Tesla Model S News
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A third-party app could let drivers control their Tesla Model S electric cars from an Apple Watch.
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Tesla P85D Highlights Why EPA Range Ratings Are Inconsistent & Confusing For Electric Cars
There’s been a lot of confusion recently about the official EPA-certified ranges of certain electric cars. That all-important number goes on the window sticker, and is typically used for advertising and marketing purposes. In November, Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk announced, with great fanfare...
David Noland -
About That (One) Tesla Battery Swapping Station: An Update
Eighteen months ago, in the kind of flashy, highly-publicized event it's so good at, Tesla Motors said it would launch battery swapping for its Model S electric car. CEO Elon Musk presided over a demonstration in which the underfloor battery pack of a Model S was apparently removed and replaced in...
John Voelcker -
New, Smaller Porsche Four-Door Sedan To Be Electric Only: Rumor
It's pretty clear by now that the German luxury automakers, at first startled and shocked by the all-electric Tesla Model S, plan to fight back. But the latest report out of Germany--and it's still nothing more than a rumor--is the most indicative of how seriously one of them takes the competition...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model S P85D 'Insane' Mode: NSFW Video Shows How Fast It Really Is
Many Tesla fans and electric-car drivers now know about the Model S P85D, Tesla's all-wheel-drive electric car that's arguably the fastest four-door sedan on the market. What most of them likely don't know is just what the car's ultimate performance mode, called "Insane," actually feels like. DON'T...
John Voelcker -
Tesla P85D Destroys Dodge Challenger Hellcat On Dragstrip: Electric Car Thrashes 707-HP Hemi (Video)
Say "P85D" to Tesla owners and fans, and you will see the drooling and twitching and heavy breathing and lustful stares--and more drooling--that Tesla's fastest, highest-performance electric car brings. The same happens with the word "Hellcat" for fans of high-powered Hemi V-8 performance. DON'T...
John Voelcker -
While Tesla likely won't reveal last year's total production of Model S electric cars until it releases year-end financial results, it has said it expected to build 33,000 during 2014. And with the Model S in production for more than two and a half years, clearly there are tens of thousands of them on the roads. But how many? DON'T MISS: Tesla Model S Aluminum Body: Why Repair Costs Are Higher It seemed worthwhile to do a little real-world research to determine how far Model S production had reached by year-end. So we visited the Tesla display at this week's Detroit Auto Show media preview...
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Tesla Model S Aluminum Body: Why Repair Costs Are Higher
As more and more Tesla Model S electric sport sedans hit the road—50,000-plus at last count—some of their drivers are naturally starting to have accidents. They are bumping into other cars, colliding with deer, scraping telephone poles, and backing up into poles and trees. Their cars...
David Noland -
2015 Tesla Model S P85D: 2015 Detroit Auto Show Live Photos
Tesla Motors has shown off its Model S electric luxury sport sedan at the Detroit Auto Show since 2011. This year, its stand included both its newest and highest-performance version of the Model S--the P85D--and the standard S85D model, featuring all-wheel drive without the high-performance...
John Voelcker -
Tesla P85D Top Speed, Performance To Be Boosted In 'Next Few Months'
A Tesla Model S P85D goes for a spin on a dyno.
Stephen Edelstein -
Tesla Battery-Swap Pilot Program To Launch Next Week In California
Tesla Motors will shortly announce that it is launching a pilot program next week to test the long-promised battery-pack swapping technology for its Model S electric sedan. The swapping site will be located at a facility across the street from the Tesla Supercharger site in Harris Ranch...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model S P85D Obliterates Ferrari In Drag Race (Video)
A Tesla Model S P85D drag races a Ferrari in Florida.
Stephen Edelstein -
People who buy new cars generally like and enjoy them during the first months or years of ownership. Many Tesla owners, however, seem to love their cars with a deep, abiding, even overwhelming passion. This is one such story. A longtime personal friend and his partner recently acquired a 2014 Tesla Model S after we had some general chats about electric cars. First he traded in the gasoline Smart ForTwo he used to get around San Francisco for a new Smart Electric Drive, along with a 240-Volt Level 2 charging station in his garage. He liked the torque and the smoothness of the powertrain...
