Tesla Model S P85 D gets new Ludicrous Mode

Ludicrous Mode gives Model S P85 D a 0-60mph time of 2.8 seconds; will also be available on the Tesla Model X crossover expected later this year
Jim Holder
17 July 2015

The Tesla Model S P85 D will be sold with a new Ludicrous Mode, which offers enhanced performance that will allow the car to pull 1.1G of acceleration and cover 0-60mph in 2.8secs, company boss Elon Musk has revealed.

The P85 D, which is the highest performance Tesla Model S available, was previously sold with an Insane Mode. However, the 0-60mph time in Ludicrous Mode is enhanced by 10% and the 0-155mph time by 20%. The quarter-mile time for the P85 D in Ludicrous Mode is 10.8sec.

The performance enhancement has been achieved by raising the electric car's maximum amperage from 1300amps to 1500amps.

 

Tesla is offering US-based Tesla P85 D owners the chance to have their cars upgraded to run Ludicrous Mode for $5000 plus the cost of installation. New buyers can add it as an option for $10,000. No UK prices have been revealed. The upgrade has a cost attached to it as it involves a hardware change, rather than just a software update; the car is fitted with a more advanced fuse to ensure it can handle the extra electric power.

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Musk also revealed upgrades to battery performance for the Tesla Model S 85kWH model, taking it to 90kWH, adding around 7% more range. He also claimed that Tesla expects to find 5% battery range improvements per year for the forseeable future. A cheaper, single electric motor Model S 70KwH edition was also announced.

In addition, Musk confirmed that the Tesla Model X crossover will go on sale in the next few months, and will also be sold with a Ludicrous Mode option. He estimated the Model X's 0-60mph performance in "ludicrous" mode to be around 3.3sec because the car is around 10% heavier than the Model S P85 D.

Musk also confirmed the BMW 3 Series rival, the Tesla Model 3, will go on sale within three years.

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Comments
34

fadyady

17 July 2015
*****

abkq

17 July 2015
Ludicrous, unnecessary, but fantastic, and a convincing showcase for battery technology. Tesla tech makes internal combustion engineering analogous to improving on Charles Babbage's Victorian era prototype computer.

Norma Smellons

18 July 2015
abkq wrote:

Ludicrous, unnecessary, but fantastic, and a convincing showcase for battery technology. Tesla tech makes internal combustion engineering analogous to improving on Charles Babbage's Victorian era prototype computer.

A "ludicrous" analogy. If anything, this vehicle highlights how inflexible EV tech is versus the "Victorian" ICE. The range and recharge time of the original Model S may have been inadequate but its acceleration certainly wasn't. So why are Tesla making it even faster? Probably because, as with all EVs, dialling back the power does not yield the improvements in economy which the humble ICE so readily serves up. And so the Model S is going down the "performance" route instead. This is definitely not what Washington had in mind when it doled out many billions of taxpayers' subsidy to Tesla. Instead of yielding a mass-market EV solution, what we have here is a plaything for the mega-rich to whizz around Knightsbridge in. Remove the subsidy and the Model S would be a latter-day DeLorean. Ludicrous indeed.

gigglebug

18 July 2015
Norma Smellons wrote:
abkq wrote:

Ludicrous, unnecessary, but fantastic, and a convincing showcase for battery technology. Tesla tech makes internal combustion engineering analogous to improving on Charles Babbage's Victorian era prototype computer.

A "ludicrous" analogy. If anything, this vehicle highlights how inflexible EV tech is versus the "Victorian" ICE. The range and recharge time of the original Model S may have been inadequate but its acceleration certainly wasn't. So why are Tesla making it even faster? Probably because, as with all EVs, dialling back the power does not yield the improvements in economy which the humble ICE so readily serves up. And so the Model S is going down the "performance" route instead. This is definitely not what Washington had in mind when it doled out many billions of taxpayers' subsidy to Tesla. Instead of yielding a mass-market EV solution, what we have here is a plaything for the mega-rich to whizz around Knightsbridge in. Remove the subsidy and the Model S would be a latter-day DeLorean. Ludicrous indeed.

It's hardly a play thing for the quote "mega rich" is it?? 1 million pound hyper cars are the reserve of the again quote "mega rich" these are no more than the competition and a bit of a bargain when you take the performance into account (whether or not that makes a good executive barge is another matter). I do wonder what will happen though the first time someone hits a corner going twice as fast as they thought they were in a car which weighs well over 2 tonnes

Beastie_Boy

17 July 2015
Add 'Ludicrous' mode and I want one.

winniethewoo

18 July 2015
Where's the other luddite?

michael knight

18 July 2015
Jim, do you mean 0-125mph? Didn't think Tesla's hit 155..

Jim Holder

20 July 2015

Hello,
I've checked the transcript, and Elon definitely says 155mph, which appears to be the car's governed top speed, so makes sense. It also tallies because he works to mph, not kph - and 125mph would only be in reference to a 200kph speed only.
Jim

Jim Holder

Editorial Director, Autocar

Jim Holder

20 July 2015

Hello,
I've checked the transcript, and Elon definitely says 155mph, which appears to be the car's governed top speed, so makes sense. It also tallies because he works to mph, not kph - and 125mph would only be in reference to a 200kph speed only.
Jim

Jim Holder

Editorial Director, Autocar

bol

18 July 2015
Why do electric cars bring out so much hatrid? I like some petrol cars, I like some deisel cars, I like some electric cars, I even like some horses. Why do people feel the need to be so polarised? I don't buy all the "in the pocket of Big Oil" cobblers, so is it just be old men who can't cope with change any more?

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