Verdict
B
Luxury Saloon · USA · 2012-Present
Tesla Model S
Tesla Model S — spec data and generation history.
Years
2012-Present
Generations
2
Segment
Luxury Saloon
Tesla's full-size luxury saloon — the car that proved EVs could be desirable, fast and long-range. Launched 2012, UK from 2014 with right-hand drive. 2021 refresh brought yoke steering wheel (or round, post-2023), updated cabin, and the 1,020 bhp Plaid tri-motor halo. Long Range AWD and Plaid AWD only on current cars. 100 kWh battery (Long Range), 670+ km range. Cabin minimalism sets the template all Teslas follow. Build quality has improved but rear-wheel arches still rust on early cars, and the falcon-wing-door Model X sits on the same platform.
What changed
Era-to-era deltas
Original 2012-2021 → Plaid Refresh 2021-Present
BHP +260 bhp (Plaid)
0–60 mph −0.5 s (Plaid)
Top speed +45 mph (Plaid)
Steering wheel yoke (now optional)
Cabin redesigned
Generations
Click any generation for the full deep dive
2012-2021
Original
→
P100D Ludicrous+ — 762 bhp, 0-60 in 2.5s.
Verdict
B
BHP
762
0–60
2.5 s
Top
155 mph
MPG
0 mpg
Used
$19,000-$70,000
- + The car that mainstreamed the EV
- + Best Supercharger network
- − Air-spring failures on older cars
- − Door handle motor failures
2021-Present
Plaid Refresh
→
Plaid tri-motor — 1,020 bhp, 0-60 in 1.99s.
Verdict
B
BHP
1020
0–60
1.99 s
Top
200 mph
MPG
0 mpg
Used
$70,000-$133,000
- + Plaid — fastest production saloon ever made
- + Yoke now optional (round wheel from 2023)
- − Yoke still divisive
- − Plaid drive-unit cooler leaks
Known issues by generation
Common faults reported on each generation — useful when shopping the used market.
2012-2021 · Original
- Door handle motor failures (flush handles)
- Air-spring failures (early cars)
- MCU eMMC failure (pre-2018)
- Battery pack contactor faults
- Drive-unit "milling" noise on early P85
2021-Present · Plaid Refresh
- Yoke steering wheel polarising
- New cabin trim creaks (early build)
- Plaid drive-unit oil-cooler leaks
- Wireless phone-charger overheats on top trim
Rivals
Mercedes EQS · Porsche Taycan · BMW i7 · Lucid Air