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"Ludicrous Speed" For Tesla's Model S Means 0-60 MPH In 2.8 Seconds

Automobile Magazine, writes reader Eloking, reports that the highest-end of the Tesla line has just gotten a boost upward, thanks to a new "Ludicrous Speed" mode: In combination with a newly optional 90-kWh battery pack, this new mode brings 0-60 mph acceleration down to 2.8 seconds (from a quoted 3.2 seconds for the P85D model). This larger battery pack is offered as an upgrade from the existing 85-kWh model, creating new 90, 90D, and P90D models. It doesn't come cheap, though: this isn't just a firmware update to download. For P90D owners, the upgrade costs $10,000 (including the larger battery); P85Ds can be upgraded for half that price.

171 comments

  1. Not even a link to the article by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Are you even trying anymore, editors?

    1. Re:Not even a link to the article by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 5, Informative

      Are you even trying anymore, editors?

      Link to TFA.

    2. Re:Not even a link to the article by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Appreciated - it's nice to see. I just wish a link to TFA would end up in TFS. Even the most cursory of examinations of the submission should have resulted in this...

    3. Re:Not even a link to the article by bgarcia · · Score: 5, Informative
      Link to the announcement on Tesla's website
      And reproduced below:
      ---
      • 70 kWh rear drive Model S for $70k
      • 90 kWh battery pack option for $3k
      • 2.8 sec 0 to 60 mph upgrade to "Ludicrous Mode"

      First, I should address something that might be on your mind, like: "Where the heck is the Model X and the Model 3!? You should really get on that." Don't worry, those remain our focus and good progress is being made on both. X is on track for first deliveries in two months and Model 3 in just over two years.

      70 kWh for $70k
      Now, on to the awesome news of today. The 70 kWh version of the Model S in the single motor version at $70k costs $5k less than the dual motor version, consistent with the price differential for the single and dual motor 85 kWh car. Importantly, enough options are now standard that you will have bought a great car even if you pick the base version.

      In many countries, national and state/province purchase incentives for clean energy vehicles improve the price to some degree. In the US, for example, the price after incentives is usually around $60k. Also, not having to buy gasoline and needing less service for an electric car typically saves around $2k per year, which accumulates to $10k over the national average car ownership period of five years. This economic advantage is often overlooked when evaluating gasoline vs electric cars. Moreover, these savings are experienced immediately in your monthly cost of transportation if you lease or finance an electric car.

      90 kWh Pack
      New buyers now have the option of upgrading the pack energy from 85 to 90 kWh for $3k, which provides about 6% increased range. For example, this takes our current longest range model, the 85D, to almost 300 miles of highway range at 65mph.

      Existing owners can also purchase the pack upgrade, but I wouldn't recommend doing so unless usage is on the edge of current range. On average, we expect to increase pack capacity by roughly 5% per year. Better to wait until you have more time on your existing pack and there is a larger accumulated pack energy difference.

      Luuudicrous Mode
      While working on our goal of making the power train last a million miles, we came up with the idea for an advanced smart fuse for the battery. Instead of a standard fuse that just melts past a certain amperage, requiring a big gap between the normal operating current and max current, we developed a fuse with its own electronics and a tiny lithium-ion battery. It constantly monitors current at the millisecond level and is pyro-actuated to cut power with extreme precision and certainty.

      That was combined with upgrading the main pack contactor to use inconel (a high temperature space-grade superalloy) instead of steel, so that it remains springy under the heat of heavy current. The net result is that we can safely increase the max pack output from 1300 to 1500 Amps.

      What this results in is a 10% improvement in the 0 to 60 mph time to 2.8 secs and a quarter mile time of 10.9 secs. Time to 155 mph is improved even more, resulting in a 20% reduction.

      This option will cost $10k for new buyers. In appreciation of our existing P85D owners, the pack electronics upgrade needed for Ludicrous Mode will be offered for the next six months at only $5k plus installation labor.

      It is important to note that the battery pack size upgrade and the pack electronics upgrade are almost entirely independent. The first is about energy, which affects range, and the second is about power, which affects acceleration.

      There is of course only one thing beyond ludicrous, but that speed is reserved for the next generation Roadster in 4 years: maximum plaid.

      — Elon

      --
      I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar.
    4. Re: Not even a link to the article by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      DLC for cars.

    5. Re: Not even a link to the article by michelcolman · · Score: 1

      It's not a download, they have to replace some wiring and put in a new fuse (the old thermal fuse was not precise enough, looks like they're really close to the limits for max amps)

    6. Re: Not even a link to the article by KGIII · · Score: 1

      I think they are starting to run into heat and resistance issues but that is just my casual observation from reading their news as of late. Much of what they seem to be doing is working to reduce those effects. I wonder if they have considered using a secondary large capacitor for a "burst mode" effect? If they could distance that from other components then it may reduce the thermodynamic impacts.

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
    7. Re: Not even a link to the article by Bruce+Perens · · Score: 1

      It would have to be many farads, this isn't a car stereo. The problem is how to gate the power after such a large capacitor. You're right that it could increase the momentary current. But that's also the problem. Their "contactor", a mechanical switch, has had to be upgraded with exotic alloy to deal with heating. And if you try to gate the power before it, you end up feeding what is very close to a short circuit while it charges.

    8. Re:Not even a link to the article by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Are you even trying anymore, editors?

      What makes you think they ever were? Concise well written summaries with correct spelling, grammar, informative links to correct sources rather than some personal blog, and all devoid of clickbait headlines and some editor's stupid remarks only every appear here by accident.

  2. Spaceballs by mcl630 · · Score: 2

    "Ludicrous speed, NOW!!!"

    Eat your heart out Mel Brooks.

    1. Re:Spaceballs by Fire_Wraith · · Score: 3, Interesting

      "It's Tesla One... they've gone Plaid!"

    2. Re:Spaceballs by pinzvidz · · Score: 2

      I'd love to see Yogurt driving one.

    3. Re:Spaceballs by spineboy · · Score: 2

      Maximum Plaid will actually be the highest speed offering of Tesla, in their newly planned new roadster which will come out in about 4 years

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      ..........FULL STOP.
  3. Ludacris by turkeydance · · Score: 1

    sues for prior art.

    1. Re:Ludacris by mcl630 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Then Mel Brooks sues Ludacris for prior, prior art.

    2. Re:Ludacris by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Then the estate of Richard Pryor sues for Pryor, prior, prior art!

  4. I feel the Need, the need for Electric Speed by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 1

    Make it so!

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    -- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
    1. Re:I feel the Need, the need for Electric Speed by doccus · · Score: 1

      Eat yer heart out.. Internal combustion! Electric rules, here! There is absolutely NO way that an IC engine could ever hope to match this accelleration, NOT "speed". ."Speed" might sound better, but, way to bring the DOT down on ya, Tesla motors. You ASKING for it?

  5. Also on CNN by ClickOnThis · · Score: 5, Informative

    An article on CNN has a few more details.

