If you needed any more evidence that we are, in fact, living in the freakin’ future, try this on for size: Tesla’s dual-motor P85D just got both faster and quicker while the cars literally sat in owners’ garages. Version 6.2 of the firmware for the 691 horsepower all-electric sedan is currently being beamed to customer cars over the air, across the world, and along with Elon Musk’s promise that it will “cure range anxiety”. It also brings with it some fairly substantial improvements in performance, all without changing a single part on the vehicle itself.
Musk’s approach to solving the range anxiety problem is tackled through updates to the car’s navigation system. The new Range Assurance and Trip Planner functions in the system and will allow owners to plan their trips so that they’re routed through Tesla’s supercharger network. The company says that 90 percent of the US population is within 175 miles of a supercharger station, and with the included intelligent routing, “long distance travel is now foolproof.”
Aside from the routing features, the other highly touted changes to the software involve improvements to the car’s driver assistance features, including a new blind sport warning system, automatic emergency braking and a new valet mode that limits the car’s performance and access to personal data when toggled. But mentioned nearly as an afterthought at the end of the update details is a quick mention that “The top speed for P85D is now 155 mph (250 km/h),” a claim which has already been tested by a Tesla owner on the Autobahn:
Further, the car also seems to have gained a tenth or two in its sprint to sixty miles per hour from rest, doing the deed in nearly three seconds flat in this clip:
It may not be what we’d traditionally perceive as American muscle, but the performance is undeniable. And when a car company offers improvements like these which require no effort on the customer’s part and are free of charge (pun intended), it’s certainly worth taking note.