possibilities of a future, where time changes all things, your speculations about Coal powered battery driven EV's are without merit. My life has been one chronological timeline of activity using existing instrumentation to develop better methods of study as instrumentation permits, Our instrumentation defines us, it who we are, bring us into TRUTH, Reality
     
    Post Reply
    -2
    Bad stuff?

    50. There are more comments in this thread

  50. Mark Stang avatar Mark Stang Posted: 12/28/2012 9:43pm PST

    Tesla is the only EV maker that produces a car that is more than competive to its competion whether is gasoline or electric. Tesla Model S is also the only highway caple EV on the market as well. Tesla has forever changed the preception of what an electric cars can be.
     
    Post Reply
    +1
    Bad stuff?

     

  51. fb_1673478101 avatar Jackie Cox Posted: 1/2/2013 9:51pm PST

    An objective research in matters of scale comparing coal powered electric green cars, to german hydrides, or metal electrodes into water, releasing hydrogen for energy, they have spent the last 20 years developing, brings electric cars to an end. Obama may well back eletrix cars, wind and solar, each having its place, when considering matters of scale, but like economics, barry simply has no fundamental understanding of science, after 4 years and wasted billions, wind and solar provide near 2 % of our energy, costing 40 % more discounting the lost dollars of the contraptions he-chu-DOE buy. Electric cars are not green, Hydrogen is green, and far cheaper than coal powered electric cars. Oil lobbies stall Hydrogen in the USA. alogically
     
    Post Reply
    0
    Bad stuff?

     

  52. ragincajun84 avatar Darrel Thibodeaux Posted: 2/19/2013 8:04am PST

    Hydrogen go BOOM! ;-) Just saying
     
    Post Reply
    +1
    Bad stuff?

  53. fb_1673478101 avatar Jackie Cox Posted: 1/2/2013 9:34pm PST

    How many hours do LA drivers spend in traffic (parking lots) with their air conditioners going, plugincars.com reveals interesting facts about tsla compared to actual production cars in the EV market. Airconditioners use battery power. I read where one tesla got 46 miles brfore getting towed at owners expense to avoid depleting his battery creating a " Brick " the popular name tesla gives people who deplete their battery requiring replacement, where without obama taxpayer credits cost more than 40 thou. Germany has developed a series of hydride fuel cells using metal electrodes water releasing hydrogen energy, Its the future of energy in the matter of scale in automotive energy, Obama may back lectrix cars, wind and solar, its science !!!!
     
    Post Reply
    0
    Bad stuff?

     

  54. ragincajun84 avatar Darrel Thibodeaux Posted: 2/19/2013 8:06am PST

    Where do you read this stuff? I may be green (in the uninformed sense of the word) but I like the idea of a green car that goes 0 to 60 damn fast.
     
    Post Reply
    -1
    Bad stuff?

  55. fb_1673478101 avatar Jackie Cox Posted: 1/2/2013 11:31pm PST

    Nissan became the latest last week to say it is ready to mass-produce cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Honda, Toyota and Hyundai say they will have fuel-cell cars — which create electricity on board to power the car — ready to go on sale by 2015.
     
    Post Reply
    0
    Bad stuff?

  56. EV Guy avatar Kerry Beauhrt Posted: 1/23/2013 8:29pm PST

    I am very disappointed that the Model S has such a restricted driving range on the Interstates. It is an unacceptable car in its present form. It needs a battery with at least 75% more capacity and a faster recharge rate, at least three times faster. I'm also very disappointed that this website has failed to warn prospective buyers that even the top end Model S has no ability to make extended trips in a reasonable fashion. Is this website a shill for Tesla Motors, or are those who write these articles unaware of what the driving range of a model S really is at Interstate speeds? In other words, are you all crooked, or just dumb? Pay no attention to EPA highway figures - their test loop has nothing to do with Interstate driving.
     
    Post Reply
    +1
    Bad stuff?

     

  57. john_v avatar John Voelcker Posted: 1/24/2013 3:22am PST

    @Kerry: Thanks for contributing your thoughts.

    Your accusations that GCR is "a shill for Tesla Motors" neatly balance out those of our readers who insist that our coverage is biased against Tesla and intended to cause the company to fail.

    To the substance of your complaint, however: Do you REALLY think that Tesla Model S buyers are not aware of the car's capabilities? That anyone who spends $60K to $100K on a rare all-electric car from a brand-new and virtually unknown automaker won't do their research first?

    RLY?
     
    Post Reply
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

  58. JimE L avatar Jim L Posted: 3/17/2013 6:16am PDT

    This video should be updated as Tesla has updated it's software.
    You can now choose to have the car door handles extend as you approach the vehicle. As far as aggressive regen braking you can now choose a lower regen which gives a less agressive feel.
     
    Post Reply
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

  59. JimE L avatar Jim L Posted: 3/17/2013 6:25am PDT

    Tesla's supercharging stations are mainly solar powered which actually give more to the grid than is used for charging their vehicles. As they install more stations across the country, tesla owners will be able to afford longer trips for FREE!!!
     
    Post Reply
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

     

  60. john_v avatar John Voelcker Posted: 3/17/2013 7:12am PDT

    @Jim: As of today (mid-March 2013), I believe that only one or two of the eight currently operating Tesla SuperCharging stations has a solar canopy: the one at their facility in Hawthorne, CA, and perhaps one other California location.
     
    Post Reply
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

 

Have an opinion?Join the conversation!

Advertisement
Get great deals on the 2013 Tesla Model S!
By clicking above, you agree that your data will be subject to our Car Quotes Privacy Policy
Advertisement

Find Green Cars

Go!

Advertisement

More from High Gear Media

 
 
Green Car Reports
  • Follow Us
  • Twiiter
  • Facebook
 
 
© 2013 Green Car Reports. All Rights Reserved. Green Car Reports is published by High Gear Media. Send us feedback. Stock photography by Homestar, LLC.