Tesla Updating P85D To 0–60 MPH In 2.8 Seconds With Nothing But Firmware Update?

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Will the Tesla Model S P85D soon have its acceleration improved to 0–60 mph in just 2.8 seconds, via nothing but a firmware update?

Yes, that’s apparently exactly what’s going to happen… based on rumors (unverified insider information) circulating in specific corners of the net.

Tesla P85D

The interesting, but not necessarily easy to believe, information is coming to us via the user “anxman” of the Tesla Motors Club forum. Here it is in his own words:

I’m happy to bring you a TMC exclusive rumor. According to my sources deep inside Tesla, a firmware update for the P85D will increase its 0-60 performance from 3.2 seconds to 2.8 seconds. I have not personally operated this P85D, but my sources have allegedly seen it in action and historically these sources have been accurate for Tesla rumors. Please take it with a grain of salt because I have not seen or operated this vehicle myself.

My fingers are crossed — though, I’d rather see Active Blind Spot Detection and Autopilot features before this bump to the “Insane” mode.

Those who are currently doubting this information aren’t wrong to do so, but, it’s worth noting here that other forum members chimed in to corroborate the rumor. As far as how it’ll work, if true, another poster (“Raffy.Roma”) on the forum speculated:

Yes the 0-60 time can be decreased by optimizing the torque on the two axis. Actually I read on TMC that such a decrease was possible from the very beginning of the P85D life but that Tesla designers decided to get 3.2 seconds because they didn’t manage to have a continuos acceleration by lowering such a number to 2.8 seconds. In fact they had issue to harmonize the acceleration of the two motors.

Maybe that now in Tesla they managed to work out the issues between the two motors and get 2.8 seconds.

But IMO the driver should enter a password to get 2.8 seconds just to let him think twice before of using such an acceleration.

It should be noted here that Elon Musk actually tweeted a few days ago that “Tesla P85D 0 to 60mph acceleration will improve by ~0.1 sec soon via over-the-air software update to inverter algorithm.” Could this be what the “source deep inside Tesla” was referring to? Or is this just the first of multiple updates of this sort? Hard to say…

(Tip of the hat to Chris DeMorro over at Gas2 for bringing this topic to my attention)

Image Credit: Tesla Motors


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James Ayre

James Ayre's background is predominantly in geopolitics and history, but he has an obsessive interest in pretty much everything. After an early life spent in the Imperial Free City of Dortmund, James followed the river Ruhr to Cofbuokheim, where he attended the University of Astnide. And where he also briefly considered entering the coal mining business. He currently writes for a living, on a broad variety of subjects, ranging from science, to politics, to military history, to renewable energy.

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