Did Tesla Model S Cheat on Total Horsepower?
by AllAutoExperts | 6 October, 2015
Everyone has heard about Tesla Model S, how awesome and powerful it is with its 691 hp. However, some people say Model S is missing about 134 horses.
A group of 71 buyers, investors, and supporters claim that their tests have shown that Model S is producing only 557 hp instead of 691 hp - this is a huge gap that must be addressed ASAP.
he biggest issue is that according to their tests Model S weight/power ration is much lower than it should be. Normally the EV should have 1 hp per 7 pounds but the group claims it is more like 1 hp per 9 pounds. They say this greatly reduces performance on the road. As an example, after Tesla reaches 80+ mph it could easily be beaten by an Audi RS7 that has a power/weight ratio of 1 hp per 8 pounds.
JB Straubel, chief technical officer at Tesla, responded to these claims in a blog post on the official website. He brought to the attention a number of factors that could potentially affect the total power output.
Between the factors that can affect performance, he mentioned low state of charge, cold temperatures, warm battery, and short acceleration. However he did not specify exactly the number of horses that Model S has, so this remains an open question!