    Their next generation, out in four years, will offer "Maximum Plaid." No, really.

    --
    If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
    1. Re:Also on CNN by MachDelta · · Score: 4, Funny

      Tesla Motors mode selector, circa 2025:
      -Eco
      -Sport
      -Race
      -Ludicrous Speed
      -Maximum Plaid
      -11
      -88 (MPH)
      -ERR_INT_OVRFLW
      -???
      -Profit

    2. Re: Also on CNN by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sorry, is that another reference?

    3. Re: Also on CNN by michelcolman · · Score: 1

      Yep

  6. Slashdot outage .. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What caused the recent Slashdot outage, was it your upstream CMS going down?

    1. Re:Slashdot outage .. by fyngyrz · · Score: 2

      In re the Perl article the day of the outage... Slashdot is written in Perl. It went down, they probably spent the majority of that time looking up what $ and _ and so forth actually mean and do. Meantime, Rob's off somewhere chugging a beer and laughing his posterior off.

      It's just a theory, mind you. :)

      --
      I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
  7. With stock tires on my local road? by iamacat · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Somehow I get the feeling that this $10K upgrade will just get me a bit more smoke and rubber left on the road. Just how was this tested? What am I likely to really achieve on a local highway and with stock tires (presumably while steering clear of cops and any other nearby traffic)?

    1. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by tomhath · · Score: 0

      A '72 Z28 Camaro is around 4 seconds, so I agree - those numbers are suspect at best. Have they actually done it? Or is this what the engineers calculate it might be able to do?

    2. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A '72 Z28 Camaro is around 4 seconds

      maybe double that...

    3. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by burtosis · · Score: 3, Informative

      A '72 Z28 Camaro is around 4 seconds, so I agree - those numbers are suspect at best. Have they actually done it? Or is this what the engineers calculate it might be able to do?

      I'm not sure its reasonable to compare a one wheel wonder rear wheel drive car (standard differential) to an all wheel drive electric. You are basically running on a fraction of the traction and therefore theoretical maximum acceleration for your tires.

    4. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      Stock tires make your car look like an AMC

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    5. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by bledri · · Score: 2

      Somehow I get the feeling that this $10K upgrade will just get me a bit more smoke and rubber left on the road. Just how was this tested? What am I likely to really achieve on a local highway and with stock tires (presumably while steering clear of cops and any other nearby traffic)?

      The upgrade is to the P85D, which is the performance model so it's already got decent tires on it. Plus it's a four-wheel drive electric vehicle with traction control. So no tire smoking and on dry pavement you're going to get damn close to 0-60 in 2.8 seconds if you have a full charge. As the the charge decreases, you'll loose a bit of the acceleration.

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    6. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by amicusNYCL · · Score: 5, Insightful

      No, they went to earnings calls and straight to market just on the strength of some nerd's multiplication skills, no one actually thought of getting into a car and timing it. Maybe you should call and let them know to try it.

      --
      "Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
    7. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by binarylarry · · Score: 2

      Musk should buy the Delorean rights and bring it back as a Tesla brand.

      I'd consider buying a Delorean reboot.

      --
      Mod me down, my New Earth Global Warmingist friends!
    8. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hey! AMC is da rule

    9. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by binarylarry · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Have the battery display look like a flux capacitor.

      Oh yes...

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      Mod me down, my New Earth Global Warmingist friends!
    10. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by Demonoid-Penguin · · Score: 0

      No, they went to earnings calls and straight to market just on the strength of some nerd's multiplication skills, no one actually thought of getting into a car and timing it. Maybe you should call and let them know to try it.

      You forgot to include a citation for that. Please link to your arse.

    11. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      AMX was the exception

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    12. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by bledri · · Score: 4, Interesting

      A '72 Z28 Camaro is around 4 seconds, so I agree - those numbers are suspect at best. Have they actually done it? Or is this what the engineers calculate it might be able to do?

      This is a Poe, right? Well played. YouTube will give you the answers you seek. :)

      The 762 HP all-wheel drive electric car with traction control and performance tires (standard on the Model D) most definitely blows the doors of of the 255 HP rear wheel drive V8 with a standard differential. Also, the '72 Z/28 has a 0-60 time of 7.4 seconds.

      --
      Some privacy policy Slashdot.
    13. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      On "prepared" pavement. Just "dry" really isn't going to be sufficient, through "dry and clean" might not be too bad, even without the TrackBite.

    14. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      People seem to consistently get 3.2 for the current P85D. According to what I read it's the same from 0-30 but they increase the power above 30 when there's more downward draft.Even 0-60 in 3.2 there's very little rubber left on the road due to the traction control, which is far better than what's possible with an ICE since the response is instantaneous with no lag.

    15. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      AMX was the exception

      Yeah, I mean what was with that? An AMX looks great today - it's aged well. How could the people who made that jewel have made the Pacer, the Gremlin, the Marlin, the Ambassador, the Matador, and the Eagle.

      A parade of ugly. The "The Machine" gets a very honorable mention. No super beauty, but no one was laughing at you while you were out cruising.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    16. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by Kjella · · Score: 1

      The "stock" tires on the performance edition should do just fine on any reasonably flat paved road. Will it burn rubber? Prooooooooobably. The point is though the $10k upgrade makes your $100k car accelerate like cars that cost ten times as much. It's the class of Ferrari, Lamborghini, Koenigsegg, McLaren and high end Porsche, compared to them the Tesla is a bargain. Of course there's a catch, it can't cruise very long at really high speeds but unless you have an unrestricted Autobahn nearby that won't matter. It's not for people who need to justify it though, it's like the water cooled overclocked gaming rigs to get you those last 10 fps.

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
    17. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by Charliemopps · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I used to race RC cars in competition. Both "Stock cars" (we called them pan cars) and drag races. We're not talking about walmart RC cars here... Mine were custom cut out of graphite sheets with a CNC router. My pan car would do between 70 and 80mph real speed, not scale. The drag car wasn't really measurable but it's speed resembled an arrow in flight. Random video I found: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

      Basically everything Tesla is doing was stolen from my old hobby. The torque possible with an electric motor is only limited by the fleshy bit behind the steering wheel. Tesla could literally kill you if they let the motor wind out at full torque. The biggest problem I had to deal with was the heat on the power cables. The cables were the size of pencils but they were draining 20+ c-cell batteries completely dead in just a few seconds. As the tech advanced, we eventually had to get rid of battery connectors completely. We'd solder the battery backs directly to the speed controller. Then the cables between cells would start melting, so we spot welded sheet metal directly to them. Then the speed controllers started frying to we switched to mechanical relays that just dumped the entire battery at 100% at once. We had so many car fires, the school gyms that we used to race at wouldn't let us run there anymore. If you're wondering, to get batteries to dump that much juice at once, you have to "Train" them... we'd hook them up to tractor headlights from the local farm implement store and dump them quick. Then charge them quick. Do this hundreds of times and they'd turn into these super high voltage power houses. I think a while later, after I left the hobby, they put limits on the voltage output of the batteries, because they were getting pretty dangerous. I saw people get hurt at some major competitions by batteries exploding and in one case a car punched through a 3/4" sheet of plywood and broke a persons leg. That was from a standing start from less than 100 feet away.

