Items tagged with Model S
Range anxiety? What range anxiety? Just as traditional ICE (internal combustion engine) auto manufacturers are attempting to field their own entries into the luxury electric vehicle market, Tesla is moving the goal posts again. The company's EVs already have greater range their new competitors (by a fair margin), and now drivetrain updates are widening the gap even further. Tesla announced this week that it is using a new permanent magnet synchronous reluctance motor -- which has previously seen duty in the Model 3 -- on its Model S sedan and Model X crossover. This could with improvements to its bearings, gear design, lubrication and cooling allow the company to achieve a stunning...
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The automotive world is inching towards fully autonomous rides that can take us where we want to go without driver intervention. Tesla seems to be reaching towards full autonomy faster than competing brands; earlier this month the automaker announced that its Autopilot system could change lanes without driver input. Tesla has now announced that its latest self-driving hardware is available and it's called the Full Self-Driving Computer or FSD. The hardware was formerly known as Autopilot Hardware 3.0. Tesla also clarified that the new FSD is already installed in all new Model S and Model X cars that were built starting around March 20th. The new hardware is also inside many Model 3 vehicles that...
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Tesla is moving one step closer to fully autonomous driving with the latest update to its Autopilot software; more specifically, the optional Navigate on Autopilot feature. With Navigate On Autopilot, you can punch in a destination and while on the highway, the vehicle will autonomously take you to your destination with prompts to commit to lane changes along the way. The way it currently works, if your Tesla wants to make a lane change, the driver must confirm the action before the vehicle proceeds to take the necessary action. The new update allows the car to decide for itself if and when to change lanes automatically – all without driver intervention. Tesla writes: Once enabled,...
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Tesla CEO and Founder Elon Musk is known for encouraging his software engineers to incorporate Easter Eggs into the company's EVs. That's why we've been graced with such niceties as a Santa Mode, and more recently, the game Pole Position that can be played using your steering wheel and brake pedal. Tesla's latest Easter Egg will have you yelling "Great Scott," because "you're about to see some serious sh*t!" It was found by a redditor earlier this week who just so happened to stumble across the Back to the Future reference in the Tesla iOS app. When your Tesla EV has 121 miles of range left, you simply tap on the battery icon within the app which will enable the Easter...
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Porsche is set to reveal the production version of its highly anticipated Taycan EV later this year. The vehicle concept, which first bowed in 2015 as the Mission E -- is based on a new electric car platform and promises to deliver the thrills that Porsche is known for with the instant torque of electric motors. However, there's one metric where the Taycan won't be able to compete with its established competition: acceleration. The Tesla Model S P100D can rip off sub-3-second 0-60 runs in Ludicrous Mode, while the Taycan should do the deed in a still mind-numbing 3.5 seconds. But Porsche is looking to take the crown in a more important and practical way: charging...
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When it comes to modern electric vehicles, Tesla has become synonymous with advancing the genre. The company really caught a lot of attention with its Model S and has lit up the sales charts with its more mainstream Model 3. Now, Nissan is looking past its own econobox Leaf EV so push forward with the IMs concept. The IMs features a brand-new car platform that was designed from the ground-up to be used for EVs. It is a mid-size sedan that at 190 inches in length is about 5 inches longer than a Model 3, but roughly 8 inches shorter than the Model S. It rides on a relatively long 114-inch wheelbase, which leaves plenty of room between the wheels to accommodate a large battery pack. In fact,...
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Tesla has been making some changes to its pricing strategy over the past week, and the biggest change in quite some time comes today with the premium-market Model S and Model X. CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter to announce that the 75 kWh battery pack for both electric vehicles will be discontinued and that customers only have until Sunday night to place orders for vehicles with that battery option. For those that don't keep up with all things Tesla, the Model S 75D with the 75 kWh battery has a base price of $76,000 and can travel up to 259 miles with a full charge. The heavier $82,000 Model X 75D with the 75 kWh battery can travel up to 237 miles per charge. Starting on Monday, Tesla will no longer...
