NSFW: This Is The Latest TESLA Clip That Has Everyone Talking, But Are They MISSING The Point?

Making its way around the Internet is a clip put together that features an all-new Tesla Model S P85D. You know, the Tesla Model S with a stupid amount of instantaneous power and a claimed zero to 60 mph time of 3.2 seconds.

That's the stuff today's leading supercars are made of. Except, of course, the power isn't instantaneous and dead silent.

If there's one thing that Tesla has proven it's that the company has reinvented the electric car and significantly changed people's perception of EVs. Of course it helps there's a MEGA screen inserted in its center stack and that the product, overall, looks tight.

To me though it seems weird that there's seemingly a lot of deflection from the vehicle's green qualities and so much preoccupation with performance and that damn screen. And, to be even more critical of TSLA, what's up with the likes of the Model X — how much longer — and will there be all-new battery technology coming down the 'pike?

Until we have all-new battery technology, it seems like we're just going to have to get excited about loading up electric vehicles with a slew of batteries and weight.

That said, I have to ask: when it comes to Tesla, is everyone missing the REAL point?


Funny passengers' reactions to the acceleration of the Tesla Model S P85D from 0-40mph.

runninglogan1 - 1/29/2015 12:40:09 AM

+3 Boost

All new battery technology? What are you talking about? If you haven't gotten the REAL point by now you never will.

Agent00R - 1/29/2015 1:05:27 AM

-2 Boost

Batteries have yet to be innovated upon for what...50-60 years now?

As of now the only solution to providing power to electric autos is via lithium ion batteries that can provide a 200 or so mile range that can be hampered by multiple variables. Oh, and not to mention their charging capacity depletes over time and become eventually worthless.

Until batteries are improved upon, there's only so much pure EVs will be capable of.

Instead of dealing with that we're looking at a high-performance EV that does 0-60 in 3.2 seconds instead of optimizing it for MUCH higher range to conquer range anxiety.

Yeah, and I've got it all backwards?

runninglogan1 - 1/29/2015 1:31:24 AM

+6 Boost

Believe me, engineers all over the world including at Tesla are trying to deal with that.

Battery technology has improved dramatically over the past decade. It's been slow and steady but the gains are remarkable nonetheless.

If you're expecting a sudden breakthrough that will yield a 150kwh battery that weighs 300 lbs and re-charges in 3 minutes... Well, it's probably not going to happen. Give it another decade.

What you can expect are steady improvements and for prices to come down significantly as soon as worldwide production ramps up.

vdiv - 1/29/2015 9:15:27 AM

+2 Boost

Agent00R, haven't you heard of the supercharger network? What about the Tesla Roadster that is about to get a new battery good for 400 miles?

50-60 years ago we did not have Li-ion batteries, did not have power electronics making inverters possible, did not have the computing power at the cost of a few hundred bucks to run complex systems, and did not have a cellular network to connect it all.

You know what's funny about range anxiety? It seems to affect more people that don't drive EVs than those that do.

What is the real point? That while most car companies are stuck making cars that still run on dinosaur juice Tesla has kicked them in the rear, over and over?

supermoto - 1/29/2015 9:57:19 AM

+1 Boost

Cheaper batteries, I believe that. A breakthrough in battery technology? There are no guarantees. We have more scientist and technology than ever but how many diseases have been cured in the last 50 year?

pcar4evr - 1/29/2015 10:37:19 AM

+1 Boost

Graphene supercapacitors will be here before you know it. I wouldn't bet against vast improvements in energy storage within the next decade.

As far as curing diseases, the one big one we haven't cured is human stupidity.

quizz - 1/31/2015 10:10:54 PM

+1 Boost

It's all about the ROI. $$ invested in weapons and consumer technology R&D yields immediate gains, whereas money sunk into disease research and clinical trials may take years only to end up a failure, and back to the drawing board. If you spent $100 million and 2 years to create an affordable small machine gun that held 1,000 rounds but ultimately achieved 50% of your objective, you'll still make all your money back and 10x return because you'll still find buyers who'd love to have a small handheld gun that shot 500 rounds. But you can spend $100 million on drug research only to have it fail clinical trials because 50% of the patients died horribly - you'll never see any of that money back. Which do you think the government/investors would rather fund? Since battery technology is more aligned with industrial/military applications, we'll probably see more progress in this sector than curing disease.

leej - 1/29/2015 4:12:14 PM

+2 Boost

Imagine that...another hate thread about Tesla on Autospies...whoddathunk?

w222 - 1/31/2015 3:16:33 PM

+1 Boost

Graphene is supposed to double the range of the EVs. But it might be years away before we get there.