# Tesla's Model S electric car "insane mode" button. Is this a good idea? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 29, 2015, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teslas-model-s-electric-car-insane-mode-button-is-this-a-good-idea/711212 "2015-01-29T07:51:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teslas-model-s-electric-car-insane-mode-button-is-this-a-good-idea/711212/41 "2015-01-31T01:51:27Z")
In “insane mode” and flat out how many trips down a quarter mile is a Tesla good for? Will its batteries outlast the tires on that Challenger? And why do most modern Chryslers look like off-brand die-cast models? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teslas-model-s-electric-car-insane-mode-button-is-this-a-good-idea/711212/42 "2015-01-31T02:06:49Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > electric induction motors (generally speaking) produce the _peak_ torque they’re capable of at stall (0 rpm) because that is where the slip is maximum. This does not mean they produce infinite torque at stall. Where did I say anything about infinite torque? I just said it was absurdly high, which it is. And that it requires electronics to control it, which it does. Your points about gear ratios are well-noted, but you can’t ignore the clutch or torque converter. All IC cars (aside from certain CVT types) must have some means of providing slip between the engine and wheels. These are wasteful mechanisms and not required by electric motors (though torque converters can actually provide more than the input torque when stalled). By my math, the Model S has a total gear ratio of ~14:1. So it’s like an IC car being in first gear all the time, which it can get away with because it “redlines” at ~16k RPM. That plus the already high torque from the motor makes it quite the beast off the line. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teslas-model-s-electric-car-insane-mode-button-is-this-a-good-idea/711212/43 "2015-07-18T02:27:40Z")
Tesla [just announced](http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/210238-tesla-motors-delivers-ludicrous-speed-upgrade-for-model-s-p85d) their “ludicrous speed” option. 0-60 in 2.8 seconds and a 10.9 s quarter mile. It _averages_ nearly 1 G of acceleration from 0 to 60. Pretty nuts. They also have a 90 kWh pack, which is a bit yawn inducing, but if they can continue increasing pack density by a few percent a year, it won’t be long before a 350+ mile range is the norm. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teslas-model-s-electric-car-insane-mode-button-is-this-a-good-idea/711212/44 "2015-07-18T16:24:39Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Do you really think that someone is going to use this button in the middle of the city? I absolutely do. Have you met people? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teslas-model-s-electric-car-insane-mode-button-is-this-a-good-idea/711212/45 "2015-07-18T16:31:01Z")
No, never met a person in my entire life. What do you expect when I only exist in the cloud? ---
**Author:** ![AtomicDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@AtomicDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AtomicDog)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teslas-model-s-electric-car-insane-mode-button-is-this-a-good-idea/711212/46 "2015-07-18T22:54:31Z")
“They’ve gone to plaid!” ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teslas-model-s-electric-car-insane-mode-button-is-this-a-good-idea/711212/47 "2015-07-18T23:22:56Z")
I wish Musk would develop a nuclear steamer. No more 10- to 30-minute starts from cold. Boiler boiling 24/7 because there’d be no need to shut it down; the fuel would last a decade or two whether the car was running or not. No more range anxiety _and_ lots of torque. Cars the size of '59 Cadillacs would be cheaper to run than Trabants and go 300 mph. Yes, the new, improved \*Atomic Imperial Imperator! \*Get yours today! ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2015, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teslas-model-s-electric-car-insane-mode-button-is-this-a-good-idea/711212/48 "2015-07-19T12:28:32Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > They also have a 90 kWh pack, which is a bit yawn inducing, but if they can continue increasing pack density by a few percent a year, it won’t be long before a 350+ mile range is the norm. Ironic, considering that’s the range they originally claimed the S had before people started calling them on it. Once people actually started driving them, they lowered it to 250 miles. Which is still pretty staggering for an electric car; that beats the competition by a factor of three, but still… ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2015, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teslas-model-s-electric-car-insane-mode-button-is-this-a-good-idea/711212/49 "2015-07-19T15:05:06Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > No, never met a person in my entire life. What do you expect when I only exist in the cloud? Oh well, okay. So, people regularly do things like getting liquored up and then getting behind the wheel of a car, or decide that a text is more important than actually looking at the road while they’re driving. With these behaviors people manage to kill about 10,000 innocent others a year and injure several times that. Given these types of things, there are definitely people who would think nothing of endangering others in a new way. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2015, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teslas-model-s-electric-car-insane-mode-button-is-this-a-good-idea/711212/50 "2015-07-19T16:03:41Z")
> [@Kenm](#): > > I wish Musk would develop a nuclear steamer. > > No more 10- to 30-minute starts from cold. Boiler boiling 24/7 because there’d be no need to shut it down; the fuel would last a decade or two whether the car was running or not. No more range anxiety _and_ lots of torque. > > Cars the size of '59 Cadillacs would be cheaper to run than Trabants and go 300 mph. > > Yes, the new, improved \*Atomic Imperial Imperator! \*Get yours today! And when there’s a huge accident resulting in a containment breach we’ll simply abandon that part of the 101 forever? I’m strangely OK with that. Let’s do it. Test market: Southern California. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2015, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teslas-model-s-electric-car-insane-mode-button-is-this-a-good-idea/711212/51 "2015-07-19T19:04:05Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > And when there’s a huge accident resulting in a containment breach we’ll simply abandon that part of the 101 forever? > > I’m strangely OK with that. Let’s do it. Test market: Southern California. I’m OK with it, too. Any so-called dangers are overblown to sell newspapers. That probe to Pluto’s travelled 4.67 billion miles without crashing into anything. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2015, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teslas-model-s-electric-car-insane-mode-button-is-this-a-good-idea/711212/52 "2015-07-19T19:45:47Z")
> [@Kenm](#): > > I’m OK with it, too. Any so-called dangers are overblown to sell newspapers. That probe to Pluto’s travelled 4.67 billion miles without crashing into anything. That’s only because your average American isn’t driving it and there isn’t any traffic in space. Put it in a car where some lady will be doing her makeup, eating a donut, and texting her bestie while driving it and the results will be quite different. ---
**Author:** ![bb49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b38774/32.png) [@bb49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bb49)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2015, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teslas-model-s-electric-car-insane-mode-button-is-this-a-good-idea/711212/53 "2015-07-19T23:42:41Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > I just love the fact that something in this world has an “insane mode” button. Me too, and because it drives the PC crowd insane. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2015, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teslas-model-s-electric-car-insane-mode-button-is-this-a-good-idea/711212/54 "2015-07-20T01:42:33Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > That’s only because your average American isn’t driving it and there isn’t any traffic in space. Put it in a car where some lady will be doing her makeup, eating a donut, and texting her bestie while driving it and the results will be quite different. Was that the whoosh of a nuclear car speeding past? ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2015, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teslas-model-s-electric-car-insane-mode-button-is-this-a-good-idea/711212/55 "2015-07-20T03:20:41Z")
Probably. I’ll get over it. ---
**Author:** ![Krouget](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b38774/32.png) [@Krouget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krouget)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2015, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teslas-model-s-electric-car-insane-mode-button-is-this-a-good-idea/711212/56 "2015-07-20T14:03:57Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Do you really think that someone is going to use this button in the middle of the city? They’re not. But they might try it on an open highway. Well, since this came back up, [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKFi53Cxgqc) is a video of it happening in a city. And interestingly enough, it’s both the P85D and the faster Z06 I mentioned in post #5. Go figure. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teslas-model-s-electric-car-insane-mode-button-is-this-a-good-idea/711212.md?page=2)