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First Reactions to the Tesla P90D with Ludicrous Mode

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Tesla Model S P90D with Ludicrous mode [Source: Electrek.co]

The new Tesla Model S P90D with Ludicrous mode is beginning to find its way onto the nation’s streets and the lucky few who have experienced driving one are posting their reactions online.

The old “king of the hill”, the P85D in Insane mode, could hit 60 mph in just 3.1 seconds. But the general feeling was that the car was insane with notable acceleration only up to about 30 miles per hour. After that, the acceleration was only stunning. Ho hum.

[WATCH] Tesla Model S P90D Ludicrous Mode Launch Reactions

No such worries driving the P90D with Ludicrous mode, which blasts its way to 60 mph in a mind numbing 2.8 seconds. As Elon Musk likes to say, the car accelerates faster than if you dropped it nose down out of an airplane. Here’s what one lucky P90D owner enzo32ferrari has to say about his experience with Ludicrous mode:

This was at the Scottsdale Fashion Square Tesla showroom. I noticed a slight difference between the P85D’s Insane Mode and P90D’s Ludicrous Mode; while both definitely pin you to your seat at launch, the P85D’s effect seems to taper off before you get to 60 mph and the whole sensation of being pushed back in your seat is negligible as it hits and passes 60 mph.

 

Ludicrous mode, the sensation of being pinned to your seat is stronger; I was in the passenger seat when the Tesla rep launched it; my stomach felt as if I was going on a straight drop on a roller coaster and my vision seemed to grey out for a bit …

 

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Not only are you pinned at the initial launch, you are still pinned to your seat as the speed approaches near 60, at 60, and well into the ~70 mph range …

Ludicrous-enabled Model S P90D [Source: USAFsparky via TMC]

Ludicrous-enabled Model S P90D [Source: USAFsparky via TMC]

Here’s another report on the Tesla Motors Club forum from USAFsparky:

The P85D is definitely INSANE 0-30 MPH then the pull drops off considerably…..It’s still unlike any Sedan on the road today…..EXCEPT the P90D. I wasn’t sure what the difference would be or if one could really quantify it – BUT you can.

 

The pull off the line is greater than 1G now and its all the way through 60 MPH. Seriously, its all you can do to hang on to the wheel and keep your eyes open. I recommend making sure your seat is where you want it because that force will push you back in the cracks of your seat. The first time I hit 75 MPH, I had to let off and just pull over and think about what just happened. I should have eaten breakfast first because I was a little nauseous after the first run and the fact that I was still getting the blood circulation back to my face said a lot.

 

I can only compare the feeling to a very serious amusement park ride where you just have to sit for a minute and get yourself back together. I think the passenger’s perspective will be different since they are just along for the ride and wont know what to expect and that is what is just LUDICROUSLY going to be the fun part. Going to get a few friends together for a trip to the store……LOL

Several reports mention the blurred vision syndrome. Owners might need to get a clean bill of health from their cardiologist before strapping into one of these things. Notice that only cars equipped with Ludicrous mode have the bar under the logo on the rear.

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Look for a flood of videos featuring the P90D with Ludicrous mode to start appearing very soon — probably by the time you read this!

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Tesla Model Y L gets suspension complaints in over odd issue China

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Credit: @TeslaNewswire/X

The Tesla Model Y L is arguably the most hyped trim of the all-electric crossover, other than the Performance configuration that comes with white-knuckle speed and sports car-level handling.

However, it is not all perfect. Tesla owners in China who took delivery of the Model Y L, denoted with an L to highlight its longer wheelbase, are experiencing what they are referring to as “collapsing” of the rear wheels, as suspension issues appear to be an issue with some of the builds.

The gap between the wheel arch and tire has narrowed to the point that “not even a single finger” could fit, according to a report from Car News China. The failures are not tied to a specific mileage, as one owner said that after just 9,000 kilometers (5,600 miles), they noticed the suspension issue when their car was fully loaded.

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Another one had the issue at 30,000 kilometers (18,640 miles) and noticed that the wheel gap shrank to two fingers, so not as drastic as the person who reported a similar issue at 9,000 km.

Tesla Model Y L is gaining momentum in China’s premium segment

Along with the visual recognition of the issue, others are saying the sagging is causing abnormal wear on the inside of the tires. Extra weight and instant torque already provide additional stress on the tires in electric vehicles during normal operation, so it is no surprise that this is another complaint.

