The 2012 Tesla Model S is Tesla’s shot at trying to finally break the electric car market. Some popular new electric cars you may have heard as of late may include the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt, but these models are not selling nearly enough to finally give electric cars a serious chunk of the car market. Due to concerns about range (less than 100 miles) and weak performance, buyers are just not yet convinced that electric is the way to go. The model S though has none of these problems. It is rated at 265 miles per charge. But that’s not the only thing it blows the competition away in, there’s also the earth-shattering performance.
MotorTrend recently tested the model S at a 0 – 60 time of 3.9 seconds and a quarter mile of 12.5 seconds at 110.9 mph. Below are some of the stats that MotorTrend got for some gasoline powered sports sedans and how they compare to the Tesla.
| Base Price | Weight | Power | 0-60 mph | 60-0 mph | Lat grip | |
| BMW M5 | $92,095 | 4384 lb | 560 hp | 3.7 sec | 110 ft | 0.94 g |
| Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG | $96,805 | 4256 lb | 550 hp | 3.9 sec | 113 ft | 0.92 g |
| Porsche Panamera Turbo S | $176,275 | 4388 lb | 550 hp | 3.5 sec | 105 ft | 1.00 g |
| Tesla Model S P85 | $105,400 | 4766 lb | 416 hp | 3.9 sec | 105 ft | 0.92 g |
The Model S is rated at a 265 mile range per charge which is currently more than double the amount of any electric car out. It has been confirmed that the car is easily capable of driving this far off of a single charge as long of the driving is not aggressive. Currently most popular electric cars like the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt get much less than 100 miles per electric charge. This is one of the main factors of why people just aren't ready for electric cars yet but with the Tesla, that fear of running out of charge will no longer be reasonable.
This electric sports car will start around $100,000 so it won’t be cheap. But to have an electric car challenge the performance of some of the most renowned German sports cars is revolutionary. What Tesla has done with the Model S will not be over-looked and could be the start of a completely new automobile era.