      As far as tires go... that's nothing. Regular car tires... well they suck. They're made very hard so they'll last a long time. To make a tire than has insane amounts of traction is easy... only problem is it only lasts 5k miles. But if you're buying a $200k car, I doubt you care.

    18. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So what your basically saying is that it doesn't have positraction?

    19. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by beelsebob · · Score: 2

      Once you get down sub 4-5 seconds everything is about traction, not about power. The fact that the P85D/P90D are four wheel drive means that they have a metric fuck ton more traction than a Camaro. Add to that that the Camaro you're talking about did 4 seconds on 1970s tyres, and you get quite easily to a car with 4 wheel drive and a lot of torque can do 0-60 in 2.8 seconds.

      Admittedly that's into the range of current super/hyper cars (a McLaren P1, and The Ferrari The Ferrari will both do around 2.3 seconds), but that's not surprising when the current way that said super/hyper cars generate enough torque to do that is with electric motors.

    20. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      " Tesla could literally kill you if they let the motor wind out at full torque."

      oh stop it... Ever heard of rocket sleds? That fleshy bit is tougher than you think. Plus the tires wouldn't take it.

    21. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by burtosis · · Score: 1

      Nor drive to the front wheels. Even under heavy acceleration significant weight is on them.

    22. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by harperska · · Score: 2

      The 3.2 second 0-60 of the P85D model S has been independently verified, so I don't see why it would be so outrageous to expect an upgraded model to do better.

      The Tesla is in fact specifically engineered to not leave rubber on the road. The computer actively measures the car's acceleration and adjusts the torque on the wheels so that they apply the maximum possible force to the road without slipping.

    23. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A '72 Z28 Camaro is around 4 seconds, so I agree - those numbers are suspect at best...

      The numbers are suddenly suspect because you dragged 40-year old technology into the conversation, as if we stopped making anything faster in 1972, or improved on tire compounds/clutches/suspension, since then??

      You act like the world is devoid of supercars able to pull damn near the claimed numbers.

      And yes, with manufacturer claims like this, it's likely done on a groomed track under perfect conditions with perhaps even special tires outfitted. It's about proving what the car can do, not necessarily what the environment will do to it. We still measure horsepower many different ways, to include RWHP and setting up on a dyno, which is far from emulating any real-world condition.

    24. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

      He already addressed the tires by claiming there is tradeoff between traction and lifespan, and a tire can be made to provide extreme traction at the expense of rapid wear.

    25. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by gfxguy · · Score: 1

      IMO, it's not even that, it's the "I'm Rich" iPod app for cars.

      --
      Stupid sexy Flanders.
    26. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      it's like the water cooled overclocked gaming rigs to get you those last 10 fps.

      Do you have a car analogy for that?

    27. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Huh? You are essentially asking if it realistic that a sparrow can fly faster than a horse.
      Drag racing is where electric vehicles excels, short range, start and stop, an ICE can't possibly compete there.
      If you are going long range the ICE will win out with superior energy density but at the acceleration game? Never.

      Just go to youtube, check "electric vehicle drag race". Even the lame EV conversions will beat the crap out of whatever muscle car you can think of.

      A while ago there was a slahsdot article about the Koenigsegg Regera making 60mph in 2.8s.
      The way they achieved that? A hybrid engine, letting the electric part deal with the acceleration and letting the ICE take care of maintaining the speed.

      I don't doubt Teslas numbers. 0-60 in 2.8 is realistic for an EV.

    28. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Everybody is familiar with that. Problem is, you start to run into tires like that they get really expensive. And something that weighs as much as a model S is going to need some serious grip to accelerate like that. With the model S weighing between 4300 and 4900 pounds depending on the model, it is quite heavy. That sort of acceleration is in Bugatti Veyron territory and it weighs more. And the Veyron was famous for a set of tires alone costing over $12K and only lasting about 6K miles.

    29. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't, but this pisses me off honestly.

      The Tesla S isn't a light car. Not by any stretch of the imagination. Looked it up and they weigh between 4300 and 4900 pounds. Accelerating like that with something that weighs that much is going to cause significantly more road wear than most other vehicles, including ones that can accelerate that quickly. And to add insult to injury, at least in the US, road maintenance is paid for by fuel tax, which these over privileged ass hats don't pay with their $100k car.

      So you get a car that does more road damage than the typical vehicle that can accelerate like that, and they don't even have the good graces to help pay for the damage they're doing. Thus leaving me with more potholes to have to avoid.

    30. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by AmiMoJo · · Score: 2

      The traction control must be working overtime. Even my Leaf can easily spin the tyres if I disable the traction control and put my foot down in the dry. I think most people have little idea just how weak ICE cars are at low speeds, until they drive an EV.

      Even with the traction control off you can tell that the engine management system is holding back a bit at low speed. I wonder if they tweaked that for the Nismo version. Also, 93 MPH in reverse.

      --
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    31. Re: With stock tires on my local road? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are mixing up voltage and current, and I don't think you have a very good grasp of electrical fundamentals, but the basics of what you're saying is correct.

    32. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by dbitter1 · · Score: 1

      Here's the deal: From 0-~30MPH, the car (a P85D) is limited by friction grip on the road. Note that they have decent size wide tires as a stock item, and the car weighs about 4700 lbs, so the grip is pretty solid. You *WILL* feel the slightest road imperfection- gravel, potholes, water, anything that causes any slip on a high acceleration "launch". The car does a great job of recovering and keeping the other wheels moving you forward (rather than careening into a ditch).

      The existing 3.05s time has been verified many times over. (3.2s is for the original models; there was a software upgrade to take off 1.5 s).

      Above 30, the car is software limited to save the hardware- it can't dissipate heat safely enough to keep up the max current draw that opening it up all the way would do. What this update does is replace the contactors and safety hardware to allow a higher draw so that the car can keep the limit very close to frictional limit all the way up to 60 without burning up any of the electric drivetrain. (400V/1200A -> 1500A)

      Although I have not seen the 2.8s 0-60, I assure you the performance is real. It is an incredible piece of engineering. (source:I own a P85D). Search Y/T for videos of "P85D insane mode" and watch the dashcam to see people's reactions- unless you are a fighter pilot or something, it is a feeling like nothing else.

      Also note that since the car is silent, you can often launch right in front of a cop while he eats his doughnut, and if you lay off the throttle by the time you hit the speed limit the radar gun won't catch how fast you accelerated.

      --
      For us carnivores, "Sucking the marrow out of life" isn't a transcendentalist philosophy but a practical instruction.
    33. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by michelcolman · · Score: 1

      Nothing to do with traction or downforce. The old insane mode was limited by amps above 30 mph, so acceleration started tapering off. The new ludicrous mode can pull more amps so, while acceleration is the same up to 30 mph, it will keep that high acceleration up a bit longer. That doesn't require any extra traction.

