Ludicrous? RWD 70?

[anticitizen13.7]

They may have seen higher RWD 85 sales than expected after the 70D introduction. A lot of the luxury car buying public prefer their big sedans to be RWD. I know I have little to no need for AWD where I live. Realistically, I'd probably buy a RWD P85 again if it were an option.

The RWD preference seems to be a prestige holdover from ICE, since RWD implies more complication and therefore higher cost than FWD, and AWD is seen as adding weight and handling penalty in non-snow/rain conditions. A small but vocal group of car enthusiasts genuinely prefer the handling characteristics of RWD over AWD.

I think the addition of a base RWD Model S 70 is a great idea, as it makes getting a great Model S more accessible to buyers. I customized a nice Model S 70 with pano roof, metallic blue paint, autopilot, and winter package, which came out to 77.2k cash. With tax incentives, that falls to around 66 or 67k. That's within a couple of k of a BMW 5 535i (about 57k base), and pretty close to a BMW 5 hybrid (about 63k base). Model S looks even more favorable when the BMWs are optioned up.

 

[vitaliy]

5% range increase for $3k just got changed to 7% which is 5 extra miles

Well, it's 6% now... Math is hard.

 

[Ingineer]

Should be 5.9% 85->90. Actually 5.88235294117647... etc. I suppose 6% is ok, but not 7%.

If the EPA range on the P85D is 253, then it should be good for 14.9 miles extra or about 268 total.

 

[Johann Koeber]

Of the 85 pack maybe 77 are usable (8 kwh hidden for safety on the top end and on the bottom end)

Speculation: of the 90 pack perhaps 82 are usable, if the same amount of kWh are hidden.

82/77 = about 1.06494, so 6.5 %, round to 7%

I made the numbers up, but you get the idea.

 

[vitaliy]

It has been a week after release, did anyone got Ludicrous installed/delivered? can't wait to see all the drag race videos and 0-60 launches...

 

[gizmoboy]

It has been a week after release, did anyone got Ludicrous installed/delivered? can't wait to see all the drag race videos and 0-60 launches...

With a typical lead time of 6-8 weeks from order date and a first-order date of last friday, I expect it'll be a month before anyone who does;t have a last name of Musk has Ludicrous mode...

 

[3s-a-charm]

Q: What hopes do you have for additional sales with these tweaks?
Musk: “I have no idea. We are just trying to make awesome cars.”

Musk: people loved the “insane” mode, it’s been extremely well received.” But Tesla wanted to go beyond that with the ludicrous mode.

I love Musk's answers to reporters questions. I remember one exchange that went something like the one above but along these lines:

Reporter: Elon, how do you plan to sell all of these cars to the public?

Musk: Uh, we will put them on our website and people can order them.

I laughed so hard at that! So simple.

 

[S'toon]

With a typical lead time of 6-8 weeks from order date and a first-order date of last friday, I expect it'll be a month before anyone who does;t have a last name of Musk has Ludicrous mode...

Hmmm. I know one of Elon Musk's cousins is a farmer in Saskatchewan.

 

[aus]

The RWD preference seems to be a prestige holdover from ICE, since RWD implies more complication and therefore higher cost than FWD, and AWD is seen as adding weight and handling penalty in non-snow/rain conditions. A small but vocal group of car enthusiasts genuinely prefer the handling characteristics of RWD over AWD.

Sorry, but you have NO IDEA what you're talking about. Being RWD has NOTHING to do with prestige and EVERYTHING to do with driving dynamics at speed. With RWD, it allows you to "steer" with the throttle and allows the front wheels to steer the car independent of also moving the car forward. When you combine steering and driving the car forward in the FWD car, there are lots of compromises. With AWD, you still can't "steer" the rear wheels as well. With power increasing to well over 500HP, it's becoming necessary to put some of that power to the front wheels for traction but the split is still a rear bias to allow some "steering" with the rear wheels.
For most people on the street, it's not going to matter; they won't be able to tell the difference, but winning comparos in car magazines sells cars... so they have to make cars that perform well on a track in order to win those comparos. This leads us back to why RWD is preferred- at least until you gut to around 500HP.
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