The Tesla Model S
The Tesla Model S is a full-sized plug-in electric five-door luxury lift back sedan. It is
manufactured by Tesla Motors, Inc in Fremont, California. Since its introduction in June 2012
it has achieved rapidly growing sales, particularly in Norway and California. It scored a 5.0
NHTSA safety rating (making it one of the safest cars on the road). Depending on the
configuration selected, the US EPA official range for the Model S is between 230 miles (70 RWD
model) and 253 miles (P90D AWD model with the ludicrous speed upgrade) on a full charge.
Pricing starts at $70,000 for the Model S 70 rear wheel drive variety. A fully-loaded P90D
(with the ludicrous speed upgrade) is priced at $144,500. These prices do not include delivery
and doc fees or other state and local fees. Most buyers will also qualify for the $7,500
federal tax credit.
The Tesla Model S has won several awards including the 2013 World Green Car of the year, 2013 Motor Trend Car of the Year, Automobile Magazine's 2013 Car of the Year, Time Magazine's Best 25 Inventions of the Year 2012, and Consumer Reports' top-scoring car ever. In 2015, Car and Driver named the Tesla Model S the Car of the Century.
The various battery and motor configurations define the specific Model S model as: 40, 60, 70, 70D, 85, 85D, P85, P85+, P90, P90D, and P90D (includes the Ludicrous Speed Upgrade). The 'D' indicates that the car has AWD while those cars without the 'D' are RWD. The 40, 60, P85, and P85+ have been discontinued. For more information on the Tesla Model S, visit the Tesla Motors website.
My Tesla Model S
I ordered a Tesla Model S 70D on June 27, 2015. The order was automatically confirmed on July
4th. The assembly of my car started on July 10th. Because of production delays related to the
normal 2-week summer factory shutdown, my car did not exit from the production process until
late July. I then had to wait until August 3rd before the car left the rail yard in Richmond,
California for its trip to me. It arrived at the BNSF Logistics Park outside of Chicago on
August 23rd. It was then loaded onto a car transport truck for its trip from Chicago to
Columbus, Ohio where it arrived on August 27th. It was finally delivered to me on August 28th.
The configuration of my car is as follows:
- 70 kWh Battery
- Dual Motor All Wheel Drive
- Red Multi-Coat Paint
- All Glass Panoramic Roof
- 19" Standard Wheels with Michelin All Season Tires
- Grey Next Generation Seats
- Carbon Fiber Décor
- Black Alcantara Headliner
- Supercharger Enabled
- Autopilot (includes traffic-aware cruise control, lane keeping with automatic steering, self-parking, and automatic high/low bean headlights)
- Premium Interior Package (includes power liftgate, Nappa leather armsrests and dashboard, Alcantara headliner and accents, interior accent lighting, fog and cornering lights, and lighted door handles)
- Ultra High Fidelity Sound (includes XM satellite radio capabilty, 12 speakers with neodymium magnets including an 8" subwoofer)
- Subzero Weather Package (includes 3-zone rear seat heaters, wiper blade defrosters, washer nozzle heaters, and heated steering wheel)
- Free long distance travel on the Supercharger network
- Automatic keyless entry
- Parking sensors
- Power-folding and heated side mirrors
- Maps and navigation with real time traffic updates
- Daytime running lights
- Blind spot warning
- Automatic emergency braking
- 8-year, infinite mile batter and drive unit warranty
- GPS enabled Homelink
- Lane departure warning
- 4-year, 50,000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranty (does not include tires)
Possibly the most unique and immediately noticeable feature in the car is the 17" touch screen which is used to control and configure just about everything. The applications included:
- Media
- Camera
- Map
- Phone
- Controls
- Calendar
- Energy