There has been no recall issued by Tesla, and the company has not yet publicly acknowledged the issue.

Some are suggesting that owners use a “finger test” to self-diagnose whether there is an issue with the suspension. There should be four fingers between the tire and the wheel well; anything less than that starts to get dicey.

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Tesla Cybercab event gains steam ahead of massive launch

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Credit: TechOperator | X

Tesla is starting to truly tease and hype its groundbreaking Cybercab event, which takes place tomorrow in Austin, Texas. It will be the first time members of the public will be able to ride in a Cybercab, a vehicle without any manual controls, on public roads.

Tesla has been dropping some hype on X over the past several days, but this morning, the excitement has truly started to build up for the event. Although Cybercab has been unveiled before, this is truly Tesla’s announcement that it is ready to start offering autonomous rides for public passengers in its new ride-hailing-geared vehicle for the first time.

The hype has started with a variety of different social media posts that are a true indication that Tesla is preparing for something big. Teasing so much of the potential of Cybercab, including its ability to truly revolutionize how people hail rides for local travel, is what the big idea for the event entails. The time that many Tesla owners, fans, and investors have been waiting for is potentially here:

The event has remained slim on details. Even invitees are still awaiting true details about what the event will entail, where they’ll go, and what is in store for the evening. This is pretty typical for an event run by Tesla; they keep things under wraps for the most part until the very last minute.

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However, there is no secret about what the real intention of Tesla is for this event: it is going to be a huge reveal party for a vehicle that has no steering wheel and no pedals. It is a truly massive step for the company moving forward.

Speculation persists as to whether this is going to be an event that simply announces that rides will begin with the Cybercab, or it will be something more substantial. Tesla has said in the past that they plan to sell the Cybercab to the general public in what could become a great way to earn passive income by adding it to a more global fleet of Robotaxi-geared vehicles.

Tomorrow, the show begins in Austin, and the Cybercab goes live at some capacity; we just don’t know exactly how quite yet.

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SpaceX tells the FCC that Starship Flight 14 is going to orbit

SpaceX filed with the FCC for Starship Flight 14, its first true orbital launch attempt.

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SpaceX has asked the Federal Communications Commission for permission to fly Starlink terminals during Starship’s fourteenth flight test, and the filing lays out a genuine trip to orbit, something the program has never attempted.

Every Starship flight so far, including Flight 13’s successful splashdown in the Indian Ocean on July 24, has flown a suborbital arc that ends with the ship reentering the atmosphere within the same hour it launches. The FCC paperwork describes a mission profile built around an actual orbital insertion instead.

The payload is the other half of the story. Flight 13 carried 20 production Starlink V3 satellites, but because that mission never reached orbit, the satellites reentered along with the ship rather than joining the constellation, something Teslarati covered in detail after SpaceX released footage shot from one of those satellites as it drifted away from Starship in space. Flight 14 is designed to close that gap. If the orbital insertion holds, the roughly 20 V3 satellites onboard would separate into an operational orbit and could eventually go into service, each one rated for about 1 terabit per second of downlink capacity by SpaceX’s own account.

SpaceX announces new Starbase for ‘thousands of Starship launches annually’

Elon Musk first flagged the orbital attempt during SpaceX’s August 4 earnings call, the company’s first as a public entity following its June IPO under the ticker SPCX. He also floated catching the ship with the Starbase tower on the same flight, an idea he walked back on August 20, saying the catch attempt would more likely come “in a few months,” as Teslarati reported at the time. Flight 14 will instead target a splashdown for the ship in the Indian Ocean, the same recovery method used since Flight 12.

Hardware has been catching up to the ambition. Booster 21 completed a full 33-engine static fire on August 28, and Ship 41 finished its own six-engine test the week before. An airspace briefing circulated to pilots on August 20 listed September 15 as the target date, later than the end of August window Musk mentioned on the earnings call, though SpaceX has not confirmed a launch date publicly and Starship schedules routinely slip while hardware and FAA paperwork line up.

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The FCC filing itself does not guarantee a launch date. It covers communications authority, and not flight readiness, considering SpaceX still needs Ship 41 fully stacked and cleared by the FAA before Flight 14 can fly. But the filing is a real marker of intent and it puts a specific regulatory process behind what had so far only been Musk’s word on the earnings call.

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