Tesla unveiled the first major refresh of its flagship Model S electric performance sedan on Wednesday, and it was not an over-the-air update. The interior gets a major overhaul with an airplane-inspired steering wheel and the powertrain adds a third motor in some versions. Top-performance versions will be capable of a 520-mile range and a 0-60 mph time in less than 2.0 seconds, Tesla announced on a quarterly call with shareholders and the media.

Launched for 2012, the Tesla Model S electric sedan supercharged the electric vehicle revolution with an 85-kwh battery pack that provided an EPA-confirmed 265 miles of range. At the time, the Nissan Leaf, which was its main competitor with nationwide availability, had a 73-mile range.

The Model S presaged the reality that blistering performance and high-tech luxury could be packaged in a vehicle with no tailpipe emissions. Tesla juiced performance and range capability along the way, and the 2020 Model S can accelerate to 60 mph in just 2.4 seconds.

Now, as traditional automakers play catch-up to Tesla with dozens of electric vehicles coming to market within the next year, Tesla has reset the bar once again.

The latest Model S range improves from a peak of 387 miles of range in the 2020 Model S Performance model to more than 520 miles in the Plaid+ version, but that estimate hasn’t been confirmed by the EPA. Tesla claims the range-topping Plaid and Plaid+ will have three motors, two on the rear axle and one on the front, generating more than 1,100 hp. That could rocket the Model S to 60 mph in less than 1.99 seconds and a quarter-mile in less than nine seconds, making it the quickest production sedan on the market.

Its estimated range of 520 miles would make the Model S the longest-range electric vehicle, narrowly edging out the 517-mile range on the forthcoming Lucid Air.

The Model S Plaid+ undercuts the Lucid Air’s top version at just below $140,000, and it won’t be available until late 2021. There are two less expensive options for the new model year expected in the first quarter of this year. The American-made electric vehicle maker has been characteristically reluctant to share key details such as the battery pack size and even the model year. The tamer 1,020-hp Plaid model, which itself follows the cheeky naming of hyperspeed modes from the Mel Brook’s spoof masterpiece, “Spaceballs,” has the same “Tri Motor” all-wheel drive setup with a 390-mile range, a 0-60 mph time in 1.99 seconds, and the same 200 mph top speed as the Plaid+. It costs just under $120,000.

The entry-level Model S Long Range is quicker than most other performance sedans out there, for a similar price. For under $80,000, it has a dual-motor setup with one motor on either axle for all-wheel drive that hits 60 mph in 3.1 seconds, and has an estimated 412-mile range and a top speed of 155 mph.

The Model X three-row SUV adopts the same changes as the Long Range and Plaid versions of the Model S.

The most jolting difference in the new Model S might come from inside the cabin, not the propulsion sources that bookend it. Tesla reoriented its large 17-inch touchscreen that serves as a hub for all vehicle functions, from navigation and climate settings to adjusting the side mirrors, from a portrait orientation to a landscape orientation same as in the Model 3 compact sedan.

Read more: The Car Connection

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Tesla has upgraded the Model S, its flagship electric sedan, with a new range of 402 miles — thanks to several improvements, including new wheels.

Earlier this year, Tesla released a new “Long Range Plus” version of the Model S with an EPA-rated range that was later updated to 391 miles on a single charge.

The new version of the vehicle was achieved through several small changes over the last year, and Tesla needed to change the name in order for the EPA to give it new rating.

Around the same time, CEO Elon Musk claimed that Tesla is close to having a 400-mile electric car.

During Tesla’s Q1 2020 results, Musk claimed that they already achieved it because the EPA made a mistake when testing the new Model S Long Range Plus.

The CEO claimed that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) left a door open with the key inside the vehicle during their cycle test — resulting in the electric car not going to “sleep” and draining the battery a little too much.

The EPA has denied that.

Now a few months later, Tesla is announcing that it achieved an official EPA range of 402 miles:

This significant achievement reflects Tesla’s obsession with efficiency and energy frugality, and is realized through several changes, both iterative and transformational, in core hardware and system architecture development by the Tesla engineering, design, and production teams. These changes went into production earlier this year when we first started manufacturing Model S Long Range Plus at our factory in Fremont, California. All Model S Long Range Plus vehicles will receive the new 402-mile rating.

It should mean that all Model S Long-Range vehicles produced since February should achieve this range.

