We may not be able to make the jump to light speed in the Millennium Falcon or go Warp 9 in the Enterprise (yet!), but a few lucky folks here on Earth who do have roughly $120,000 to spend on a vehicle can still get a sense of what ludicrous speed feels like thanks to Tesla’s new 100 kWh battery packs.
How ludicrous are we talking exactly? Well, this time Tesla has turned things up to 11 with 0-60 times of 2.5 seconds and 2.9 seconds for their Model S and Model X vehicles respectively. That former 0-60 time is as fast as a Bugatti Veyron—you know, the “supercar” that costs about $1.5 million.
Tesla Model S Sedan
Seriously, Teslas should start coming with neck braces and NASA training seminars because these fully electric, soon-to-probably-be-driven-by-robot cars pull mad Gs.
In Tesla’s press release for the new battery packs, the company states, “The Model S P100D with Ludicrous mode is the third fastest accelerating production car ever produced, with a 0-60 mph time of 2.5* seconds. However, both the LaFerrari and the Porsche 918 Spyder were limited run, million dollar vehicles and cannot be bought new.” In other words, the P100D Model S is the fastest production car on the road now. And if you charge it with solar panels, that means you’ll be blasting past the competition on pure sunlight.
Tesla Model X SUV
Along with being ludicrously fast and extended range (the Model S with this battery gets about 315 miles to the charge), these new versions of the Model S and Model X (the Tesla SUV), are also ludicrously expensive. But the press release also points out that “While the P100D Ludicrous is obviously an expensive vehicle, we want to emphasize that every sale helps pay for the smaller and much more affordable Tesla Model 3 that is in development.”
Tesla Model 3 Mass Market Vehicle
The Model 3, which Tesla CEO Elon Musk—the guy who also runs SpaceX—unveiled back in April, is the mass market vehicle that will likely be capable of full autonomy. But with speed like this, maybe we’ll let the bots take a back seat.
What do you think about these new battery packs for the high-end Tesla models? Do you feel the need… the need for all-electric speed? Let us know in the comments below!
Images: Tesla Motors
