I don't see why you'd need the quicker model 3.

[jamnmon66]

Passing distance is a safety feature. HP that exceeds the limits of traction on dry pavement is for Experienced and Trained drivers for their personal entertainment, be it a quick blast up a freeway ramp, or closed course events.
We have all seen what happens when you run out of skill before the car runs out of HP. That should be avoided.

Coming from sportbikes where safety is almost 100% rider skill & judgement because the capability of the bike is soooo much higher than most riders abilities (mine included)... the limits of even a car like this are so low and the safety margins are so high that the safety argument is laughable to me. I get that this is much more of a mainstream product but it would have to be significantly more powerful for the acceleration to be the primary safety concern. I have no data to back this up but I'm very confident that inattentiveness is much more dangerous than acceleration.

...Then again, there is data for this. The only significant crashes (& fatalities) of Teslas that I've heard of are from over reliance on AP (i.e. inattentiveness) not from too much acceleration.

 

[McRat]

Coming from sportbikes where safety is almost 100% rider skill & judgement because the capability of the bike is soooo much higher than most riders abilities (mine included)... the limits of even a car like this are so low and the safety margins are so high that the safety argument is laughable to me. I get that this is much more of a mainstream product but it would have to be significantly more powerful for the acceleration to be the primary safety concern. I have no data to back this up but I'm very confident that inattentiveness is much more dangerous than acceleration.

...Then again, there is data for this. The only significant crashes (& fatalities) of Teslas that I've heard of are from over reliance of AP (i.e. inattentiveness) not from too much acceleration.

Absolutely. Inattention is the big killer. When other drivers are inattentive, you might have noticed on a bike, sometimes acceleration is your 'out' to avoid a collision or be stuck following a drunk. Braking and swerving might not work. Left turn drivers come to mind when other cars block your 'out'.

But when it is time to execute a legal pass, especially in the mountains, a pass that is safe on bike might not be with a family of four going uphill in a car. Being stuck behind a motorhome who floors it in every passing zone, then slows to 15 mph for each 35 mph corner, building up a long stream of cars and refuses to pull over as required, can also be dangerous. Frustration will make some drivers take unnecessary risks to pass several cars at a time to get in front of the MH.

The absolute safest thing is to pull over and let everybody pass you. When cars build up behind you again, rinse and repeat. This doesn't not guarantee you won't be in a worse situation in 2 miles. Sometimes avoiding traveling in a frustrated & tailgating pack of cars is safer.

You can escape collisions by braking, steering, or less frequently accelerating. With a Prius with 4 people at 7,000' altitude, only 2 of those options exist unless you are following a horse and buggy. And the horse is tired. And doesn't punch on the straights.

Yes, there have been a few serious crashes with Teslas when the driver exceeded the limits of their talent. Two HS seniors in Florida most recently. Indianapolis was another.

 

[EV-lutioin]

 

[AviP]

I don't understand the need or even want for a quicker car besides bragging rights.

Haven't you heard the quote, " I feel the need, the need for speed". There's a video game with that title.

The closest comparison is to a rollercoaster. Most people come out with smiles wanting to do it again, while a few throw up and promise never to venture back. The lateral Gs are what thrill/upset most people. Modern high performance street cars (large production) have been over 1.0 G since the mid-90s and are around 1.25 G currently. If you were to ride one of these in the morning before you have had your coffee or tea to get you blood circulating, you WILL most likely come out with a headache. That's how it feels.

I doubt the Model 3 will give that feeling since it's just a straight line car and not built for lateral Gs. Even the <ahem> Performance M3 will not give that feeling.

 

[mongo]

Fast doesn't do diddly when you've got two lines of cars ahead of you at the light. Even if you're first at the light, the next light will be red when you get there. When the three cars ahead of you take a half mile to get to 50 mph (in a 60 zone), you're not going anywhere. That's how I see it. Maybe you live where there's no traffic. I find that once in a while I can pass at the dotted line if there isn't traffic coming at me, but more often than not, I get to follow the fertilizer truck behind the '82 Honda Civic doing ten mph under the posted signage. I've never found my 3 underpowered, even though it's not a P or a D. Until it can levitate and go overhead, we're all stuck.

Because some on-ramps aren't rational... (the ramp is downhill into a 90 degree turn, then the Interstate is uphill through the overpass)

 

[JeffK]

Haven't you heard the quote, " I feel the need, the need for speed". There's a video game with that title.

More notably from the movie Top Gun

 

[Uncle Paul]

Driving underpowered vehicles is annoying. You have no options but to putt along as best you can. Even keeping up to the speed limits on long uphills is frutile and frustrating.

Driving a well powered vehicle is much more enjoyable. You can maintain pace and move easily into an open space ahead in the next lane. Getting up to speed entering a freeway is also smooth and easy.

