Tesla Model S News
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Last week, while the press and Tesla owners were entranced by the introduction of the dual-motor Tesla Model S P85D with all-wheel drive, Tesla quietly changed the listed horsepower ratings for all three single-motor versions of its Model S electric sport sedan. Since their introduction in 2012, the 60-kWh, 85-kWh, and P85 performance versions of the Model S have been listed as having 302, 362, and 416 horsepower (225, 270, and 310 kilowatts) respectively. DON'T MISS: Tesla Reveals 'D' All-Wheel-Drive Model S, 'Autopilot' Feature But when Tesla's website configurator was revamped last week to...
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Tesla Model S Dual-Motor Is Quicker, Has Higher Range Too: How Do They Do That? (UPDATED)
How can you add all-wheel drive to an electric car, making it hundreds of pounds heavier--and still increase its efficiency and range? Amid all of last week's hoopla over the blazing performance of the all-wheel-drive Tesla Model S P85D--0 to 60 mph in 3.2 seconds, 155-mph top speed--what really...
David Noland -
Tesla Reveals 'D' All-Wheel-Drive Model S, 'Autopilot' Feature
In the end, the online rumors proved to be largely accurate. Last night, Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk revealed an all-wheel-drive version of the Tesla Model S electric luxury car--known as 'D'--whose most powerful P85D version will accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.2 seconds. DON'T MISS: Tesla...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Sets Up Shop In Japan, Sells First Electric Cars
While Tesla Motors now sells electric cars in North America, parts of Europe, and--perhaps most importantly--China, it continues to expand its sales footprint. The most recent addition is Japan, a notoriously closed market where only one of the three largest makers has any interest at all in...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model S Adds 'Speed Assist,' Lane-Departure Warning
Tesla adds two safety systems to the Model S electric car.
Stephen Edelstein -
Mysterious Tesla Model S 'D' Photo Appears: What Could It Be?
The Internets exploded yesterday following a photo tweeted by Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk, with the caption, "About time to unveil the D and something else". Feverish speculation over what it meant took up terabytes of server space. Then, yesterday afternoon, a photo surfaced that purports to show a...
John Voelcker -
Do you ever get the sense that Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk has fun in his job? Last night, at 6:31 pm Pacific time, he tweeted a photo with the caption, "About time to unveil the D and something else". The photo showed a roller door with the letter "D" on it, the shadowy front end of what appeared to be a Tesla Model S, the date October 9, and the Tesla logo. Then the Internet exploded. Eight hours later, the cryptic message had been retweeted 7,850 times (and favorited another 5,800), and acquired a lengthy list of responses and comments. DON'T MISS: Buying A Crashed Tesla Model S: Damage...
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Buying A Crashed Tesla Model S: Damage, Risk, Safety, Salvage, And Reporting
Caveat emptor. Or, for those less conversant in Latin, buyer beware. That's the lesson that should always be applied when buying a used car. Especially one with obvious damage. Especially a used electric car that's been so badly damaged that it's been declared a total writeoff by an insurance...
John Voelcker -
How To Make Your Tesla Model S Way, Way More Noticeable
A Tesla Model S with LumiLor electroluminescent light coating.
Stephen Edelstein -
Ford Adds Tesla-Like Touchscreen (But Smaller) To Police Interceptor: UPDATE
Ford's police cars get a spiffy new, Tesla-like touchscreen.
Stephen Edelstein -
Self-Driving Cars From Tesla In About 3 Years, Says CEO Elon Musk
Autonomous vehicles have become a hot talking point in recent years, as major firms like Google continue high-profile development of the technology. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] has also expressed an interest in recent years, and now tells Nikkei that the firm could introduce...
Antony Ingram -
Stolen Tesla Found As Owner Helps Police Using Her Phone App
A GPS-enabled app helped an owner find her stolen electric car.