    34. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by Shoten · · Score: 1

      Somehow I get the feeling that this $10K upgrade will just get me a bit more smoke and rubber left on the road. Just how was this tested? What am I likely to really achieve on a local highway and with stock tires (presumably while steering clear of cops and any other nearby traffic)?

      ...

      This is an upgrade to a six-figure car that brings its 0-60 speed from 3.2 to 2.8 seconds...and you're asking practical questions about how this would play out under normal driving conditions???

      Have you ever DRIVEN on real roads with real traffic before? Aside from a toll booth, I am having a very hard time imagining a place where you would be at a dead stop and go right up to 60 mph at full force with no hesitation, no deceleration or any other such interruption along the way. And a tool booth is the last place where you should do such a thing, since there are so many other cars merging and mixing (especially if it's one of those "go left for this way, go right for that way" situations right afterwards) that you're begging for an accident by doing this.

      The 0-60 metric is that...it's a metric. It's imperfect, it's subject to specific conditions, sure...but the fact is that if the car manages to accomplish it, it can do it. And at the end of the day even though the real-world conditions may not be the same as the test conditions, you can say with a lot of reliability that the lower the number the better the car will accelerate.

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    35. Re: With stock tires on my local road? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Lol I had a supercharged FWD corolla that could do it in around 4 seconds on a g-tech with slightly sporty tread.

      4wd, constant max torque and no gear changes?

      Easy to get it in the 2 range.

    36. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 1

      I want to market a bumper sticker that reads "Nobody Cares What Your Car Looks Like." I could sell it to 80% of the population and make a mint.

    37. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by KGIII · · Score: 1

      As a car buff, read car geek, I can assure you that no stock '72 Z28 is going to reach that goal. In fact, I suspect a modern Camry has a faster 0-60 time than a stock '72 Z28. I am sure enough of this to not even bother to look it up.

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
    38. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by ne0n · · Score: 1

      A '72 Z28 Camaro is around 4 seconds

      You're just a stoned kid posting from mommy's basement after imbibing too many of ol' dad's rubbish stories about muscle cars of yore.

      Facts: 1972 was the beginning of the end for F-bodies. All engines were detuned even by Chevy standards, the biggest and most powerful could shove a Z28 to 100kph in around 7.5 seconds. That's an entire metric FUCK-TONNE of difference, kid.

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      $ :(){ :|:& };:
    39. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by rpstrong · · Score: 1

      As the the charge decreases, you'll loose a bit of the acceleration.

      No, letting the acceleration loose requires more power, not less. (Sorry, you lose.)

    40. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by AaronW · · Score: 1

      My experience with my Tesla P85 is that the traction control is extremely good. It gives just a little bit of slip. There is virtually no difference in 0-60 time with it disabled vs enabled.

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    41. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by AaronW · · Score: 1

      The downdraft is important if you're doing 1.1G acceleration which is what the car is doing.

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    42. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by AaronW · · Score: 1

      I do it every time I have to stop at the metering lights when traffic is moving nicely on the freeway in my P85.

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      This post is encrypted twice with ROT-13. Documenting or attempting to crack this encryption is illegal.
    43. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by Shirley+Marquez · · Score: 1

      The electric Tesla has two advantages over the Camaro. First, it's an all wheel drive car so there is twice as much rubber at work. Second, the electric motors deliver full torque all the way down to zero RPM, so the Tesla is faster off the mark.

    44. Re:With stock tires on my local road? by samwichse · · Score: 1

      Man, that's a sad... 7.4s? A stock 2015 Honda Fit MT is rated at 7.7s.

      Sam

  8. Can't spare a half second? by Sponge+Bath · · Score: 2

    No-time Toulouse. The story of the wild and lawless days of the post-Impressionists.

  9. The math by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hmmm, $10,000 so I can get to 60 mph .4 seconds faster than before. Unless I'm street racing or having a douche-driver-day, I'm not sure i see the value when it's acceleration is already way past anything else available.

    1. Re:The math by Waffle+Iron · · Score: 1

      Hmmm, $10,000 so I can get to 60 mph .4 seconds faster than before. Unless I'm street racing or having a douche-driver-day, I'm not sure i see the value when it's acceleration is already way past anything else available.

      The Bugatti Veyron Super Sport supposedly does 0-100km/h (62mph) in 2.2 seconds. So you can get substantially faster acceleration than this Tesla, for a premium of a couple of $million. (I guess that makes this battery pack look like a bargain.)

    2. Re:The math by sexconker · · Score: 1

      Yeah? Well I strapped some fucking rockets to my car and it went from 0 to 60 MPH in about 0.8 seconds. So fuck you.

    3. Re:The math by Waffle+Iron · · Score: 1

      Let me guess: It was a '67 Chevy Impala?

    4. Re:The math by dissy · · Score: 4, Funny

      Yeah? Well I strapped some fucking rockets to my car and it went from 0 to 60 MPH in about 0.8 seconds. So fuck you.

      Yes, but that was 0-60 straight up.

      To win the race you need to move forward, and the largest piece left over from the explosion must cross the finish line.

    5. Re:The math by beelsebob · · Score: 1

      You built bloodhound?

    6. Re:The math by michelcolman · · Score: 1

      The Veyron has special tires that cost $30000 and last 4000 km (2500 miles). I think I'd rather have the P90D with normal tires.

  10. Back in the early mid 90's when LiPo batteries by thinkwaitfast · · Score: 1

    were reported on in Science News, my boss and I were talking about the implications and our first thought (his actually) was drag racers [wikipedia.org]. The power mass densities (different than energy density) was insane. You could build a car in literally tens of kg that could accelerate at 10g's!

    1. Re:Back in the early mid 90's when LiPo batteries by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Uh huh, and artillery shells accelerate at 100000Gs, and the Sprint ABM popped out of its silo at 100G and hit Mach 10 at more or less sea level...

  11. Wow.... that's a full G of acceleration! by mark-t · · Score: 5, Interesting

    That's gotta have some interesting ramifications when you are driving on a slope, especially if you are accelerating over a small rise in the road.

    1. Re:Wow.... that's a full G of acceleration! by Etherwalk · · Score: 5, Funny

      That's gotta have some interesting ramifications when you are driving on a slope, especially if you are accelerating over a small rise in the road.

      The ramifications might include your breakfast.

    2. Re:Wow.... that's a full G of acceleration! by Falos · · Score: 1

      My understanding is that exceeding 1.0G requires adding downward net force by windfoil and surface grip. Apparently formula racers spin their wheels before starting guns, just to heat the rubber sticky. Apparently the main ramification of a small bump or aerodynamic failure is usually catastrophic: Your racer shooting up into the air and flipping vertically like someone put a bomb under your front lip.

      Well, I got that last one from internet GIFs. Shit be nuts, yo.

    3. Re:Wow.... that's a full G of acceleration! by mark-t · · Score: 1

      Why are they manufacturing a car for use by the general public if it is that dangerous on even slightly uneven roads?