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Tesla is ready to begin testing the next generation self-driving platform, which is called Autopilot Hardware 3.0. While Tesla's current-generation Autopilot 2.0 platform makes uses of NVIDIA hardware, Autopilot Hardware 3.0 will be using custom Tesla-developed AI neural net hardware with vastly superior processing capabilities. According to an internal email obtained by Electrek, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has put out a call to employees to help test Autopilot Hardware 3.0. Musk is looking for "a few hundred" internal participants to basically serve as beta testers for the hardware/software platform. Employees who own a Tesla vehicle, are accepted into the test program, and...
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Call it a sign of the times we live in, but even automobiles contain Easter Eggs, apparently. That's true of Tesla's Model 3, Model S, and Model X electric vehicles, all of which have a hidden game after applying the latest firmware update (9.0.2018.48.12). Fittingly, that game is Pole Position, a retro racing title. Tesla founder Elon Musk flat out said that some "super fun Easter Eggs" were headed to all Model S/3/X vehicles before the holidays. "Romance mode, toilet humor, and more video games," Musk promised on Twitter at the end of the November. Now just a couple of weeks later, he and his company have made good on that promise. There's a twist to the Pole Position game. It's actually called...
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Tesla has been fighting the media over the past few months as it has struggled to reach production milestones with the Model 3 mainstream electric sedan. Along the way, it has battled bad press surrounding Autopilot failures, and CEO Elon Musk has even questioned the journalistic integrity of some publications in what he sees as an "conspiracy" against Tesla. Now, a new result from the Luxembourg Testing and standardization authority (ILNAS) has Tesla screaming bloody murder about biased testing procedures. The testing and standards body put a 2015 model year Model S, which is equipped with Tesla's first-generation Autopilot system, up against a brand-new Volvo S90 with...
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Ever since the original Model S launched back in 2012, one of the bedrocks of Tesla's forward-looking mission was the inclusion of integrated (and free) in-car internet. This cellular internet connection powers everything from vehicle navigation enhancements, to music streaming, to over-the-air updates that continually provide new functionality to the Tesla EV family. However, it looks as though Tesla has grown tired of giving away its full-fledged internet service to customers and will begin making some changes starting July 1st. We should come right out and clarify that the new policy that takes goes into effect on July 1st doesn't affect current Model S, Model X or Model 3 owners. These...
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Tesla’s Model S has been roaming the streets since 2012, and has pretty much had the high-end, all-electric sedan market to itself. The car is good looking, is loaded with tech, and a P100D in Ludicrous Mode is able to rip off 0-60 times in less than 2.5 seconds. However, Tesla's EV performance crown will soon be challenged by Porsche, which is well along in development of its Mission E, with production set for 2019. The Mission E looks shares styling cues with its Porsche brethren, but looks more futuristic than the "familiar" styling of the Model S. Luckily for us, the folks at Automobile are spilling the beans on what we can expect with regards to performance on the Mission E. As expected,...
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Tesla seems to have a lot on its plate these days; the company is humming along with production of the Model S and Model X, while it is struggling to meet production targets for the entry-level Model 3. In addition, the company is taking deposits for its long-haul Semi, while its kickass second-generation Roadster is far along in development. For a relatively small auto manufacturer like Tesla, that would be more than enough to keep busy for the foreseeable future. But Tesla CEO Elon Musk wants more. The overachieving Musk took to Twitter yesterday to inform fans that a Tesla pickup truck is on the way. Yes, you heard that right. I promise that we will make a pickup truck right after Model Y....
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We were first graced with the Porsche Mission E's beauty back in fall of 2015, and later in that same year, it was confirmed that the electric sedan had been given the green light for production. Now, we're beginning to learn a little more about the car, including how it will be priced. In a recent interview with CAR Magazine, Porsche chief Oliver Blume revealed that the production Mission E will be priced like an entry-level Panamera. For those of you don't keep up with luxury sports sedans, the base Panamera (rear-wheel drive) starts at $85,000, while the Panamera 4 (all-wheel drive) starts at $89,600. For simplicity's sake, let's just say that the Mission E will have a base price of around...
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