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April 30th Event SPECULATION: 100kWh Battery + 2.8s 0-60 Model S to be announced?

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Pure speculation of course. Here is why I believe a new performance variant will be announced on or slightly before April 30th:


  • Recent discontinuation of 60D for larger battery 70D, making minimum EPA range 240 miles. Flagship P85D only slightly higher at 253 miles, but large price gap.
  • Elon recently told a celebrity that "Maybe the Model S can get there" in reference to a 0-60 time in 2.8s. He didn't say the P85D, he said the Model S. The performance inverter update didn't make any noticeable difference, and it seems the 85kW battery is the bottleneck for any potential performance enhancement via OTA update.
  • We know that the current P85D is rated at 691HP, but actual inverter power logs show maximum motor power is 400-411kW, which is around 550-575HP. 691HP would be roughly 515kW. 85kW battery likely is unable to supply the car with enough juice for full advertised horsepower.
  • Elon stated "Maybe it would be a good warm up act to the April 30 event" when mentioning that the Model S can "Maybe get there" (2.8 second 0-60). Therefore I believe the P100D or P105D will be announced, effectively killing and dealing a blow to the P85D after only 5 months from the first delivery of the P85D.

With that said, I truly think it would have been best for Elon to skip the P85D altogether, and just have waited to fully announce and release the P100D/P105D. A model that was hyped so badly that could be wiped out in 5 months and leave people hanging who spent $120K+ is NOT cool if he know that A) The 85kW battery was not powerful enough to deliver the 691HP that was advertised and B) Elon knew a bigger battery/more powerful version was to be announced only 5 months later. Why even release the P85D if that was right around the corner, half way through the 2015 model year?

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As a 1 month old P85D owner if the 100/105D came out anytime this year it would really upset me. I waited a long time for the P85D thinking I was going to get the King of the run.

Yeah, agreed. Many of us bought the P85D to own the halo car in the Tesla suite.

The P85D is already filling the product area at the top of the market where Mercedes S-Class, Maserati, Porsche Panamera competes. To introduce another product in this price point would make no sense.
 
I think, if anything, Elon would show at the event that the 2.8s Model S exists and may even be available in limited quantities, but it might end up like battery swapping did - possible but not really present. The main announcement is home storage as already stated above. I agree that he would alienate more than a few P85D die-hards with a P100D announcement then.
 
Yeah, agreed. Many of us bought the P85D to own the halo car in the Tesla suite.

The P85D is already filling the product area at the top of the market where Mercedes S-Class, Maserati, Porsche Panamera competes. To introduce another product in this price point would make no sense.

Except that it might make sense that a new battery is coming with the introduction of the X. Many have speculated that Tesla will not release the X with a lower mileage rating than the current S, which it would likely have with the 85kwh battery. The logical assumption would be that a bigger battery will become available when the X finally hits the design studio.
 
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I think, if anything, Elon would show at the event that the 2.8s Model S exists and may even be available in limited quantities, but it might end up like battery swapping did - possible but not really present. The main announcement is home storage as already stated above. I agree that he would alienate more than a few P85D die-hards with a P100D announcement then.

Didn't Tesla alienate P85 and P85+ owners when the P85D was announced? If it was okay then, wouldn't it be okay now?
 
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As a 1 month old P85D owner if the 100/105D came out anytime this year it would really upset me. I waited a long time for the P85D thinking I was going to get the King of the run.
Welcome to the forum. Fair warning: Tesla doesn't tend to worry too much about "unseating" their "top" vehicle, "most popular" vehicle, etc. Technology marches forward.

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Then you would know how us P85+ owners feel. P1XXD is inevitable....
While I sympathize, I never thought of the P85+ as a launch forward. An incremental improvement laterally, but not a launch forward like the D.
 
Except that it might make sense that a new battery is coming with the introduction of the X. Many have speculated that Tesla will not release the X with a lower mileage rating than the current S. The logical assumption would be that a bigger battery will become available when the X finally hits the design studio.

But to announce the bigger battery now would totally defeat all the carefully built up suspense over the X. If a bigger battery exists, it will be announced with the X.
 
As a 1 month old P85D owner if the 100/105D came out anytime this year it would really upset me. I waited a long time for the P85D thinking I was going to get the King of the run.

Respectfully, get over it. As the owner of the first Signature P85 in western Canada, I imagined I was buying a "King of the Run" too. The B battery and 120 kW supercharging came within weeks, then the P85+ came out within a year, then autopilot, then the P85D (which I bought for my wife).

Tesla is going to keep sprinting as fast as they can. They innovate and operate on the time-scale of the best of the consumer electronics industry, not like the traditional auto industry.

Like my business mentor once told me-- "If you don't want to get diluted, you have to keep investing in your own company." Owning a Tesla is a bit like that. If you want to be "King of the Run," you have to budget for rapid, sudden, continuous technology improvement, and short trade-in cycles.
 
Thanks brianman.

It will always be an issue for Tesla owners because Tesla isn't going to slow down progress to spare some feelings. That very fact is what made me fall in love with the company especially when compared to how slow moving the ICE world is. It just sucks if you pay top dollar for the top car and in less than a year a faster version comes out with more range and most likely not much of a price difference (especially if they discontinue the 85).
 
IF Tesla is going to launch a higher capacity battery, it makes sense to do it first with the X. That would allow Tesla to show range comparable to the Model S and avoid some media criticism. A few months later, the larger battery could be incorporated into the S line. By then, everyone will have accepted X range to be adequate.
 
Didn't Tesla alienate P85 and P85+ owners when the P85D was announced? If it was okay then, it's okay now.

Kind of, I was one of them; but the P85D was different enough in that it added speed, AWD, and AP. Us classic owners didn't order the last two (tongue-in-cheek). A P100D just adds speed (and maybe 10 real-world miles), so it's close enough to hurt!

I personally think TM has hit it big in the opposite direction, with the 70D introduction, as well as making the 85D better. @kris is right in saying they could have skipped the P85D altogether because of how good those two cars are in terms of value, tech, and performance. I don't necessarily think you can call it trickle-down technology from the P85D either. This ain't an ICE company.

So far, I suspect the numbers show TM that it's okay to come out with stuff as fast as they can develop it, even if it alienates the early adopters, as long as it continues to capture repeat and new customers. I have not heard of a Tesla owner who has gotten rid of his Model S because it's not the newest/best. We either keep what we have or get the newest/best Model S, lol. The only time that will change is when TM has a true EV rival.
 
It really is a different mindset cause as a former Audi owner and almost buyer of the RS7 I would of bought the RS7 knowing that would stay the King for a really long time, because even if an RS8 came out a year later, that isn't the same car. Not like all the iterations of the Model S.

But don't get me wrong, no matter what comes out the smile on my face when behind the wheel won't be any less.