With its new battery, Tesla’s Model S is now the third-fastest car on Earth

By Andrew Hard Published August 25, 2016

First it was Insane. Then it was Ludicrous. At this point, it’s almost absurd.

Tesla has officially announced a new, 100kWh battery pack for the Model S and Model X, pushing the performance and range of each vehicle into the stratosphere. Dubbed P100D, the electric powertrain drops the 0-to-60 time for the Model S down to just 2.5 seconds, and total range has been increased from 294 miles to 315 miles. The Model X P100D sees similar improvements, as the heavier vehicle can now sprint to 60 mph in 2.9 ticks and drive for 289 miles without recharging.

Read more: First drive: Tesla Model S P90D

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These figures are undeniably impressive on their own, but according to Tesla, they’re record-breaking. The automaker now bills the Model S as the quickest production car in the world, but there are a couple of issues with that statement. Both the Ferrari LaFerrari and Porsche 918 Spyder are quicker off the line by one tenth of a second or so, which would make the Model S the third-fastest car in the world, not the first. Don’t worry though, Tesla has an explanation.

“Both the LaFerrari and the Porsche 918 Spyder were limited run, million-dollar vehicles and cannot be bought new,” the brand said. “While those cars are small two seaters with very little luggage space, the pure electric, all-wheel drive Model S P100D has four doors, seats up to 5 adults plus 2 children and has exceptional cargo capacity.”

Fair points, Tesla, but the numbers don’t lie. Perhaps “quickest car in the world that can be purchased new in 2016” would be a better title, however that doesn’t exactly roll off the fingertips. At any rate, the Model S and Model X are now faster than almost anything on the road, and with its new power source, the Model S is the first production EV to cross the coveted 300-mile range mark.

The news was previewed by a vague tweet by company CEO Elon Musk today, who simply declared that a Tesla product announcement would go live at noon. Many speculated the announcement would center around the brand’s controversial self-driving software, however it looks like Autopilot 2.0 will have to wait for now.

For more Tesla news, keep your browsers locked to DT.

Former Staff Writer

Andrew first started writing in middle school and hasn't put the pen down since. Whether it's technology, music, sports, or…

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