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What to do if you run out of juice in your Tesla Model S

After writing about their Tesla Model S running out of juice on the side of the road between Las Vegas and Barstow, CA recently (read about it here), the fine folks at Teslarati figured they had some 'splainin' to do. The brief explanation is headwinds. Yes, headwinds. A Model S has about 10 miles of range even after it shows a big fat "0" on its dash. Thankfully, the drivers took notes about what to do if your Model S is about to shut down like C-3PO in A New Hope. Step one is to know that the EV has about 10 miles of range (maybe 20) even after it shows "0" on its dash. Once that distance is used up, it's time to pull the car over, and even then there is enough reserve juice to power the screen for a half hour. After that, all that works are the door handles and the flashers. So, before everything goes completely dark, it's best to remember to put the car into "tow mode" and get it into neutral so that the EV doesn't have to be jumpstarted just to get it onto a truck. Also, once the Model S has been recharged from empty, it needs to be powered off in order to reset the system and not keep it in "depleted power" mode. Now you know. The way Teslarati learned all of this was that, after using a Las Vegas supercharger to give their Tesla Model what they thought would be about 240 miles worth of range for the 160-mile drive, the car unfortunately provided them with just 157 before shutting down. The culprit was a sand storm that sent 35-mile-per-hour headwinds (and probably a bit of grit) into the car as it maintained a 75-mph cruising speed. Teslarati also said elevation changes were part of the problem. Las Vegas and Barstow are both about 2,200 feet above sea level, but there are a bunch of hills in between, and we guess the declines giveth less then the inclines taketh away. Happens to the best of us.

Saleen hints at tuning Tesla Model S

Saleen has been dropping breadcrumbs about its plans to develop a modified version of the Tesla Model S for a while now, and has finally released the first renderings that show off its changes to the electric sedan.
The four renderings indicate a comprehensive makeover for Saleen's Tesla. The front bumper is completely different with the absence of a grille and new louvered air intakes at the corners. The turn signals on the quarter panel appear to be open now, and the hood has new creases angled toward the center. One of the renderings promises an additional carbon fiber rear diffuser, carbon-ceramic brakes and carbon fiber deckled trim. The rear also has a larger spoiler and more aggressive rear bumper with brake cooling ducts at the corners. The interior appears relatively untouched, but the seats and much of the upholstery has been covered in a mix of leather and Alcantara.
Previously, Saleen promised to amp up the Model S' performance even farther, but it still hasn't gone into detail about what it's changing or how much it is going to cost. "I fully intend to produce one of the most compelling Tesla's to ever hit the roadway," said Steve Saleen, company founder and CEO in an earlier statement. We have contacted Saleen for more details about its plans for the Model S, and we'll update this story when we hear back.

Tesla Model S P85D shows 707-hp Dodge Challenger Hellcat how to drag race

Street Car Drags hosted a bang-up event at the Palm Beach International Raceway last weekend, with a list of massive horsepower ICE cars going up against one another and a trio of Tesla Model S P85Ds. One of those duels pitted the 691-horsepower Tesla against a 707-horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, and the result was an old-school beatdown and a world record for electric cars. The Model S P85D ran the quarter in 11.6 seconds at 114.6 miles per hour, the new mark for BEVs at the drag strip. Proving its pace, it ran three more times in 11.69, 11.72 and 11.76 seconds. It got from the start line to 60 miles per hour in 3.1 seconds. The Hellcat, well, it wasn't a race, really. It was the Hellcat's driver's first time at a drag strip and his first time trying to launch it, so after an excellent burnout ahead of the lights, he rolled to the line, almost jumped the start, balked at the real start and spun his tires for the first 100 feet down the strip. The theory is that he overheated his street tires during that burnout, and the resulting greasy rubber did what greasy rubber does. By the time he got to the other end 17.46 seconds later the Tesla driver had showered and was enjoying a funnel cake. When things go right, though, Dodge estimates the Hellcat will do 11.2-second runs on street tires and it has been clocked at 10.85 seconds at 126.18 mph on street-legal drag radials. There's video of the not-quite-a-race above, and Drag Times says there'll be a rematch between the two in a couple of weeks. News Source: Street Car Drags via YouTube Green Motorsports Dodge Tesla Coupe Electric Luxury Performance Videos Sedan drag racing dodge challenger srt hellcat