Deliveries of the new 2012 Tesla Model S sedan officially begin today, and the full-size electric sedan will hit the streets with an 89 MPGe combined mark from the EPA. That number reflects its 88 MPGe city/90 MPGe highway individual figures. The first 1,000 cars to be delivered, all primo Signature Series vehicles, will be equipped with the top-line 85kWh lithium-ion battery pack which the EPA says packs enough power to take the new Model S up to 265 miles on a single charge. While somewhat below the 300-mile bogey distance Tesla had projected when for a Model S driven at a steady 55 mph pace, it’s by far the best of any of the current crop of EVs and even tops the automaker’s initial offering, the Tesla Roadster, by 20 miles.
Later in the year, Tesla will begin selling the Model S with two other battery options: a 60kWh pack, due out later this summer, and a 40kWh battery, which will be out in fall. Although the EPA economy marks for all Tesla Model S versions are expected to carry over unchanged, there’s still no word on the per-charge range numbers for either of these lower-capacity batteries.
As announced previously, pricing on the 2012 Tesla Model S starts at $57,400 for cars fitted with a 40kWh battery, $67,400 for those with the 60kWh pack and $77,400 with a Model S with an 85kWh battery with the Model S with Performance option opening at $92,400. The initial run of Signature Series cars equipped with an 85kWh battery begins at $95,400 while the ultra-primo Model S Signature Series with Performance option commands $105,400. All of those prices are before the applicable $7,500 federal tax credit and any other state or local incentives.
