The Tesla Model S is getting its first significant update, and it’s a dramatic one. The company claims a range of up to 520 miles on a charge, over 1,000 horsepower, and an interior so unlike anything else on the market that the best comparisons we can make are to science fiction vehicles.
It appears to borrow the steering wheel from Knight Rider.
First, an explanation – Tesla doesn’t do model years. The press will often refer to Tesla vehicles by model year as a sort of shorthand, but the company adds features to its vehicles, and occasionally changes out entire components, on the fly throughout their production run. What we’re seeing today isn’t just that occasional set of tweaks. This is the first design overhaul the Model S has seen since its 2012 introduction.
It means new sheet metal, obviously derived from the outgoing model, but with a more aggressive front fascia and reshaped rear diffuser. Tesla claims it will be the most aerodynamic car on the market, with a coefficient of drag of just 0.208.
It also means a radically redesigned interior. The obvious talking point is that steering yoke. There’s really no reason to call it a steering wheel at this point, is there? It also lacks any stalks or other projections. Turn signals, windshield wipers and such are all controlled by buttons on the yoke itself. Behind it, we see perhaps the most minimalist dash presentation we’ve ever seen, with a modestly-sized digital display for an instrument cluster, the usual huge Tesla screen, and nothing else but big stretches of pleasant-looking materials. The screen is now horizontally-oriented, and 17 inches diagonally.
Tesla says the screen is essentially a gaming computer, with 10 teraflops of processing power. To drive the point home, press images show it running the graphics-intensive RPG game Witcher 3.
Three trim levels
But it’s those performance numbers that are hard to wrap your head around. There are three different trim levels, each with its own set of numbers.
The Long Range version is the least expensive, and, strangely, doesn’t have the longest range. It uses two electric motors for all-wheel drive, and gets to 60 mph in 3.1 seconds, with a top speed of 155 mph. The Long Range version has a range of 412 miles and is priced at $79,990.
A step up to the Plaid model gets you a third motor, and torque vectoring to improve handling. The Plaid has a total of 1,020 horsepower, and a 0-to-60 time, Tesla claims, of 1.99 seconds (yes, they really did take it out to two decimal places). Its range is 390 miles, and its top speed is 200 mph. The Plaid is priced at $119,990.
The top-of-the-line Plaid Plus carries “over 1,100 horsepower,” though how far over, Tesla isn’t saying. It also boasts a sub-2-second 0-to-60 time, though again, they aren’t saying how much. The top speed remains 200 mph, but the range jumps all the way to 520 miles. The Plaid Plus costs $139,990.
The only options available are a package of driver-assist systems for $10,000, and a choice of 19- or 20-inch wheels, price unknown. Tesla plans to begin shipping Long Range and Plaid models in March but hasn’t set a date for Plaid Plus deliveries.