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Tesla Model S Tops Consumer Reports Customer Satisfaction Index, Again
The Tesla Model S tops the Consumer Reports customer satisfaction rankings for the second year in a row.
Stephen Edelstein -
Tesla Model S Vs BMW i3: Electric-Car Efficiency Comparison Test
The EPA has dubbed the all-electric 2014 BMW i3 the most efficient production car sold in the U.S., with an impressive 125 MPGe rating--the best of any electric vehicle. By comparison, my 2013 Tesla Model S with an 85-kilowatt-hour battery is rated at only 89 MPGe. That's a hefty 39-percent...
David Noland -
Life With Tesla Model S: Tires Cost Me More Than My 'Fuel' Does
I always knew electric cars were cheap to run, but this is ridiculous. After I bought the first set of replacement tires for my 2013 Tesla Model S (at 26,000 miles), I crunched the numbers and came to a startling conclusion: I've spent substantially less per mile for my electric "fuel" than I have...
David Noland -
2014 Tesla Model S: Killing 3 Versions, 2 Colors, Some Options
In an effort to simplify its assembly process and boost production rates, Tesla Motors has streamlined its 2014 Tesla Model S electric-car lineup and eliminated several variants. Specifically, the California carmaker will no longer offer its P85 and P85+ performance versions in rear-wheel-drive...
David Noland -
Tesla Model X Delayed Again, Model S Sales Highest Ever: Third Quarter Report
The Tesla Model X electric SUV will be further delayed for additional quality and validation testing, according to the latest earnings report from Tesla Motors. Deliveries of the luxury electric crossover utility vehicle are now scheduled to start in the third quarter of next year. DON'T MISS...
John Voelcker -
Been searching for stratospheric levels of soaring, over-the-top, heavens-rattling hyperbole lately? You will do no better than the recent road test of the Tesla Model S P85D, published on Monday by Motor Trend. That's the new dual-motor all-wheel-drive version of its signature electric car, revealed last month by Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk. DON'T MISS: Tesla Reveals 'D' All-Wheel-Drive Model S, 'Autopilot' Feature MT writer Kim Reynolds liked the car, to put it mildly. And he really liked its acceleration. At the P85D's splashy intro event, Musk explained that the design goal of the P85D was...
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Ford F-150 Vs Chevy Volt Vs Tesla Model S: Which Is Most Important Vehicle Of The Decade?
Now that the 2015 model year is fully upon us, the decade is half-over. And those kinds of milestones always lead writers to look back and assess how far we've come. In the case of automobiles, we see three different vehicles launched over the last five model years that have radically changed the...
John Voelcker -
Life With Tesla Model S: At Last, Some Maintenance Needed (New Tires)
After 20 months and 26,000-plus miles, I finally spent my first dollar on maintenance for my 2013 Tesla Model S. Almost 2,000 of them, in fact. The total was $1,858--the cost of four new tires and Tesla's recommended annual service. Up till that point, tire rotations, washer fluid replacements...
David Noland -
Tesla Model S Dashboard: Teardown Analysis Reveals Tablet-Like Construction
A research firm tears apart a Tesla Model S dashboard to see what makes it tick.
Stephen Edelstein -
Tesla Model S Gets Huge Incentive In Shanghai: No $12K Fee For Registration
The Tesla Model S electric luxury sedan has now been on sale in China for six months, but it recently received a major sales incentive from local officials in Shanghai. That city's municipal government has ruled that Tesla buyers will be exempted from paying the $12,000 registration fee required to...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Taxis In Holland Follow Norway In All-Electric Green Cabs
Taxi Electric will augment an existing fleet of Nissan Leaf electric cabs with Tesla Model S plug-ins.
Stephen Edelstein