Tesla unveils redesigned Model S with new interior and 520-mile range option

The Tesla Model S is an all electric five door liftback sedan produced by Tesla, Inc., and was introduced on June 22, 2012. As of August 2020, the Model S Long Range Plus has an EPA range of 402 miles (647 KM), higher than that of any other battery electric car.

Model S cars built from October 2014 have a feature called Autopilot, and advanced driver assistance system that allows the car to operate witout assistance from the driver.

However, the driver must supervise continuously and take control if there is an issue. Autopilot 2.0, introduced in October 2016, also includes ‘Enhanced Summon’, which allows the car to navigate through a parking lot to its owner without anyone in the driver’s seat.

In 2013, the Model S became the first electric car to top the monthly new car sales ranking in any country, twice leading in Norway, in September and December 2013 and also in Denmark in December 2015. Model S sales passed 250,000 units in September 2018.

Tesla has just announced the first major redesign of the Model S since it launched the electric sedan in 2012. This new version, which starts shipping in March, has a refreshed exterior, a simplified interior, and the option for a more powerful that lets the car travel at least 520 miles and go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in under two seconds.

That speed is achieved in part thanks to a very small drag coefficient, one that puts it on par or maybe ahead of electric cars like the Lucid Air or the Porsche Taycan Turbo. Tesla claims that, the new Model S with the updated powertrain is the ‘fastest accelerating production car ever made.’

The new Model S has some light updates to the exterior of the car, including a standard large glass roof, but the biggest visual change is inside. Tesla has axed the portrait touchscreen in favour of one more like what’s found in the Model 3 and Model Y, trhough with far smaller bezels (like we have seen on the Cybertruck prototype). There is also a stalkless U-shaped butterfly streeing wheel, much like what we’ve seen in the forth coming second-generation Roadster, and a screen behind the center console for rear-seat passengers. The Model S still features a screen behind the streeing wheel.

The new Model S starts at $79,990 for a ‘Long Range’ dual-motor version that gets 412 miles of range.

A model S redesign has been rumoured for years, with Electrek posting allegedly leaked renders of the new interior all the way back in 2018. Tesla instead was constantly making minor improvements.

Tesla manufactures the Model S at the 5.4 million sq ft (500.000 m²). In October 2015, Tesla announced the company is negotiating with the Chinese government on producing its electric cars domestically.

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