Ludicrous Mode Upgrade Changes From $7,500 To $5,000

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Originally published on EV Obsession.

Tesla has seemingly decided to lower the cost of the “Ludicrous mode” upgrade (for Model S owners) from $7,500 to $5,000, going by the company’s website. So, those wanting to bring the already quite impressive performance of their previously purchased Model Ss to new heights can now do so for considerably less.

Going by some of the comments posted on the Tesla Motors Club forum thread on the subject (thanks, “ardart99”), the current plan (as far as timing goes) seems to be to for the retrofit to first be made available at the Fremont, California, service center sometime during Quarter 4, 2015 (Tesla uses the calendar year, it should be remembered — this is now Quarter 4).

Following availability at the Fremont center, retrofit availability will then be extended to various service center “hubs” elsewhere. The exact hub locations aren’t yet revealed, but those who purchase the retrofit will seemingly have some flexibility on where they take their Model S to be upgraded.

As a reminder here, the Ludicrous mode upgrade is expected to, reportedly, improve 0–60 mph acceleration by about 0.2 seconds (a fifth of a second). This may not seem like much (for $5000, or for $7500 for that matter) but considering how incredibly fast top-of-the-line Model Ss already are, the upgrade seems likely to be well worth the money to many owners — if for no other reason than to have one of the fastest cars in the world. Many Tesla owners do love to brag, after all. And many love being #1.

(Tip of the hat here to “champster” on the Tesla Motors Club forum for this.)