    4. Re:Wow.... that's a full G of acceleration! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As much as people think they are using their cars to the maximum they don't, at least not all the time.
      What you want is that extra margin to save your ass when you screw up.

      You might think that you had plenty of time to pass a car, but someone from the oncoming traffic thought the same thing and suddenly you don't have that time you though. You could fall back to where you come from but some tailgater took your spot. (And seriously, you don't think fast enough to cover that train of thought.)
      So instead you floor it and get pass a lot quicker than you intended to, way above legal speed, but at least you avoided a frontal collision.
      That doesn't mean that you safely can maintain the speed even if the car can reach it.

      Is it a very contrived situation that assumes errors on behalf of multiple drivers? Yes, but it still happens.
      Humans are bad drivers. Because of this they need cars that can perform more than they accounted for.

    5. Re:Wow.... that's a full G of acceleration! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Breakfast? Like eating cereal in your car? Only someone with donkey brains would do that.

    6. Re:Wow.... that's a full G of acceleration! by mark-t · · Score: 1

      That's all very well and good, but I wasn't talking about maintained high speeds, I was talking just about the acceleration. I had initial speculated that with that kind of acceleration, there would almost certainly to be some atypical ramifications if you are driving on even slightly non-level roads, and as the above poster remarked, accelerations above 1g can have catastrophic results if even a small bump gets hit, confirming my suspicions Truth be told, it turns out that the claimed acceleration is only slightly over 0.97g, but that is so fricken close enough to a full g of acceleration it that it might as well be such (you probably wouldn't notice the difference without taking instrumental measurements or at least very careful observation), and that's also close enough that I'd have no small concern that similar dangers exist, since to the best of my knowledge, the effects of acceleration are not discontinuous with respect to the acceleration rate.

    7. Re:Wow.... that's a full G of acceleration! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      At that point they become rampifications.

  12. Shocking! by penguinoid · · Score: 1

    This might ignite a firestorm among ICE car vendors.

    Now if only we had a car analogy.

    --
    Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
    1. Re:Shocking! by 0123456 · · Score: 1

      This might ignite a firestorm among ICE car vendors.

      Why? Several of the latest ICE supercars already seem to incorporate an electric assist for acceleration, and no-one else really cares about a car that can accelerate really fast but takes longer to recharge than the amount of time you can drive on the highway between charges.

      Utility of a 2.8 second 0-60 time for most ICE car owners = 0.
      Utility of being able to drive 500 miles and then 'recharge' in five minutes = lots.

    2. Re:Shocking! by thestuckmud · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Utility of a 2.8 second 0-60 time for most ICE car owners = 0.
      Utility of being able to drive 500 miles and then 'recharge' in five minutes = lots.

      Utility of having decent range and never having to stop at a gas station = priceless!

      Seriously. Buy a second car (owners of this Tesla can certainly afford one). Or borrow a friends (they'll be happy to drive you Telsa for a day). Or rent a car for your trip. The convenience of having a fully charged car every morning more than makes up for any range anxiety I might have had, and my electric has less than half the range of a Tesla.

    3. Re:Shocking! by Firethorn · · Score: 1

      Most cars can't make 500 miles between refuelings, and if you stop at a supercharger station you can very much be on the road for longer times than you spend recharging.

      That's without a battery swap station, of which Tesla has demonstrated a model which can replace the battery faster than you can refuel a 500 mile ranged vehicle.

      --
      I don't read AC A human right
    4. Re:Shocking! by Cyberax · · Score: 2

      I traveled 8000 miles in 1 month on my new Tesla. Range and recharge time is not a problem - superchargers are almost everywhere where I would want to go in the US: http://supercharge.info/

    5. Re:Shocking! by Kjella · · Score: 1

      Utility of a 2.8 second 0-60 time for most ICE car owners = 0.
      Utility of being able to drive 500 miles and then 'recharge' in five minutes = lots.

      YMMV but I don't think I've ever driven 500 miles in a day, ever. The longest would be around 350 miles and that included one substantial break, enough for a supercharge. The issue is more that a $20k ICE car primarily made for commuting can make the occasional 350 mile drive, while nothing short of the Tesla will do on the EV side without ages of charging time. Neither is really a killer feature IMHO, the killer feature would be getting the $35k model 3 out the door. Currently there's a huge no man's land between EVs like the Nissan Leaf (24 kWh) and the Tesla 70D (70 kWh).

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
    6. Re:Shocking! by beelsebob · · Score: 1

      Utility of being able to drive 500 miles and then 'recharge' in five minutes = lots.

      I don't really understand the necessity of this. Realistically, you're gonna be driving at most 70mph, more likely averaging 50-60 over a long journey. You can reasonably do 4 hours before you need to stop for lunch, and another 4 in the afternoon before you're going to want to eat dinner. Both of those meals are gonna take you half an hour.

      That means that a range of between 200 and 280 miles is sufficient for pretty much any form of driving save for utter insanity driving all through the night, and frankly, forcing you to stop for half an hour every few during that time I regard as a good thing, not a bad.

      That said, I do think the tesla's current ~267mile range (assuming 85->90kWh scales linearly) is a tiny bit on the short side. If they managed to get the thing to 300, that would be pretty much sufficient for all forms of driving.

    7. Re:Shocking! by beelsebob · · Score: 1

      Yep, same here - drive to work, plug in, drive home; drive to work, plug in, drive home, ...

      I never ever ever have to think at all about stopping at a petrol station, and I never dip below 70-80% battery charge, also, with a ~100 mile range on my car.

    8. Re:Shocking! by Firethorn · · Score: 1

      100 kWh battery in a Tesla? Assuming you don't drive like a maniac, you should have ~300 miles, easy.

      --
      I don't read AC A human right
    9. Re:Shocking! by fnj · · Score: 1

      Most cars can't make 500 miles between refuelings

      Plenty of them do, though. Mine does. Every time. In fact, my record (both directions on a closed course) is 798 miles. In a very normal car; not even a hybrid.

    10. Re:Shocking! by fnj · · Score: 1

      I did approximately 650 miles one day. I drove to the hospital to visit my uncle, and back again. It was, oh, about maybe 16-18 hours without a real rest and I was half the age I am now. I sure as hell couldn't do it now.

    11. Re:Shocking! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No Ironbutt award for you: http://www.ironbutt.com. :) I did 1000 miles in 24 hours on an old uncomfortable motorcycle with 100 mile range.

      650 miles in a car on the interstate would be 10 hours of driving - similar to a long day at work. The limits for truckers are 11-14 hours, so some people do this all the time.

    12. Re:Shocking! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'd still take 1/3 the battery and an efficient 15-25hp ICE motor. Cheaper, commute covered by all electric, and ICE for quick fill-ups on longer trips. The ICE just needs to be large enough to cover your average power needed on longer trips - it can keep running to charge the battery while you stop to eat, stretch, or sleep. If you can plug-in at the same time, you'll just charge faster.

