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NEWS
Tesla building new Roadster
And Model S to offer 'Ludicrous Speed' mode for supercar performance with zero emissionsUpdate, July 20: Tesla has announced price reductions for the locally-delivered Model S just two months on from a price increase across the range, including the 70D entry-level model prior to its on-sale date in this country. The new pricing reflects the global price discounting mentioned elsewhere in this article. As a consequence, the Model S now starts at $100,100, which equates to $113,152 drive-away in New South Wales. The Model S is now priced at $114,200 ($132,397 driveaway in NSW) and the P85D now caps the range at $148,000 ($178,532 driveaway in NSW). For the 90kWh upgrade, add $4100 and the Ludicrous Speed option will set buyers back $13,500 in Australia.
In additional news, Tesla CEO Elon Musk mentioned in his blog that the 3 Series-sized Model 3 is just over two years away from global launch.
There are big things afoot at Tesla, with the company's founder and CEO Elon Musk announcing in a press conference overnight the revival of the company's iconic sports car, the Roadster.
The new Roadster will follow the Model 3 on Tesla’s timeline and will likely share a large number of components with the compact-sized sedan when it debuts in 2017.
Beyond that, however, the Tesla boss was keeping his cards very close to his chest.
With Tesla presumably carrying out the development work for the new Roadster in-house, the American company will avoid some of the issues that dogged it during the development phase of the first Roadster, such as the close design links with the Lotus Elise on which it was based, and the unsuccessful legal action Musk pursued against Henrik Fisker – consulting to Tesla but working on his own green sports machine at the time.
In the wide-ranging press conference, Musk also revealed the company was introducing a new sports performance mode for its Model S, and this would flow through to the Model X SUV also.
According to Musk 'Insane' mode offered on the Model S P90D was just not insane enough. Musk announced the new mode – Ludicrous Speed – will take the Model S from 0-60mph in 2.8 seconds and knock over the quarter mile in 10.9 seconds. That should equate to 2.9 seconds for the 0-100km/h time in Australia.
The Model S P90D in Ludicrous Speed mode reaches Vmax of 250km/h 20 per cent quicker than any previous model. Ludicrous Speed delivers true supercar performance in the shapely body of a four-door liftback sedan.
The technology borrows from F1. Well, the metallurgy does. Tesla engineers have replaced the Insane Mode’s dumb fuse with a unique smart fuse that very accurately measures current. The contacts are made from the superalloy Inconel also used in Formula 1 exhaust systems because it can endure high heat and remains stable.
The smart fuse lets Tesla basically amp up the current delivery to the electric motors from 1300 amps (in Insane mode) to 1500amps in Ludicrous Speed mode. “The Ludicrous mode will cost $10k to new buyers,” he mentioned.
“We will of course offer Ludicrous Speed mode on Model X – 3.2-3.3ish seconds for 0-60mph; that’s my prediction,” said Musk. “That’s very quick for an SUV.”
In other news from Tesla overnight, technological improvements to the Model S have pushed the highway driving range to a maximum of 300 miles (roughly 500km), although Musk admits he’s quoting Tesla’s internal test figures. The US EPA is yet to confirm Tesla’s new 90kWh battery’s energy performance – an improvement of 5kWh.
“The battery energy improvement is actually the result of improved cell technology by partially introducing silicone in the anode,” Musk explained. When asked if this technology will improve sales, Musk went straight to the point: “As for sales, I have no idea. We’re just trying to make awesome cars, and we’re making the cars as good as possible and as fast as possible.”
The higher energy 90kWh battery pack will replace the current 85kWh battery as an on-going factory upgrade to Model S 90D. In the US, and possibly soon in Australia, current Model S owners can upgrade from the 85kWh battery pack for USD $3000.
Musk also confirmed Model X deliveries will begin in about two months in global markets. The SUV will use the new high-energy 90kWh battery pack. Musk divulged further items of information concerning Model X not previously known. It is about 10 per cent heavier than the Model S 90D, and because of the additional mass it will not deliver the same cruising range.
Musk also mentioned 7.0 software update for Model S will be distributed to Early Access Program members in about two to three weeks. The 7.0 update includes software refinements to Autopilot that allows the system to better identify highway markings – especially white lines on light-colour concrete. This may not be a major problem in Australia where freeways are mainly constructed with a dark tarmac topcoat. It may prove its worth on our country roads, hopefully.
Another item on Musk's agenda for the press conference was a price reduction of USD $5000 for the Model S 70 (single motor, RWD) entry model to USD $70,000 with a 70kWh battery. With electric vehicle purchase incentives, the actual transaction price falls to around USD $60k in some American states. How the new pricing will translate in Australia is unclear, but it may offset the recent decline in the Aussie dollar. Model S 70 achieves 0-60mph in 5.2 seconds and offers a driving range of 370km.
The press conference commenced at 11am yesterday (4am today on the east coast of Australia). Speculators clearly knew – or anticipated – that Musk was going to pile more icing on the cake that is Tesla's brand image.
By the time Musk was greeting online guests to the press conference, Tesla Motors' share price had climbed like a Sherpa in NASDAQ trading by more than three per cent to top $275 per share – a near all-time high. In dollar terms, it was a very good day for Tesla investors. It's further evidence for those investors – as if they needed it – that when it comes to running a business building cars of the future, Musk has the Midas touch.
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Written byTodd Hallenbeck
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