Coming Soon

Tesla Model S 1st Gen

2012–2026 · sedan

Tesla's executive sedan and the car that proved the EV pitch could work in volume. Aluminum-intensive monocoque, skateboard battery pack, single-motor RWD (early) or dual-motor AWD (most of the run). Battery options from 40kWh (rare early) through 60/70/75/85/90/100kWh and now 100kWh Plaid. Performance variants: Performance, P85D, P90D, P100D, and the current Plaid (tri-motor, 1,020hp, sub-2-second 0-60). Major refreshes: 2016 (facelift, removed nose cone), 2021 (Plaid refresh with yoke steering wheel and 17-inch landscape screen). Sold continuously since June 2012 deliveries.

Watch out: Multiple well-documented patterns by era. (1) MCU1 eMMC NAND flash storage on pre-2018 cars fails, the unit can wear out and the screen/cluster go dark; Tesla offered a paid retrofit. (2) AC compressor on 2013-2015 cars is a known failure mode. (3) Drive-unit 'milling' noise on early cars led to repeated warranty unit swaps. (4) Door handles (the pop-out kind on early cars) need motor/microswitch repairs. (5) Suspension control arms had a TSB/recall. Pre-purchase: check MCU version, battery state-of-charge curve, and full Tesla service history.