Having more than ample power has been the hallmark of vehicles forever. You are in control of your environment. If you need to speed up to get safely into another lane the torque is there. For going uphill you stlll have a great reserve of power. Passing is a breeze with an increased safety margin.

 

[PJFW8]

There is always chill mode! Although I have never tried it myself.

 

[thegruf]

I didnt see why I would need the MS P100D over an MS 85D
...
until I got one

 

[R.S]

It's plenty fast, and it's already made two people "sick". I don't understand the need or even want for a quicker car besides bragging rights.

I need to be quicker, than you, to avoid being hit by your passengers vomit. Isn't that a good enough reason?

 

[WileyTheMan]

Haha, the responses here can be pretty much wrapped up in a word: Passion. Passion is not a logical thing, and is entirely subjective.

 

[timk225]

As Elon said at the Model 3 reveal -- "At Tesla we don't make slow cars".

 

[mkspeedr]

Why would you want a 5 star hotel or dinner over a 3 star? Why would you...I could go on and on...

But for me - I need the P100D.

 

[Saghost]

Coming from sportbikes where safety is almost 100% rider skill & judgement because the capability of the bike is soooo much higher than most riders abilities (mine included)... the limits of even a car like this are so low and the safety margins are so high that the safety argument is laughable to me. I get that this is much more of a mainstream product but it would have to be significantly more powerful for the acceleration to be the primary safety concern. I have no data to back this up but I'm very confident that inattentiveness is much more dangerous than acceleration.

...Then again, there is data for this. The only significant crashes (& fatalities) of Teslas that I've heard of are from over reliance on AP (i.e. inattentiveness) not from too much acceleration.

I don't know if there are many Tesla crashes caused by too much acceleration, but there have certainly been plenty caused by driving too fast, like the kid who got his dad's S airborne fifty feet in Germany and the guy who ran through the middle of the roundabout and scattered his pack everywhere, and even the poor guy who took his landscaper for a test drive with his nearly brand new car and watched them wreck it.

Tesla needed to make fast cars to shake off the golf cart image, I'm not suggesting they shouldn't have.

But I think there have been at least as many too fast for conditions accidents as distracted accidents for Tesla, which likely wouldn't have happened in slower cars.

With great power comes great responsibility.

 

[JeffK]

But I think there have been at least as many too fast for conditions accidents as distracted accidents for Tesla, which likely wouldn't have happened in slower cars.

Some of this is more velocity vs acceleration. The vehicles were traveling too fast for conditions vs accelerating. Since the ride is so smooth sometimes you might be traveling too fast without realizing it. I wouldn't necessarily blame the quickness (acceleration) of the vehicle. When I had my Prius I could get it up to 110 mph (if there was a tail wind and I was going down a hill). Rapid acceleration is not a feature that comes with a Prius though, but it can still be too fast for conditions.

The one spot where acceleration has been a concern is when people hit the incorrect pedal while parking. Nearly all cars can cause significant damage when you floor the accelerator accidentally in a parking lot. A Tesla has the ability to do this with even more force. Tesla has actually added software to help mitigate this to a degree and limit torque in such cases where it detects a possible pedal misapplication.

 

[mongo]

The one spot where acceleration has been a concern is when people hit the incorrect pedal while parking. Nearly all cars can cause significant damage when you floor the accelerator accidentally in a parking lot. A Tesla has the ability to do this with even more force. Tesla has actually added software to help mitigate this to a degree and limit torque in such cases where it detects a possible pedal misapplication.

I have read the 3 seems to delay full power when you floor it and wondered if it was related to parking lot issues...

 

[Saghost]

Some of this is more velocity vs acceleration. The vehicles were traveling too fast for conditions vs accelerating. Since the ride is so smooth sometimes you might be traveling too fast without realizing it. I wouldn't necessarily blame the quickness (acceleration) of the vehicle. When I had my Prius I could get it up to 110 mph (if there was a tail wind and I was going down a hill). Rapid acceleration is not a feature that comes with a Prius though, but it can still be too fast for conditions.

The one spot where acceleration has been a concern is when people hit the incorrect pedal while parking. Nearly all cars can cause significant damage when you floor the accelerator accidentally in a parking lot. A Tesla has the ability to do this with even more force. Tesla has actually added software to help mitigate this to a degree and limit torque in such cases where it detects a possible pedal misapplication.

I thought I said that in my first sentence.

While it's certainly true that almost any car can be driven too fast for conditions, it seems to happen to cars with quick acceleration more often.

 

[JeffK]

I have read the 3 seems to delay full power when you floor it and wondered if it was related to parking lot issues...

I want to say this is a limitation with the motor design but I could be totally wrong. Everything I'm reading says this shouldn't be the case though, so maybe it's just a software thing.

 

[PJFW8]

I want to say this is a limitation with the motor design but I could be totally wrong.

It is still very quick!!

 

[JeffK]

It is still very quick!!

It is, but the weird thing is it's supposed to be even quicker from a physics standpoint. (AFAIK)