Tesla Model S Sets Acceleration Record for Street Legal Production Cars

By Edward Leano, Christian Post Contributor Saturday, February 11, 2017

The 2017 Tesla Model S P100D has set a new world record for street legal production cars by going from standstill to 60 miles per hour in less than 2.3 seconds. The new Ludicrous+ mode feature added the extra horsepower to make this feat possible.

In an earlier tweet, Tesla CEO Elon Musk made a casual prediction that the new "Easter egg" feature for the top-of-the-line P100D might make it possible for the car to go under 2.34 seconds in a zero to 60 mph test.

Motortrend has the final result to confirm Musk's assessment. In all their years of testing cars, the Tesla P100D is the first street legal car, straight unmodified from production, to bolt from zero to 60 in less than 2.3 seconds. The full-feature sedan did it in 2.28 seconds.

Ludicrous+ mode is a surprise feature that came hidden with the company's newest firmware update. After downloading the version 8.0 release 2.52.22 software, an owner can gain access to the new Ludicrous+ mode by pressing and holding down the Ludicrous button in the car's menu for at least five seconds.

A message window will appear that warns the user that the new mode can accelerate wear on the motor, gearbox and battery. The user can acknowledge the warning and continue by hitting "yes, bring it on!" or change his or her mind about the whole thing by pressing "no, I want my Mommy."

The new high-performance mode unlocks around 33 horsepower for the car, reports Auto Express. It also takes a few minutes to prepare the car for take-off — the battery is pre-heated and a portion of the AC system's output is redirected to the motors to cool them down. When the system alerts the driver that preparations are complete, launch control is ready to be engaged. The driver must step on the brake, then depress and release the accelerator as far as it can go. The launch control is engaged with an alert confirming that it's active. The driver can then floor the accelerator while holding down the brake. Releasing the brake will then launch the car forward at maximum acceleration.

The resulting acceleration is, to use the term, ludicrous — enough to beat the zero to 60 times of some of the most advanced and expensive production cars in existence. For the zero to 60 record, Tesla has beaten the Ferrari LaFerrari, the McLaren P1, the Porsche 918 and the long line of other cars behind them.