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Tesla Model S

Consumer Reports Scores Tesla Model S ‘Top Scoring Car’ 99/100 [Video]

Published

12 years ago

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Built from the ground up as an EV, this car’s overall balance benefits from mounting the battery under the floor and in the lowest part of the body. That gives the car a rock-bottom center of gravity that enables excellent handling, a comfortable ride, and lots of room inside. Plus, it has a front trunk where other cars’ gasoline engines would be, in addition to its large rear cargo space. This big luxury hatchback even seats seven, with its optional third-row jump seat.

Inside, the car looks like something Marty McFly might have brought “back from the future” in place of his iconic fusion-powered DeLorean. A giant 17-inch touch screen glows in the center of the dashboard, controlling everything from high-res Google Earth maps to opening the sunroof, setting the responsiveness of the regenerative brakes, and adjusting the suspension ride height. In all, the Model S worked better than we expected—especially being the first home-grown model from a brand-new car company.

The Tesla Model S – the electric car that shatters every myth.

The electric motor delivers impressive power, right now, and it is impressively efficient. The Model S uses about half the energy of a Toyota Prius every mile, and it has more than twice the range—about 200 miles—of any other electric car we’ve driven. Still, you’ll have to plan ahead for longer trips; you won’t be taking it on a spontaneous jaunt from, say, New York to Cleveland any time soon. You won’t make it. Even with Tesla’s optional High Power Wall Connector, it takes about five hours to charge. On a standard 240-volt electric-car charger, it would take about 12 hours.

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Tesla does provide some ability to make long trips in the Model S- as long as they’re the right trips. Up and down California, from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, and between Boston and Washington, D.C., the company has set up a network of Supercharging stations—with free electricity—that can refill the battery halfway in a half hour. (To charge more than that at such speed takes longer and would damage the battery.)

All this comes at a price. We paid $89,650 for our Model S, with the biggest available battery, the most seats available, and the fastest available optional chargers. Then we still had to pay another $1,200 for Tesla’s High Power Wall Connector. But operating costs are a little more than half that of a frugal Prius.

So is the Tesla Model S the best car ever? We wrestled with that question long and hard. It comes close. And if your needs are confined to the Tesla’s driving range, it just may be. But for many people, the very thing that makes cars great is the ability to jump in and drive wherever you want on the map at a moment’s notice. And on that measure the Tesla has its limitations. So the Model S may not satisfy every conceivable need, but as we’ve learned through our testing and living with it, the Model S is truly a remarkable car.

We couldn’t resist having some fun in the luxury electric sedan. In the process, we answered the seminal question: Will it drift? Drifting can be a measure of a car’s great-handling chops, as well as its available power.And boy, can the Tesla drift as you can see in our video.

Read our complete road test for more details, and check the Ratings to see how it compares to other luxury cars and electric cars.

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Source from Consumer Reports

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Tesla teases new color while testing refreshed Model S, X

Tesla teased a new color that could be coming to the United States with the new Model S and Model X.

Published

2 weeks ago

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May 27, 2025

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Credit: @supergeek18 | X

Tesla appears to be teasing a brand new color while it was testing the refreshed Model S and Model X, which was spotted last week in California.

Tesla currently offers six paint options in the United States, but they are all pretty basic. This has not been a problem for owners as wrapping the vehicles is a common practice, but some people would likely see more versatility from Tesla in terms of their standard paint colors.

This is especially relevant as Europe has been able to have both Midnight Cherry Red and Quicksilver, which were, at one time, exclusive to the market.

Quicksilver made its way to the United States, and Tesla did release a new Red last year with “Ultra Red,” but Midnight Cherry Red never made its way outside the walls of Gigafactory Berlin.

Last week, as the first spy images of the new Model S and Model X were taken and released by The Kilowatts, there was a very noticeable difference with the vehicle, as other changes seemed to be relatively underwhelming: a new paint color.

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Many believed this was simply a wrap, but Ryan Levenson of The Kilowatts, a former Tesla employee, dispelled that rumor after several questions about it.

He said that this is absolutely a factory paint color and not a wrap:

More images were shared by @supergeek18 on X:

Tesla released a new color earlier this year, but it was just a revision to Black, now called “Diamond Black,” featuring speckles that give a reflection and refraction of light as a diamond would.

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However, this new color is certainly quite different than anything Tesla has previously offered in the U.S. before. It is relatively similar to Glacier Blue, a color Tesla launched in Asia. Earlier this year, Franz von Holzhausen, Tesla’s Chief Designer, talked about bringing the color to the U.S.:

“Glacier Blue is just a color that we’ve been talking about with our team — the team is like right through that window by the way — and we were looking at the impact of silver, how do we get pigment into silver and really add a little bit of personality to it. If you look at our palette, you know it was either darks or white, and so we were looking for something in between. Blue is always a fairly popular color.”

