2. Tesla P100D Test Drive
Although this Boring Tour was born thanks to The Boring Company and the cap I bought last year that will allow me to visit their facilities in Hawthorne, California, drive the tunneling machine and attend the 2018 Hyperloop Pod Competition as one of the 10 selected by Elon Musk, it has been thanks to Bi-Geek that this trip has become a real adventure where it will be possible to learn more about other companies and incredible places.
One of those companies that I had always wanted to meet is Tesla and for that, what better way, than testing one of their cars?
Since it seems mission impossible to get your hands on one of their vehicles, even if you buy it, (they currently have a waiting list of several months since you make the reservation) it seemed even more difficult to even be able to try one.
Tesla initially appeared on the market marketing the Tesla Roadster, a sporty and high-end car with a high price, intended to revolutionize the world of electric cars, which at that time seemed slow and boring.
Now they are already a reference in the market and have specialized in the development and manufacture of batteries, solar panels, and cars that have managed to reinvent the way we imagine transportation.
Since that first Tesla Roadster, models such as the S, the X, the 3 (currently the best-selling electric car in the United States), or the Semi, the electric truck that has already been reserved, by the dozen, by American companies such as Pepsico, Walmart, Sysco or FedEx.
Although they have also achieved other challenges perhaps even more important such as the creation of a network of superchargers that can be free for their buyers and which currently has more than 10,000 charging points scattered around the world or the creation of the autopilot system.
From the beginning, I was clear about the car I wanted to test: The Tesla Model S P100D with the Ludicrous mode that allows it to go from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.3 seconds and puts it in 2nd place in a list in which the majority of the cars are limited edition.
After contacting Tesla directly and explaining the situation, I was able to book an appointment to test drive one of their Model S, although they assured me that it would not be possible to test the Performance version…
Once there we received the surprise. They had a Model S P100D available that we could test drive and compare with the 100D we had initially booked.
Looks like luck is on my side lately!
We unplugged the car from the charger, did a quick check of the exterior, and hit the road.
The first thing I can experience is the smoothness of the ride and the good finishes of the interior that seem cared for to the millimeter.
Perhaps one of the main advantages of being such a technological car is that it is constantly being updated with software improvements and new features. Some of them are as important as improvements in braking response, which can be adjusted to brake automatically when the accelerator pedal is lifted, creating the effect that only one pedal is needed to drive the car.
Another of the most spectacular modes is the autopilot, which although it takes a few minutes for our brain to accept and trust that a machine is steering the car, really makes driving easier, especially in heavy traffic situations.
But by far, the feature that impressed me the most about the Tesla P100D was the acceleration.
With Ludicrous mode off, the car already responds much faster than any other combustion vehicle, it’s like having access to all the power it hides immediately, but with Ludicrous mode on, the car is completely in another league.
It gives the feeling of being rather in the cockpit of a rocket than in a sedan that although sporty, has a very formal look.
No doubt, there are some engineers at Tesla with some degrees of insanity and I am very grateful to them for their creation and to Bi-Geek for allowing me to enjoy it.
I look forward to learning more about the company and the minds behind its products next week when I take a Factory Tour of its facility in Fremont, California.
