Here’s Why I Think Tesla Is The Future Of Automobiles, Even In Pakistan
When it comes to luxury automobiles, Pakistan is no alien to the concept. We have seen cars that cost a fortune to own like Ferrari, Lamborghini, Rolls-Royce, etc. on the roads of Pakistan. The “right” people here have the “right” kind of money to even bring the McLaren P1 in the country.
But today is not the day to talk about the hypothetical P1 in Pakistan, today I am going to talk about a car company which is going to change the dynamics of the automotive industry in the days to come. The automaker in question is the Tesla Motors Inc.
Founded in 2003 by Elon Musk in California, the Tesla Motors initially sold electrical components for automobiles until 2011, when they rolled out their first production Electric Vehicle (EV), which was a sports car.
Tesla has surely stunned the automobile industry in the recent years with their technological development, which reflects in their current production vehicle, the Model S. Just to give an overview, the top of the line Model S P85D would reach 100km/h in just 3.2 seconds and would keep on climbing up to 250km/h. These are super car figures from a car that you can charge overnight at your home.
Technology:
We all know that the laptops we use are powered by Lithium Ion (Li-ion) batteries, in case you didn’t know that, well, now you do. Tesla, on the other hand has put the Li-ion batteries to a better use and used as much as a thousand of them to power their Model S.
Yes, the super-fast 4 door sedan uses batteries from a laptop with just a difference of a chemical added to them which prevents them from catching fire in case of a crash. The battery system is embedded on the cars floor, protected by a .25 in of aluminum alloy of armor grade which will protect the batteries from hazards.
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, has vowed the technology patents of his company to be used by any firm in good faith, just to give the automotive industry a new era of mass producing the EV’s for a sustainable source that powers the transportation world. Good guy Elon!
Models:
Released in 2011, the roadster was the first ever sports car that was solely powered by electricity. With performance stats of reaching 100km/h in just under 4 seconds and top speed of 200km/h the roadster was surely a hit in the market but being electric, it lacked the spirit of a true sports car. The company claimed that the Roadster would do 200 miles in a single charge, but in the Australia’s Annual Global Green Challenge that year, a driver named Simon Hacket drove it the entire 313miles (504km’s) segment in just a single charge. The Roadster was base priced $109,000 and the flagship was $128,000, both having a difference of battery capacity.
Tesla announced the Model S in June 2008 and exactly 4 years later, the first Model S was sold to a retail customer. The Model S was an immense hit in the US and surrounding areas with sales surpassing a figure of 46,000 units until mid-2014. The more shocking new, well, it was the bestselling full sized luxury sedan among the Mercedes Benz S Klasse, The BMW 7 series and the Audi A8.
The interior of the Model S has a very exclusive vibe. From the multi-display speedo to the 17” touch screen, angled towards the driver for effortless use and best interaction. Covered in pure Nappa leather, the interior is as luxurious as any Mercedes or BMW.
The performance figures of the top of the line P85D sedan are unbelievable. It accelerates to 100km/h in just 3.2 seconds in the ‘Insane’ mode.
YES, you read that right. There’s a normal driving mode for more miles, a sports mode for sporty drive and then comes the INSANE mode where all the 691 HP of electric power and 860 lb. /ft. of torque are at your disposal in just ONE gear. Despite of having all this power, the P85D would do 250 miles (400km) in a single charge.
These figures are super car stuff and you get these at less than half their price and you STILL save so much more in the long term, given it doesn’t burn a single drop of gasoline in its entire life.
The other 2 models have less power but more battery life and cost less than the P85D.
The model S comes with so much more options to make you feel like you’re living in the 23rd century. There’s an autopilot feature that will drive the car for you in traffic, navigate you through unknown areas, park itself, come out of your drive way to meet you at the curb, remind you of your meetings and schedules, and what not. These items look kind of standard, given that some of these technologies are already provided by the Germans, but, their cars cannot be charged overnight and give pretty long trips in one charge.
Moreover, Tesla provides a ‘Super Charging’ option. NO, it isn’t a blower; it’s already very fast for God’s sake. It’s just a device that’ll allow you to charge your Tesla in under 30 minutes for the next 200 miles. The Super Charging can only be done at a Tesla Super Charger station, whose network is growing steadily throughout the US.
Prices of the Model S start from $69,900 for the baseline 85, $93,400 for the performance version 85D, and finally, the insanely fast P85D for $105,670. All of these come with battery warranties and super charging options.
Why I want Tesla in Pakistan:
As all of you have read above, the Tesla is an immensely beautiful, literally practical and insanely fast car. The top of the line model costing $105,670, which makes a PKR equivalent of Rs. 1 crore and 6 lacs. People here spend above 2 or even 3 crores on the gas guzzling Mercedes, BMWs and Porsches. Why not spend less than that and get this?
It’ll travel 400 km without any hassle, the power would be so much fun and what’s missing? NOTHING at all. You’ll save so much on gas money as well. Also, most of the upgrades that Tesla gets are online and are installed via the software update. YES, you can update a Tesla like you can update your Android or iOS devices.
The mechanical faults, well, let’s not be pessimists that the Tesla would break down here. The Ferraris and Lamborghinis we have here have never disappointed us, rather, they’ve been spotted with couple of people pushing them because the owners decided to run them out of fuel. Even if the faults occur, you can send them over to Dubai. You own a Tesla for heaven’s sake! You can’t afford doing that?
Now, I know most of you will literally want to grab my throat and tell me that you cannot get an electric car’s clearance from the Pakistan Customs, but I believe that the time isn’t far when they’ll consider the electric cars clearance. The time is very near my friends.
Here’s an interesting comparison between a Tesla Model S and a Mercedes Benz that makes equivalent power to the Tesla.
The most powerful Mercedes Benz, i.e. the S600, powered by a mighty twin turbo 6.0 V12 makes 523 BHP. The EPA estimated combined MPG it delivers is 21 which means 9km/l. 0-100 takes almost 5 seconds and the top speed is limited to 132mph. The most important part is the price. The S600 costs $167,825 which is 1 crore and 70 lacs, which is just the cost alone, the custom duties would make it cost a fortune here. The Tesla, on the other hand makes 167 BHP more, takes 1.8 seconds less to hundred and costs a whole 64 lacs less and the MPG equivalent in US is 94. This means, 40km/l equivalent of electric unit price converted into fuel price. Even the most powerful Tesla’s running cost would be less than the cost of running a Toyota Prius here.
So, as I have mentioned every detail about the Tesla in this article, I hope everyone is convinced to see a very potential super car by Tesla in the ‘near’ future.