Tesla Model S P90D rips through quarter mile in 10.8 seconds in Ludicrous mode

By Bruce Brown August 8, 2016

1/4 Mile Record - First 10 Second Ludicrous Tesla P90D!

There’s no doubt that Tesla’s Model S P90D with Ludicrous mode is fast. A Motor Trend test of the 2015 version reported the car “reliably rips through the quarter mile in 10.9 seconds.” But getting into the 10-second range for a quarter mile with the performance version of the luxury all-electric sedan has been elusive for most owners. With a recent software update, however, new owners should be able to hit 10 seconds regularly, as reported by Electrek.

George Parrot, a Tesla owner who started with a P85D, walked readers through his quarter mile performances at Sacramento Speedway earlier this year in Green Car Reports. Prior to paying the $5,000 Ludicrous mode upgrade cost, Parrot had been getting 11.72-second quarter mile times using the “Insane” power setting of the Model S. With Tesla’s periodic software upgrades, he got the times down to 11.63 seconds. After the Ludicrous mode option upgrade, Parrot and another Model S owner with the same upgrades made quarter mile runs in 11.36 and 11.34 seconds, respectively. So better times, but still not sub-11 seconds.

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Tesla hasn’t announced a power increase for the fully stacked Model S, but Electrek reported in June that P90D owners were noticing higher than expected power outputs from the car’s electric motors. A new owner of a Tesla Model S P90D with Ludicrous mode took his car to North Carolina’s Rockingham Dragway. Running his Tesla with and without Launch Mode turned on, the Rockingham racer had multiple runs in the 10 second range. His best time was 10.80 seconds.

Many Tesla Model S owners are likely quite happy with the P90D’s 3.1 second zero to 60 performance and don’t care about knocking that down to 2.8 seconds with the Performance and Ludicrous mode option. For those to whom that does matter, the unannounced power increase comes as welcome news. The Model S P90DL is most likely the only sedan currently on the market able to hit 10 second quarters.

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