The Tesla Model S is an electric five door car that was introduced into the market in 2012 by Tesla Motors. The 2016 Tesla Model S model was introduced in December 2015.
The car has an 85 kWh battery pack whose performance is rated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at 426 kilometers. The car has a 5.0 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) automobile safety rating. The car’s energy consumption is rated by EPA at 237.5 Wh per kilometer.
The battery, which weighs 540 kilograms, is placed underneath the cabin floor to lower the vehicle’s center of gravity. It contains 7,104 lithium-ion battery cells in 16 modules. The battery is guaranteed for 200,000 kilometer or eight years.
The top speed of the car is 201 km/h and it only takes 5.4 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 97 km/h.
2016 Tesla Model S has independent coil spring suspension on all four wheels as well as a front control arm and rear multilink. It is available with self-leveling and height-adjustable air suspension. The car can be lowered at highway speed and it can be raised to cruise through steep driveways and rough terrain.
The car can detect road signs, lane markings and other vehicles using equipment such as a camera at the top of the windshield and forward looking radar in the lower grill. It has ultrasonic acoustic location sensors in the front and rear bumpers.
For an extra cost, there is an option to have AutoPilot that allows hands-free driving.
In a list published in December 2014 by The Telegraph, a British newspaper, the model was listed as one of the top 10 cars that changed the world in 2014 and the most important car of the last 20 years.
The price of the award winning car ranges from US$72,000 to US$106,000.
