Slashdot Mirror
Tesla 'Easter Egg' Makes the World's Fastest Car Even Faster (bloomberg.com)
The world's fastest-accelerating car is about to get even faster. Tesla's high-end Model S will soon be able to go from zero to 60 miles per hour in just 2.4 seconds, following a software enhancement next month that shaves off a 10th of a second. That's a new threshold that distinguishes it from any other production car on the road. From a report on Bloomberg: Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk teased the update in a tweet on Wednesday -- but there's a twist. When the changes are delivered wirelessly next month to all P100D Model S vehicles, the owners will have to figure out how to enable it. It's what's known in the tech industry as an "Easter Egg" -- a hidden feature that requires a specific series of gestures to unlock. These speeds are crazy fast. For perspective, the Model S already outpaces sold-out supercars with tiny production runs, such as Ferrari's $1.4 million LaFerrari, Porsche's $845,000 918 Spyder, and Bugatti's $2.3 million Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse. Tesla's seven-seat Model X SUV will also shed a 10th of a second, putting it on a par with a $1.15 million McLaren P1.
If they could make one with this performance, and in the ballpark range of a Vette, man..I'd be in the market for that immediatly.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
He didn't pay anything. He knows that desperate "content producers" like Slashdot follow his Twitter feed an will write a 2,000 speculative article on anything he Tweets out.
These stupid articles always bring up hyper car speeds. The tesla is stupid quick to 60mph, but once you get to 60mph it fades quite fast. Over 60 and it will be clowned by anything. Additionally comparing it to cars that can run endless laps on a track is pointless. But continue on with the Musk dick sucking
owners will have to figure out how to enable it
No way could this end badly.
The car is already insanely fast.
I highly doubt gaining fractions of seconds on top of that via "Easter Egg" gestures that are tied to a single function that gets enabled is going to spell the end of the world. If you can't control your Tesla before this, then you probably shouldn't own one.
The Tesla is not faster than the 918 from 0-60mph. The 918 spyder does it in 2.3s so faster now, and faster after the upgrade. Makes sense since the porsche is a 4 wheel drive unlike the McLaren P1 or Ferrari La Ferrari. Any 4WD car with lots of power and torque will be faster than any 2WD propulsion hypercar. And Tesla is not even the fastest electric car. That would be the Rimac. But hey, Elon Musk can claim all he wants, that's marketing (ie. damn lies.)
Black holes occur when God divides by zero.
Apart from the Porsche's 918 Spyder which managed managed 0-60 in 2.2 seconds in independent tests.
I've never owned a car in my life that had more than 2 functional seats
Then you clearly don't have children and/or don't do practical work involving a vehicle. My daily driver is a pickup because I need that sort of vehicle for various tasks (hauling, plowing, etc) that could not possibly be accomplished with a little sports car. Good luck hauling a 4x8 sheet of plywood in your 911. If you have a family in most parts of the US you will immediately need at least a third seat and some cargo capacity. People don't drive minivans because they think they are awesomely fun to drive.
I like cars that are fun to drive too (and have owned several) but two seat sports cars are hugely impractical and generally expensive luxuries. Nothing wrong with that but not compatible with the banalities of daily life for many of us.
>>>"the owners will have to figure out how to enable it"
I think these guys forgot that they are not designing a video game. How about Easter Egg car payments, with Tesla having to figure how to get the cash?
It's hard to go 0-60 when you're starting at not-0. I strongly suspect it will, like almost all launch control programs, be available only prior to launch.
Watch for Penguins, they eat Apples and throw rocks at Windows.
If it isn't wiggling the steering wheel back and forth while the car is in park and muttering, "Vroom, vroom!" I'm going to be severely disappointed.
The Quirkz Handbook of Self-Improvement for People Who Are Already Pretty Okay