Tesla Model S News
-
Tesla Motors has built a strong reputation for performance, starting with its first Roadster and then its Model S P85 and P85+ sedans, before moving to the dual-motor P85D and most recently the latest line-leading P90DL. But how much has performance actually improved with these evolutionary changes in the Model S, from single to dual motors and then on to a larger battery, better fusing and cables, and the stated potential of a quarter-mile time below 11 seconds? On October 28, we got all three top-tier Tesla Model Ses at the same drag strip to compare the hard numbers. DON'T MISS: Electric...
-
Life With Tesla Model S: Extended Warranty, 'Tricky' Owners & More Updates
I've had my 2013 Tesla Model S for two and a half years now, and I've reported on the entire process, from ordering through delivery. After an update on my battery capacity--which lost slightly more than average, but not worrisomely so--it's time for a roundup of other items I've faced as I reach...
David Noland -
Life With Tesla Model S: Battery Degradation Update
Last summer, I wrote in this space about an apparent loss of battery capacity in my 2013 Tesla Model S after a three-month Supercharging binge. I wondered whether, despite assurances from Tesla Motors, the two events might have been related. My doubts had started when I noticed that, after a...
David Noland -
Tesla Model S Saves Woman, Child In Landslide
A Tesla Model S protects a woman and child during a landslide.
Stephen Edelstein -
Tesla Reliability, Take Two: Are Newer Owners Less Tolerant?
Newer Tesla owners may be less tolerant of glitches, an analyst says.
Stephen Edelstein -
Autopilot drives Tesla Model S Electric Car Coast-To-Coast (More Or Less)
A team takes an Autopilot-equipped Tesla Model S on a cross-country drive.
Stephen Edelstein -
Every honeymoon comes to an end sooner or later, and so it was with Consumer Reports and its former paramour, the Tesla Model S electric car. As part of its yearly reliability report on cars sold in the U.S. market, the respected consumer magazine said it could no longer recommend the Model S because the car's predicted reliability is below average. Specifically, CR said, "The main problem areas involved the drivetrain, power equipment, charging equipment, giant iPad-like center console, and body and sunroof squeaks, rattles, and leaks." DON'T MISS: Tesla Model S P85D Lauded By Consumer...
-
Tesla Model S Electric Car: Changes From 2012 Through 2015 (UPDATED)
Tesla Motors only reveals its production figures every quarter, but it has now likely built up to 90,000 of its all-electric Model S luxury sport sedan. The company also doesn't group its changes and updates into model years, but makes running changes in the cars whenever the updates are tested...
John Voelcker -
Life With Tesla Model S: Should I Buy The Extended Warranty?
The odometer on my 2013 Tesla Model S ticked over 49,000 miles yesterday. That means I’ll soon be facing a big financial decision: whether or not to buy Tesla’s extended warranty, or as they call it, extended service agreement (ESA). The car’s standard bumper-to-bumper warranty is...
David Noland -
Elon Musk Hints At 50 Percent More Range For Tesla Model S: Video
Elon Musk says Tesla could achieve over 600 miles of range within two years.
Stephen Edelstein -
LAPD Gets Tesla Model S, BMW i3 Electric Cars As Police Cruisers
The LAPD is getting BMW i3 and Tesla Model S loaner vehicles, and will soon lease 100 battery-electric cars.
Stephen Edelstein -
The Tesla & The Mouse: Children's Book About Electric Car Driven By Rodent Who Loves It
A director writes a children's book about the Tesla Model S.
Stephen Edelstein -
The Tesla Model S P85D, the highest-performance and most expensive version of the all-electric luxury sedan, has earned even more plaudits and compliments from Consumer Reports magazine. The P85D, in fact, "performed better in our tests than any other car ever has," the publication said this morning. In fact, it did so well, that it broke the Consumer Reports Ratings system, in the magazine's own words. DON'T MISS: Consumer Reports: Tesla Model S 'Best Overall' Again In 2015 (Feb 2015) An early-morning press release from the consumer periodical played up the "breaking the system" aspect...
-
Norwegian Drivers Set New Tesla Model S Distance Record: 450 Miles (Video)
A pair of Norwegian drivers claim to have traveled 452.8 miles in a Tesla Model S on a single charge.
Stephen Edelstein -
Jaguar 'EV-Type' To Be All-Electric F-Pace To Compete With Tesla?
It's still hard to explain to outsiders just how disruptive Tesla Motors and its electric luxury cars have been to the established German prestige automakers. From 2017 to 2020, Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Porsche will all launch one or more "Tesla-alikes" intended to match or surpass the...
John Voelcker -
CR Tests Tesla Model S P85D, Skeptical Of P90D Ludicrous Mode Claims
The Tesla Model S P85D electric car is breathtakingly quick, and quietly forceful in a way that makes it simultaneously a tailpipe-free counterpoint and a serious rival to some of the world’s top performance cars. You won’t need to search hard to find video footage of this...
Bengt Halvorson -
Tesla To Add More Model S Electric-Car Charging Sites In NYC
Tesla is partnering with parking garages to install charging stations in Manhattan.
Stephen Edelstein -
Tesla CTO Hikes Hacking Bounty To $10K (And Does A Shot)
Tesla CTO JB Straubel appeared at the Def Con hacker convention to thank researchers that exposed vulnerabilities in the Model S.
Stephen Edelstein -
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has come under intense public scrutiny after a pair of hackers took control of a Jeep Cherokee remotely through its Uconnect infotainment system and disabled certain features, including its brakes and transmission. Publicity around that vulnerability quickly led the company to recall 1.4 million vehicles for a fix, under strong pressure from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Now, it's Tesla's turn. DON'T MISS: FCA Recalls 1.4 Million Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram Vehicles Over Hacking Concerns According to a report in Britain's Financial Times...
-
Who Buys Used Teslas? Younger, More Middle-Class Buyers, Analysis Says
It's now pretty clear that used electric cars in the mass market depreciate more rapidly than their gasoline counterparts, even after netting out the effect of financial incentives. Early data shows the 200-mile-plus Tesla Model S, on the other hand, holds its value as a used car much better. But...
John Voelcker -
Youxia Electric Tesla Clone From China: So Bad It Makes Us Laugh
The Youxia X is part Tesla Model S, part KITT.
Stephen Edelstein -
Life With Tesla Model S: Does Supercharging Cut Battery Capacity?
Last month, my wife and I took my 2013 Tesla Model S on a day trip from our home in New York’s Hudson Valley to Brattleboro, Vermont, a distance of 180 miles. We picked up our daughter, charged the 85-kilowatt-hour battery up to 98 percent at the Brattleboro Supercharger, and returned home...
David Noland -
AWD Electric Car Beats Tesla P90D Acceleration, Built By German Student Team (Video)
Electric-car advocates know that a seamless rush of maximum torque from 0 rpm is one of the secret advantages of using an electric motor to power a vehicle. And that fact--most publicly shown off by the Tesla Model S P85D performance model, and now by its even faster successor, the P90D--has pretty...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model S Versions: What Are Your Different Options?
A guide to all of the available Tesla Model S versions.
Stephen Edelstein