Stephen Edelstein -
When industry analysts, financial analysts and the motoring press have all lavished praise on a car, there's a fair chance it's a pretty good car. That's the case for the Tesla Model S electric car, particularly as two market analysts from Credit Suisse have seen fit to provide a point-by-point breakdown on just why the car is so good. They even go as far as to say that Tesla has proven electric vehicles are "inherently better", even if the general public doesn't know it yet. That raises an interesting point. Tesla might well have an excellent product, but if the public doesn't know that, has...
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Tesla In Deal To Build 400 Charging Stations In China
The Chinese market has become vital for many global automakers. For some, it's a haven of high sales numbers to offset struggles in markets like the U.S. and Europe. To others, like Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA], it's a way to promote your product to a vast and growing marketplace. Tesla has made a big...
Antony Ingram -
Will The 2016 Toyota Mirai Fuel Cell Sedan Target The Tesla Model S?
Imagine a smooth, quiet, comfortable largish sedan that emits nothing, with a range of 250 miles or more--one that pegs its driver as a person in the vanguard of advanced technology vehicles. The Tesla Model S electric car, you say? No, no, no: That would be Toyota's upcoming hydrogen fuel-cell...
John Voelcker -
Tesla's Battery Gigafactory May Achieve Nirvana: $100 Per Kilowatt-Hour, Report Says
Many within the electric car industry believe that $100 per kilowatt-hour will be the tipping point for electric-car batteries. It is the point at which electric vehicles will be able to compete directly with internal combustion vehicles on price, and therefore a major step in boosting sales...
Antony Ingram -
Who Wins Electric-Car Brand Battle? BMW, Tesla Have The Buzz Now
Sales numbers aside, are BMW and Tesla winning the electric-car brand battle?
Stephen Edelstein -
Tesla CEO Elon Musk's Personal Touch: Secret To His Success?
How does a car-company CEO get to be a rock star? It helps, of course, if your company makes a five-passenger luxury sedan that outdrags a Porsche 911, uses half the energy of a Prius, and has the highest crash-safety rating ever recorded. But Elon Musk has done something else to separate himself...
David Noland -
Most buyers of expensive luxury sedans are men, and most Tesla Model S electric car drivers seem to be men too. There are notable exceptions, of course, including NASCAR ARCA-series racer and self-described "vegetarian hippie chick" Leilani Münter. But now, apparently, the fast, sleek, expensive, and fashionable Model S is also a gift for wealthy men to give to their fiancées as a demonstration of their power. DON'T MISS: NASCAR's Leilani Münter Gets Tesla Model S, Goes Activist That, at least, seems to be the message from the latest episode of "Mistresses," a primetime soap...
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Saleen FourSixteen Is Modified Tesla Model S: Full Details
Saleen used the 2014 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance to unveil its take on the Tesla Model S electric sedan, the FourSixteen. More familiar to fans of high-performance gasoline-fueled road cars, Saleen has gone green with its latest modified vehicle, a car company boss Steve Saleen describes as...
Antony Ingram -
Tesla Model S Drivetrain Warranty Rises To 8 Years, Same As Battery Pack
Tesla will expand the drivetrain warranty for all Model S electric cars, including ones already on the road.
Stephen Edelstein -
Cadillac ELR Not A Tesla Competitor, GM Exec Acknowledges
Mark Reuss, the head of global product development for General Motors, has acknowledged that GM may not have a vehicle that competes directly with the Tesla Model S electric luxury sedan. Speaking yesterday at a business breakfast associated with the weekend's Dream Cruise event in Detroit, Reuss...
John Voelcker -
Glitches Modulate Consumer Reports Praise For Tesla Model S Electric Car
Consumer Reports tallies reliability issues with its 2012 Tesla Model S.
Stephen Edelstein -
Income Cap Coming For CA Electric-Car Rebate, Tesla Most Vulnerable?
California may put an income cap on its electric-car tax rebate.
Stephen Edelstein