What's the news?
Hot on the heels of the staggering success of the new Model 3 (325,000 advance orders and climbing) Tesla is giving its flagship Model S saloon a major update.
The biggest change is to its face, where the old radiator grille (which was a bit pointless as electric cars don't have radiators, at least not in the conventional sense) has given way to a blank plate look, similar to that seen on the Model X SUV and the Model 3. I guess Tesla has reached a point of maturity where it can actually have a corporate 'face' for its cars.
The new look should help with the car's aerodynamic performance as well, and it should help it score some extra points on the EuroNCAP pedestrian impact test. (Although Tesla has just had to issue a recall for the Model X to fit beefed up third-row seat mountings, as one broke under European impact testing last week.)
There are some small tweaks to the lights too (which are now all-LED units, while at the back the rear light lenses are slightly altered, mostly to make the flap for the recharging point a bit less obvious.
On the technical front, the on-board charging system now runs on a 48-amp system, which will speed up charging times a little, while the Model S can now be had with the same HEPA bacteria-filtering air conditioning system as seen on the Model S.
Inside there are some detail trim changes (mostly just new wood finish options) and a new Easter Egg in the big instrument panel display. Click the cruise control button a couple of times in quick succession and it makes it look as if your Model S is driving on the Rainbow Road from Super Mario Kart. Along with the Ludicrous Speed option and the secret James Bond Lost Esprit submarine graphic hidden in the menu system, it proves that Tesla has as much of a sense of humour as it does leadership in the electric car field.