Who needs a family sedan that can go from zero to 60 in 2.5 seconds? You do, of course.
The new P100D Model S is finally here.
Tesla CEO and founder Elon Musk made the announcement to a select few journalists in a private conference call on Wednesday.
The car’s specs are mind boggling.
The P100D comes equipped with a bigger — 100 kWh battery — that can launch the P100D from zero to 60 in a blazing 2.5 seconds in the so-called “Ludicrous mode”.
That’s faster than any car on Atlanta’s highways today!
The new battery also gives the P100D an extended range of 315 miles on a full charge.
As far as upgrades to the car’s exterior, the hideous nose cone that annoyed so many past (and future) Model S owners is gone.
Tesla enthusiasts had advanced knowledge of the new Model S as early as February.
A hacker on the Tesla Motor Club forum named “Jason” posted a string of code called a “hash” early one morning in March.
Another forum member did a reverse lookup on the hash string and discovered the new Tesla’s badge name “P100D”.
Jason also uploaded the badge image that he found buried deep within the car’s software.
The image sparked a frenzy of speculation and rumors about the new Model S.
Within a few hours, the world would know that a new Model S with a 10 kwh battery upgrade was on the horizon.
Later that day, Jason took to Twitter.com to complain bitterly that Elon Musk retaliated by messing with his car remotely.
Musk responded in a tweet the next day, denying the allegation.
The Model S can receive software updates over-the-air from Tesla headquarters.
Somehow Jason figured out how to intercept and view the software code during the over-the-air updates.
Engineers routinely embed “dormant” code in updates for later use.
They don’t encrypt the code because only a few hackers in the world have the knowhow to hack the code.
Musk explained that production of the new P100Ds would be limited due to the difficulty reworking the battery’s internal architecture so the battery can be cooled properly to prevent the cars from catching on fire.
“[It was] a very difficult development,” Musk said in a private call to reporters on Wednesday.
Both the P100D Model S and the Model X SUV (with 100 kWh battery) are available for order.
A fully loaded “Ludicrous mode” P100D Model S will set you back $134,500. While the Model X SUV is $1,000 more.
