The Model S is back. Appeared in 2012, the one that made Tesla known to the general public had been out of the catalog for two years, which is quite unusual for a manufacturer. Called to become a figurehead once more, this car was designed to take a step forward in terms of performance, sophistication, but also price, even if it means going overboard and risking trivialization.
The new Tesla is not affected by the recent price reductions announced by the manufacturer. It’s quite the opposite ; the range starts at 113,990 euros, i.e. 19,000 euros more than the first generation and culminates from 138,900 euros with the Plaid version, which presents itself as the car of all superlatives. “The best car in the world”, proclaims the American manufacturer, whose modesty has never been the strong point. The Model S combines by stirring up all the ingredients of what makes Tesla culture: technological virtuosity, a rather amazing sense of innovation, but also a sometimes disconcerting quest for originality. She adds a certain propensity to lapse into the absurd.
Let’s start with the absurd. The Model S undertook to taunt the supercars thermal designed by Bugatti, Ferrari, Lamborghini or Mercedes AMG. Much more expensive cars, whose accelerations impress the new millionaires who will stop at nothing to afford them. In its configuration Plaid (private joke derived from Spaceballs, a 1987 cult parody film dear to Californian geeks), it delivers no less than 1,020 horsepower for a maximum speed of 322 kilometers per hour. This excessive power, displayed as one would shake a rattle, is not only an aberration and a good deal for tire sellers.
Unpleasant or even physically unbearable feeling
This kind of headlong rush is akin to a concession made to the doxa of traditional luxury brands that assess the fascination that a car can exert on the number of horses stamping their feet under the hood. Tesla is therefore not as disruptive a manufacturer as one might think, and Elon Musk can announce, with a bulging chest, that he has managed to push an anvil weighing 2.1 tonnes from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in just 2.1 seconds. Unless you have dreamed of becoming a Rafale pilot, the feeling of acceleration is completely unpleasant, even physically unbearable.
This race for power – and weight – creates a risk of trivialization, especially since with an electric motor and a large battery, achieving such a level of performance is actually not that complicated. The first generation of the Model S had already undertaken to roll mechanics, but to a lesser extent. This time, three engines have been put to use (one at the front, two at the rear) and the axles have been reinforced to tolerate the dantesque torque delivered to all four wheels. The 600 kilometers of theoretical autonomy risk melting away very quickly if your foot is a little heavy on the accelerator, and you should not consider adjusting the level of energy recovery on deceleration yourself, determined once and for all by the manufacturer.
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