      Not enough super chargers around here for them to be useful.

    13. Re:Shocking! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Which state? Around here, assuming you're not speeding at all, 750 miles would be 10 hours of driving. Granted my record is 1100 miles in about 14 hours. Thank you Utah and your 80 MPH areas.

    14. Re:Shocking! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Plus, after 500 miles, I don't care if my car can charge in 5 minutes or 5 hours. The driver needs dinner, some exercise, and 8 hours of sleep.

    15. Re:Shocking! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Theoretically this is a nice idea. Realistically, killing time at a mall for 30-60 minutes kind of sucks.

      That said, 99% of my driving is the daily commute, where just being able to charge up overnight at home is a lot nicer than having to fill up at a gas station.

    16. Re:Shocking! by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 1

      Looking at that map, it's almost like they decided ahead of time where you're allowed to take trips.

      Brings to mind the Habitrail hamster cage to me.

    17. Re:Shocking! by Entropius · · Score: 1

      Isn't that basically a Chevy Volt?

    18. Re:Shocking! by beelsebob · · Score: 1

      Are you saying that you don't need to eat food roughly every 4 waking hours?

    19. Re:Shocking! by Cyberax · · Score: 1

      They're covering the major highways first. There's a map of projected Supercharger network for 2016 here: http://www.teslamotors.com/sup...

    20. Re:Shocking! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I thought he was bragging about how long he can sit and stuff food into his mouth. How many egg McMuffins can YOU do in 1/2 hour?

  13. Re:Good, quicker way to leave the country! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    OH! Please do! See how fast you can drive off the Santa Monica pier!

  14. Some say... by justthinkit · · Score: 1

    Yes, but how long will it take to go round our track?

    --
    I come here for the love
  15. w/AWD and inteligent speed/traction control by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This is NOT an old-school rear wheel drive with essentially an open diff and sloppy suspension. The car could theoretically apply exactly the maximum amount of power possible before causing wheelspin, to each wheel, continuously adjusting them all simultaneously until you let off the pedal. Given enough power it might even be possible to accelerate /almost/ as fast as you can stop. So, if it can go 60-0 in 104 feet with those tires...

    Tesla vs Hellcat back in January

    Also, if you're only going zero to [the speed limit] and you're on a highway with little to no traffic, I've never heard of a U.S. state that has a law against "accelerating too fast" as long as you aren't racing another vehicle and you don't break traction for an extended period of time or commit some other moving violation in the process.

    But, no, you won't get 2.8 on a road with sand/gravel on it.

    1. Re:w/AWD and inteligent speed/traction control by tompaulco · · Score: 1

      Tesla vs Hellcat back in January

      I bet the defeat would have been less embarrassing if the hellcat driver hadn't spent the first 5 seconds spinning his wheels in first gear. That he would lose there could be no doubt. The Tesla has more horsepower and all wheel drive. A rear wheel drive with less horsepower can't hope to keep up with that. Less overall traction AND less horsepower to drive it.

      --
      If you are not allowed to question your government then the government has answered your question.
    2. Re:w/AWD and inteligent speed/traction control by fnj · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I've never heard of a U.S. state that has a law against "accelerating too fast" as long as you aren't racing another vehicle and you don't break traction for an extended period of time or commit some other moving violation in the process.

      Only every single state in the union, that's all. If the cops don't like the cut of your jib, their racket is to nail you for "exhibition of speed" or the equivalent (I know it's really acceleration, not speed, but you're not going to win the argument with ol' man law by dazzling him with grammatic precision - please trust me on this). Completely aside from obvious no-nos like drag races, street races, peel outs, skidding, sliding, and drifting, any suggestion of "showing off" is your doom, but you can also be written up for doing it alone on a deserted stretch of road. And the old ruse of "gee officer, the car surprised me, I wasn't trying, I had no idea the car had that much power" also usually doesn't fly at all.

      Finally, "breaking traction for an extended period of time", are you kidding? Just barking the tires instantaneously is a no-no.

    3. Re:w/AWD and inteligent speed/traction control by gfxguy · · Score: 1

      They actually do name it correctly, at least in some states, "Unnecessary show of acceleration."

      --
      Stupid sexy Flanders.
    4. Re:w/AWD and inteligent speed/traction control by mobby_6kl · · Score: 1

      What's "unnecessary"? Somehow I don't see
      "Officer, I had to gun it to make the next green light!"
      working very well.

    5. Re:w/AWD and inteligent speed/traction control by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      That sort of thing seems like it would be really difficult for an officer to justify in court. "Yes your honor, this driver appeared to be exhibiting speed, um, because the car sure got up to the speed limit fast. Yeah, that's it." Without even some tire smoke or the roar of an engine, or another vehicle around that you might have been "racing" it could make the officer look rather foolish when they pull up the dash cam and it just shows a fairly conservative looking car accelerating up to the speed limit and then driving along passively. A sensible judge would throw it out and give the officer a lecture. I might look up the specifics of the law though, because apart from the officer's estimation that you might have been doing something potentially "careless," there doesn't seem to be much rational basis for an "accelerating too fast" ticket.

      I've never been ticketed for anything that wasn't a very specific violation, usually speeding, even if by only ~8MPH (that was driving through Wyoming of all places). I was once even let off with only a verbal warning when doing 95+ right in front of a police car (it was night and he was a ways behind me in another other lane, which I then pulled into to pass slower traffic), just because he didn't have a record of my exact speed so he would have had to say "I estimate he was going approximately 102," and he apparently didn't want to deal with the hassle. Further I haven't been pulled over once, for any reason, since I stopped driving the loud red sports car (~12 years ago) and mostly drive a more sensible looking car. In the red sports car I'd attract attention from the police just for downshifting, or incidentally being in the left lane. It's like the vehicular equivalent of racial profiling.

    6. Re:w/AWD and inteligent speed/traction control by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you're supposed to merge at the speed of traffic and you're pulling onto a highway with a speed limit of, say, 85 MPH (Texas) and traffic is light and moving at 90, it seems like that acceleration might well be "necessary." I'd probably do it without much fear of receiving a citation. Perhaps not right in front of a cop, but really, without breaking traction significantly or exceeding the speed limit by more than single-digit MPH or racing another vehicle, or shooting a video, or with the car packed full of teenagers, I think the officer would need to be having a particularly bad day to even bother stopping you, and at that point would probably still ask about the car and then give you a warning at worst.

    7. Re:w/AWD and inteligent speed/traction control by sumdumass · · Score: 1

      As a teenager, I recieved a citation for "peeling and squealing" my tires. Being under 18, it was a mandatory court appearance along with a parent. My dad told the judge the noise the officer thought he heard was a power steering belt slipping and he replaced it two days latter. The judge made some comment about calling the cop a liar and dad replied "jesus christ, itsca worn out ford pinto with a four cylinder, exactly what make anyone think its capable of peeling and squealing ". I had to pay a $65 fine and was told if i was ever in front of him again i would lose my license.

