Tesla Model S

featured Wiki of the Day

fWotD Episode 2927: Tesla Model S
Welcome to Featured Wiki of the Day, your daily dose of knowledge from Wikipedia's finest articles.
The featured article for Saturday, 10 May 2025, is Tesla Model S.
The Tesla Model S is a battery-electric, four-door full-size car produced by the American automaker Tesla since 2012. The automaker's second vehicle and longest-produced model, critics have called the Model S one of the most significant and influential electric cars in the industry. It is the recipient of numerous accolades, including the Motor Trend Car of the Year Award in 2013.
Tesla started developing the Model S around 2007 under the codename WhiteStar. Initially, Henrik Fisker was appointed as the lead designer for the WhiteStar project; after a dispute with Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO, Fisker was replaced by Franz von Holzhausen. By 2008, von Holzhausen had designed what would become the production Model S's exterior. Tesla unveiled a prototype of the vehicle in March 2009 in Hawthorne, California. In 2010, Tesla acquired a facility in Fremont, California, to produce the Model S, which was previously owned by General Motors and Toyota. Series manufacture of the car officially began at what is now known as the Tesla Fremont Factory in June 2012. Tesla carried out the final assembly for European markets at its facilities in Tilburg, the Netherlands, between 2013 and 2021.
All versions of the Model S come equipped with a single-speed transmission. The car initially used an alternating current induction motor, which was replaced by a permanent magnet synchronous reluctance motor in 2019. Constructed mostly of aluminum, the Model S shares 30 percent of its components with the Model X—a crossover SUV that was introduced in 2015. The Model S has undergone several updates during its production, the most prominent ones occurring in 2016 and 2021. These updates have usually included modifications to the motor, such as changes to power or torque, revised exterior elements, and refreshed interior features. One such change included the introduction of Tesla Autopilot—a partial vehicle automation advanced driver-assistance system—which was released in 2015. To charge the Model S, Tesla operates a network of fast-charging stations.
In 2015, the Model S was the world's best-selling plug-in electric vehicle. In 2012, it was included on Time's list of the Best Inventions of the Year, and the magazine later included it on its list of the 10 Best Gadgets of the 2010s in 2019. In 2014, The Daily Telegraph described the Model S as a "car that changed the world". Road & Track argued that, with the introduction of the Model S Plaid—the high-performance version of the vehicle—and features such as the yoke steering wheel, Tesla managed to turn the Model S into "perhaps one of the worst [cars in the world]." Some companies have customized the Model S into limited-edition body styles, including a hearse and a shooting brake.
This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:30 UTC on Saturday, 10 May 2025.
For the full current version of the article, see Tesla Model S on Wikipedia.
This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.
Follow us on Mastodon at @[email protected].
Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.
Until next time, I'm neural Kimberly.