It would be a refreshing addition to the options Tesla currently offers, and a breath of fresh air for those who have been wanting a different look altogether.

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Tesla’s new Model S and X spotted, but they leave a lot to be desired

The Model S and Model X testing mules spotted by The Kilowatts have few minor visual changes.

Published

3 weeks ago

on

May 23, 2025

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has been hinting for a few months now that the flagship Model S and Model X would be getting some attention in 2025 as the vehicles continue to be sold in extremely low volumes.

Both models seem to be under the knife, especially as their newest versions were spotted in California earlier this week.

However, images of the vehicles seem to show that Tesla is not planning a major overhaul, which begs the question: why even do it in the first place?

Tesla makes a decision on the future of its flagship Model S and Model X

The Model S and Model X are grouped with the Cybertruck in Tesla’s quarterly delivery releases, and Q1 saw just 12,881 units of the three cars delivered. The Cybertruck likely made up the majority of this number, as some outlets reported around 6,400 deliveries of the all-electric pickup in Q1.

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This is unconfirmed.

The Model S and Model X have stuck around for “sentimental reasons,” according to CEO Elon Musk, who said back in 2021:

“I mean, they’re very expensive, made in low volume. To be totally frank, we’re continuing to make them more for sentimental reasons than anything else. They’re really of minor importance to the future.”

However, the cars seem to be in need of a serious refresh. As Tesla changed up the exterior aesthetic on both the Model 3 and Model Y, recent images captured of the Model X by The Kilowatts seem to show this is not the strategy with the Model X or Model S:

As we can see, the overall aesthetic of the X, if this is what Tesla plans to release, has literally no changes from a purely visual standpoint. There is the addition of the front bumper camera, which was first implemented on the Cybercab unveiled in October 2024, and then on the new Model Y this year.

There are some new 20″ wheels, and the interior has been fitted with ambient lighting.

The Model S looked to be relatively the same, other than these few hardware changes, including a rear diffuser on this Plaid that was spotted:

While these changes are welcome and should be beneficial, they don’t seem like they will encourage major sales growth, which might be something Tesla is okay with.

Admitting the two cars are low volume and not contributors to the company’s long-term goals, Musk is likely willing to just upgrade things to make these more compatible and better functioning with the Full Self-Driving suite.

Earlier this year, VP of Vehicle Engineering Lars Moravy said the S and X were not going anywhere and would get “some love” before the end of 2025:

“Just give it a minute. We’ll get there. The upgrade a couple of years ago was bigger than most people thought in terms of architecture and structure of the car got a lot better, too. But, we’ll give it some love later this year and make sure it gets a little bit…you know, with the stuff we’ve been putting in 3 and Y. Obviously, with 3 and Y, the higher volume stuff, you’ve gotta focus there.”

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It seems these strategies have held true — the S and X appear to be getting what the 3 and Y got with the ambient lighting and front bumper camera (at least on the Model Y).

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Elon Musk

President Donald Trump buys a Tesla at the White House – Here’s which model he chose

Published

3 months ago

on

March 11, 2025

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Credit: cb_doge | X

U.S. President Donald Trump was greeted by a convoy of Tesla electric vehicles today at the White House after he said last evening he would be buying one of the company’s cars in support of Elon Musk.

A variety of Tesla EVs, including the Model S, Cybertruck, and Model Y, all arrived in Washington on Tuesday around lunch time where the President sat in, examined, and mulled over which car he would choose. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters today that President Trump would be paying “full market price” for the vehicle.

CEO Elon Musk was alongside Trump to help make his decision:

Which Tesla did President Trump Choose?

After mulling the decision for several minutes, President Trump seemed to have gravitated toward the Tesla Model S Plaid in Deep Red, the company’s quickest and most luxurious offering, suitable for the leader of the U.S.

Trump said:

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“The one I like is that one (Model S). And I want that same color. I’m going to give [Tesla] a check. I don’t want a discount.”

According to images shared from Washington, it seems Musk brought two Model S vehicles — one in Deep Red and another in Deep Blue Metallic — knowing that the President would probably choose that vehicle, but was unsure about the color.

Tesla makes a decision on the future of its flagship Model S and Model X

President Trump’s Comments on Tesla and Elon Musk

President Trump has truly gained a meaningful working relationship with Musk, who he has called “a genius” and “brilliant” on several occasions. Regarding Tesla, the President said:

“Tesla’s a great company; They’re American cars, it’s American made. He employs thousands of people. He has the most modern plants in the world.”

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In regards to the Tesla lineup, President Trump said:

“I know people that have these cars; It blows them away. They love them.”

When talking about the polarizing design of the Cybertruck, he said:

“In terms of imagination, and I think I have a pretty great imagination, who else but this guy would design this and everybody on the road is looking at it. As soon as I saw it, I said, ‘That’s the coolest design.’ You gotta give him (Elon) credit.”

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