      Even if you have a good excuse (my buddy is alergic to bee stings and we need to get him to a hospital fast or he will die), it might not matter if the jurisdiction is only after money.

    8. Re:w/AWD and inteligent speed/traction control by chuckugly · · Score: 1

      A rear wheel drive with less horsepower can't hope to keep up with that. Less overall traction AND less horsepower to drive it.

      Say hi to the Atom.

    9. Re:w/AWD and inteligent speed/traction control by rpstrong · · Score: 1

      The Hellcat edges the Tesla in horsepower. Torque, of course, is a different factor.

    10. Re:w/AWD and inteligent speed/traction control by AaronW · · Score: 1

      The nice thing about the Tesla is you don't have to do anything special to get insane acceleration without just spinning the wheels and smoking the tires. Just mash down on the accelerator and let the traction control do the rest. I have a P85 and it's a lot of fun.

      --
      This post is encrypted twice with ROT-13. Documenting or attempting to crack this encryption is illegal.
    11. Re:w/AWD and inteligent speed/traction control by AaronW · · Score: 1

      I've accelerated hard in my P85 from a red light in front of cops before (realizing it after the fact) and never had an issue. I know to let up on the accelerator by the other side of the intersection since I'm already at the speed limit.

      --
      This post is encrypted twice with ROT-13. Documenting or attempting to crack this encryption is illegal.
    12. Re:w/AWD and inteligent speed/traction control by gfxguy · · Score: 1

      If fast acceleration is necessary for some reason, then it's not unnecessary. I'm not sure I see the problem you have with it.

      --
      Stupid sexy Flanders.
    13. Re:w/AWD and inteligent speed/traction control by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Perhaps I should have replied to mobby_6kl below instead of the above, but the problem is twofold. First, there seemed to be a perception that one would be very likely to get pulled over and ticketed just for getting up to the speed limit too quickly even without making a lot of noise or losing traction or racing someone, etc. I assert that is a false assumption. That stance is also supported by posters like AaronW who have shared experiences to the contrary. Second, some posters seemed to be insinuating that it's never necessary. I assert that sometimes it may well be entirely necessary (and in such situations, drivers of slower and less capable vehicles could even end up impeding the flow of traffic and/or increasing the risk of a collision, either by merging at too low a speed, or by impeding the cars behind them also trying to merge because they have to wait so long for a sufficiently large empty spot to merge into without another highway driver needing to slow down to accommodate them).

      You may also note that "unnecessary /show/ of acceleration" (emphasis added) pretty strongly suggests a deliberate attempt to impress someone else, not simply to reach the speed limit too quickly for ANY other reason, even if it's just to test out your new car or because you're in a hurry. As such, I still assert that I haven't heard of a U.S. state that truly has a law against "accelerating too fast." Now, if an officer is feeling particularly cranky or is jealous of your car or trying to fill some kind of quota I'm sure they could trump something up, but I'm still not sure I'm convinced a _competent_ judge would agree.

  16. Re:Good, quicker way to leave the country! by Demonoid-Penguin · · Score: 1

    Now the fag marriage is legal, I can speed out of the US at even faster speed.

    Except you aren't welcome anywhere. Better stick to your shack and your travel to the keyboard and the dual-purpose bucket.

  17. how to best spend 400 ms shaved by epine · · Score: 1

    Here's an idea. You can do one more Google search before you leave home.

  18. Meanwhile by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In real life, how fast do cars actually run in cities?

    Slower than a bicycle.

    Peak oil, solved.

  19. In the Spirit of Space-X by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If the battery could discharge in sections, a first stage could be shed like a recyclable booster rocket to reduce the weight.

    With the price of those batteries, I doubt they'll make them too easy to remove though. It would be a major pain if people started stealing them. I guess the batteries had better have some embedded serial numbers.

    1. Re:In the Spirit of Space-X by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Aren't all Teslas's built with the anticipation of battery swap stations in the future?

    2. Re:In the Spirit of Space-X by sumdumass · · Score: 1

      It would also be a major pain dodging the packs shed when someone shows off on the interstate. These are roadable cars doing this.

    3. Re:In the Spirit of Space-X by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      Eh, it's no different than a truck shedding the tread off its cheap tires. I didn't know they did that to save weight and drag.

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
  20. 1.1G by SuperKendall · · Score: 2

    Finally, a car I can drive straight up the sides of buildings.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re: 1.1G by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Finally, a proper use case for those ridiculous three-foot spoilers!

  21. Before you get all excited by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You can't do this much before the batteries overheat and the whole system gets throttled. Would be a neat hat trick to scare your date though.

    1. Re:Before you get all excited by Cyberax · · Score: 4, Informative

      Tesla has liquid battery cooling that can dissipate quite a lot of heat. It was quite difficult to hit throttling even during a race on a real racetrack (and impossible on regular public roads). And they've also reduced the throttling in recent software updates.

  22. Wish I got money to burn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    All for spaceballs reference

  23. Re:Wow by beelsebob · · Score: 1

    a) it takes about 25 minutes to charge, not 4 hours.
    b) 375V * 1.5kA * 2.8s = 0.4375kWh. That is, it takes less than 0.5% of the total charge of the battery to do this.

  24. I'm vote for an... by toadlife · · Score: 2

    ..."Inconceivable" mode on the P100D.

    --
    I don't always use unix-like operating systems; but when I do, I prefer FreeBSD.
  25. Re:Good, quicker way to leave the country! by pslytely+psycho · · Score: 1

    Enjoy Russia.

    --
    Donald Trump, on a crusade to make Nixon look respectable
  26. Re:Good, quicker way to leave the country! by Demonoid-Penguin · · Score: 2

    No, most places outside of the West still hate fags.

    That doesn't mean "they" welcome fuckwits like the other Anonymous Coward - who's probably only welcome in a few dark recesses of the virtual world that value stupid and hatred as a contribution.

    Tolerance for some things just makes sense. In an overcrowded world I extend that tolerance to non-breeders of all persuasions - with the usual caveat that they be consenting, informed adults. That type of intolerance represents a culture I won't embrace.

    Historically most of the previous "civilisations" I'm familiar with welcomed them too, because they make valid contributions without the same resource drags of (us) breeders. Children, and child-reaching is costly across a range of resources. Most of those former civilisations are now wastelands - often partially created by the sheep and goats herded by the Iron Age mentality tribes that spew the same displaced hatred as that moron. The same type of conservative fundamentalist that often "rose up and threw off the shackles" (destroyed) of the same civilisation and then had trouble understanding how to operate, build, or manage the things they originally planned on "taking back" for themselves.

  27. Seems simple enough by 50000BTU_barbecue · · Score: 1

    You want the torque and power curve of an electric motor but the convenience of tanking up with kerosene?

    http://www.ultimatecarpage.com...

    --
    Mostly random stuff.
  28. Metric by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I was just about to ask for the time it takes to accelerate to 100 km/h but I see you yanks have already given in to the metric system by choosing 60 mph (96.56 km) as the upper reference.