Read more: Electrek

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“I’m convinced that cars ought by right to be driven by electric motors”

WHILE JEREMY Clarkson has gone on record to say he will never, ever buy an electric car, his colleagues on The Grand Tour appear to be more open-minded about motoring minus petrol or diesel.

James May in particular has started to stand out as an especially big fan of zero emission vehicles. As well as owning an assortment of them, including Tesla Model S and leasing a Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell car (which is also powered by an electric motor), and testing a new electric superbike, he has gone on the record to say that today’s crop of EVs are “already as exciting as petrol-powered cars“.

In fact, writing in today’s Sunday Times, May goes as far to suggest cars will be considerably better once the motoring industry finally decides to ditch fossil fuels for good.

He writes: “We’ve known since we have had the word “car” that the electric motor (which, by the way, predates the internal combustion engine) makes more sense. It’s light, compact, smooth-running, famously reliable, has excellent power and torque characteristics, is easy to produce and is virtually maintenance-free. It’s a bit of a 19th-century no-brainer.”

If those comments weren’t enough for dyed-in-the-wool petrolheads to get rubbed up the wrong way, May adds that he’s convinced cars “ought by right to be driven by electric motors”.

Read more: Driving

As recently as 10 years ago, people laughed at the idea of an electric vehicle being a viable mode of transportation for a daily short-haul driver, let alone one who goes on long road trips.

They were mocked as unsafe, unreliable, and able to only travel very short distances before requiring a ton of time to recharge.

Fast forward to today. Technological advancements in batteries used in electric vehicles now allow you to travel long distances. Charging is quick and seamless. And electric car company manufacturers like Tesla have shown they’re a viable (even preferable) alternative for daily drivers, winning awards like MotorTrend’s Car of the Year.

Electric vehicles can also be much more economical. I personally own a Tesla Model S, and it has saved me over $500 a month on gas. Over an 8-year period of ownership, that will add up to $48,000.

To give you confidence that an electric vehicle can be used for traveling long distances, we’ll go over current trends and options, as well as some of the pros and cons compared to traditional gasoline-powered vehicles.

Electric vehicle options

If you’re thinking about going electric, you can choose between a hybrid car or a fully electric vehicle.

Hybrid vehicles use two different types of power. The most common ones combine a gasoline-powered engine with an electric motor. Some of the most efficient hybrids have a fuel efficiency rated as high as 60 mpg on the highway, according to CarsDirect. That’s a lot higher than the overall average U.S. vehicle fuel economy, which Reuters says is 24.7 mpg.

Fully electric vehicles, however, deliver the most in terms of fuel efficiency. Vehicles like the Tesla Model 3 have been rated as high as 136 mpg equivalent (the EPA energy measurement for electric vehicles), and can save you tons of money you would otherwise spend on gas.

Road trips in an electric vehicle

With technological advancements in batteries, electric vehicles can now go just as far on a charge as gasoline-powered cars can on a tank of gas.

Read more: Million Mile Secrets

Update: Covid considerations for road trips

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We meet the businesses who’ve taken the plunge by buying Teslas to deliver goods – and find out how they’ve never looked back since

We hear a lot about electric cars being the future of transport, but it’s easy to forget there are over four million vans on the UK’s roads, delivering vital goods to homes, businesses and institutions up and down the land.

But while the number of electric vans on sale continues to grow, there has been a wider choice of electric cars for some time. Similarly, although early EV vans had limited ranges, often of 100 miles or less, Tesla’s Model S could travel up to a claimed 300 miles from launch in 2012.

Now the likes of the Jaguar I-Pace and Audi e-tron have caught up, but for years if you wanted a large EV with a long range, the Tesla was the only real option.

Small wonder, then, that instead of a van, some forward-thinking business owners saw the financial and environmental advantages a Tesla could offer, and took the plunge. Auto Express met the owners of two such businesses to see how an EV works as a delivery vehicle.

Amore Bakery

For seven years, Amore Bakery has been selling personalised cupcakes on a business-to-business basis from its rural Buckinghamshire HQ. And the company’s in-house delivery service has been a tremendous success for owner, Paulo Benfeito.

“Cupcakes are quite delicate,” he says. “If you use a courier service, they often end up getting damaged on their way to the customer. What sets Amore apart from our competitors is that we deliver all of our goods ourselves.”

But Benfeito wondered if there were a way of streamlining the cost of running the delivery side. So, in 2014, he bought a Tesla Model S to join his conventional diesel delivery van. He admits this sounds extravagant, joking: “Often, when we want something, we tell ourselves we need it.”

Read more: Auto Express