Tesla Model S History
Catalog record
This is a brief catalog introduction with limited source documentation. A licensed, identity-checked lead photograph has not yet been added for this page. Detailed year, configuration and ownership coverage must be identified separately; this page is not a complete vehicle catalog.
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The Model S was Tesla's first car built entirely in-house — a full-size, four-door liftback with a mostly aluminium body, designed under Franz von Holzhausen and built at Tesla's Fremont, California factory (the former NUMMI plant). Deliveries began in June 2012, and it was named Motor Trend's 2013 Car of the Year.
Its skateboard battery layout (a flat pack in the floor) gave it a low center of gravity, huge interior space, and a front trunk. Over its life it offered an expanding ladder of trims — 60, 75, 85, the dual-motor all-wheel-drive 85D and P85D, then the 100D and P100D — with range and acceleration that repeatedly reset expectations for an electric car. A 2016 facelift dropped the faux grille for a smooth nose and added LED headlights.
A 2021 'Palladium' overhaul brought a new interior with an optional yoke steering wheel and introduced the tri-motor Plaid, with about 1,020 hp and a sub-two-second 0–60 mph claim. After nearly 14 years on sale, Tesla ended Model S production in May 2026.
Generations
Pre-facelift · Original (nosecone)
The original Model S with the black nosecone grille; introduced the 60/85 and the dual-motor P85D, plus the Autopilot hardware that arrived in 2014.
2014 Photo: “2014 Tesla Motors Model S (front view) Netherlands.jpg” by free photos & art / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 2.0
2015 Photo: “2015 Tesla Model S hatchback (24364892816).jpg” by Jeremy from Sydney, Australia / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 2.0
2016 Photo: “2016 Tesla Model S P90D hatchback (25583357226).jpg” by Jeremy from Sydney, Australia / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 2.0
Facelift · Refreshed front fascia
Smooth grille-less nose and LED headlights; home of the 100-kWh cars (100D, P100D) and the 'Ludicrous' acceleration mode.
2016 Photo: “2016 Tesla Model S 75 Front.jpg” by Vauxford / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
2018 Photo: “2018 Tesla Model S 75D.jpg” by Vauxford / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
Palladium refresh · Plaid era
New interior with optional yoke steering wheel and the tri-motor ~1,020-hp Plaid, one of the quickest-accelerating production cars ever sold.
2021 Photo: “2021 Tesla Model S P2 Long Range front right view.jpg” by Dllu / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
Body styles
- Liftback sedan
Notable special editions & performance variants
P85D
First dual-motor all-wheel-drive performance Model S; introduced the 'Insane' and later 'Ludicrous' acceleration modes.
P100D
100-kWh performance flagship; in Ludicrous mode it was among the quickest-accelerating production cars of its day.
Plaid
Tri-motor flagship with about 1,020 hp and a claimed 0–60 mph under two seconds; 200-mph top speed.
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