  29. Great. Now to the interior by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nice acceleration.
    But the car still looks shit inside. The outside is ok, unremarkable. Pretty average like every 20k lower middle class car. But sorry, the inside doesn't look like a 100k car. More like a cheap Japanese car from the 80s. No lux at all. No interior option (aside from choosing terrible tan or horrible grey seats instead of black and which ugly plastic "veneer" should be used) at all. Massage function? Variable seats? Wood veneer and leather options? Want to see what a 100k car can offer on the lux side? Head over to Bentley (for example). Cool tech but not worth 100k.

  30. Um, +1 Funny? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    At least I hope so, because if that's a serious post, you need help.

  31. Is it still green if you drive it like a supercar? by Legal.2.Troll · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I get that there may still be efficiency gains over pushing a gas-fired car to 60mph in ~2 seconds, but doesn't this kind of wasteful driving sort of defeat the purpose of having an electric vehicle? Meanwhile you're using up highly specialized materials that simply aren't needed, if all you want to do is show off. --Legal.Troll (dodging his -1 Karma)

  32. Re:Good, quicker way to leave the country! by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 1

    You troll easily. Do you get a rush, when you're flipping around in the bottom of the boat?

  33. Re:Good, quicker way to leave the country! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You troll easily. Do you get a rush, when you're flipping around in the bottom of the boat?

    Do you feel less justifiably socially marginalized when posting on the internet? Must be sad knowing that in real life people cross the road to avoid you and being reduced to setting fire to their cats so you can feel noticed. Makes you angry doesn't it - waking every morning wishing your mother had just flushed instead of hauling you out and leaving you in a bin outside the weight loss clinic. Lacking the nerve to end your daily misery and just kill yourself, which just makes you more miserable and angry. Even if you could have a life like others you've no time, compelled to seek attention in the only way you can in a constant battle to deny the fact that even you hate yourself.

  34. Middle Class Taxpayers Subsidize Toys for Rich? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So let me see if I have this right. I pay taxes to a government so that they can subsidize rich people who buy electric "green" vehicles, costing the same as a fully loaded S class Mercedes, and who then turn around and use the savings for an optional $10,000 battery pack upgrade to shave an extra six tenths of a second off their 0-60 time? It's nice to see that our politicians have our priorities straight. Meanwhile the middle class is still shrinking, unemployment, underemployment and student debt are ruining the American dream for young people and the public debt continues to spiral out of control. What's wrong with this picture?

    1. Re:Middle Class Taxpayers Subsidize Toys for Rich? by lordholm · · Score: 1

      That is the short sighted version, but...

      Basically, the incentives can be seen as a sort of support for the EV manufacturer who will sell more cars, and therefore will be able to scale up the production and design cheaper consumer friendly cars. E.g. Tesla is working on the Model 3 which will be more affordable, this was only possible by going the route from the roadster and model S.

      Yes, the incentives may go to rich people (excluding people buying a Nissan Leaf), but the long term benefit is to get affordable EVs to everyone.

      --
      "Civis Europaeus sum!"
  35. Re:Wow by Entropius · · Score: 1

    Does this car have regenerative braking? If so then it's even less, since once you stop you're going to be recovering a lot of that kinetic energy.

  36. almost gravity by jgirltw · · Score: 1

    if my maths is correct 0 - 60 in 2.8 seconds is 9.5 m/s2 just less than the 9.8 of freefall.

  37. Officially a Toy now. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What's next? Is he going to add things that make sparks with the wheels? Baseball cards in the wheel spokes? Tassels on the wing mirrors?

    Truly, this is the card for the child with too much money, and nothing else. I will laugh extra hard whenever i see one going down the street from now on, i'll ask them if they got the new doctor who drive in their warp core.

  38. Re:Wow by beelsebob · · Score: 1

    Yes, yes it does.

  39. one of the fastest three dozden cars ever by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Fast as a 2011 Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4

    Now THAT is a rational argument for an electric car; emissions are not; usually those increase with electric propulsion...electricity comes from COAL lol

    1. Re: one of the fastest three dozden cars ever by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Electricity comes ideally from solar, wind, water, geothermal, biothermal (heat from rotting plant waste) and a bunch of other stuff.

      If electricty comes from coal in your country, you are doing it wrong. Terribly wrong. Painfully wrong.

  40. What? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    0 to 60mph @ 2.8sec isn't actually speed, but acceleration!?

  41. Hellcat wins rematch by QA · · Score: 1

    In the initial run, it was rather obvious the Hellcat driver was, shall we say...new at this sort of thing.

    If you do a quick search (I'm too lazy to do your work for you) it is the top Google result.

    The Hellcat was also under rated by Fiat and in reality, the detuned version for sale now is around 750hp, crank.

    Rumor has it that the engine was making closer to 800+ before the Engineers came to thier senses..at the bequest of the marketing droids of course, since you cant have anything as pedestrian as a Challenger usurping the spotlight from the flagship model (Viper).

  42. Re:Good, quicker way to leave the country! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
  43. Re:Is it still green if you drive it like a superc by thegarbz · · Score: 1

    People want their expensive penis extensions regardless of whether they are powered by decomposed dinosaurs or by a fusion reactor in the sky. Is it still green?

    Considering a Veryon has the same 0-60 speeds, a 27 gal tank, and can only go 50 miles on that tank a full throttle I would definitely say that this is still green.

    The alternative is not to drive it like a normal car, but to drive a gas powered supercar. People may look for green ways of enjoying their hobby, but no one will abandon their hobby altogether because it isn't green.

  44. Re:Good, quicker way to leave the country! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    it's amazing how you can still wind people up just by saying "fag".

  45. Re:Is it still green if you drive it like a superc by strikethree · · Score: 1

    If you are going to be driving wastefully, doing it as efficiently as possible still makes sense.

    I *WANT* one of these. Madly and desperately. Tesla heard my only objection left: All Wheel Drive. I have been maneuvering my finances to buy one since the AWD version came out. Now, I am almost willing to mortgage my soul to get one of these. (I would definitely NOT mortgage my soul, it is a figure of speech designed to show how much I want one of these.)

    --
    "Someone needs to talk to the tree of liberty about its ghoulish drinking problem." by ohnocitizen
  46. Wrong focus by Kazoo+the+Clown · · Score: 1

    i don't care if it takes 5 minutes to get up to 60mph, what I want is a 400 mile range.

  47. Re:Is it still green if you drive it like a superc by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Now, I am almost willing to mortgage my soul to get one of these. (I would definitely NOT mortgage my soul, it is a figure of speech designed to show how much I want one of these.)

    It's more like a reverse mortgage on your soul--you get cash now and the use of your soul for the rest of your life.

    Once you die, I will take possession of your soul and it will be mine - mine! - for all Eternity! MuwahahaHA!

    Sincerely Yours,
    The Devil

  48. Obligatory by Snufu · · Score: 1

    How did we get this deep into the comments with no occurrence of either the word "Kessel" or "parsec"?