Driven to extinction: Tesla Model S

Just last month we named the Tesla Model S as the second most significant sedan car of the last 70 years, beaten only by the longstanding excellence of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

Since that issue of Wheels went to press, Tesla has announced that production of right-hand-drive versions of the Model S have ended.

The Model S was the car that made Tesla’s reputation. Forget about the somewhat crude and troublesome Roadster that preceded it. The Model S showed that electric cars could be aspirational. First imports arrived here in Australia in 2014 and those who drove it had earmarked it as an outside bet for Wheels’ Car of the Year award.

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Here was a vehicle that could achieve 500km of range if you were careful at a time when a Nissan Leaf typically returned 120km.

Byron Mathioudakis noted that “the Tesla doesn’t so much hit the range ball out of the EV park as completely rewrite the rules.”

Ultimately, packaging, comfort and specification issues preventing the Model S from ascending to the very top step of the podium, that year’s winner being the first EV to claim the COTY crown in the shape of BMW’s also now departed i3. As good as the i3 was, it’s clear which of these two is the more historically significant car, something which is pointedly not one of COTY’s judging criteria, it ought to be noted.

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It’s not the first time Tesla has pulled the plug on Model S orders here. Prices and delivery times for the Model S were quietly deleted from Tesla Australia’s website back in 2021.

Customers who have placed a pre-order on a facelifted Model S, which went on sale in the US in 2021, have been offered a refund of their deposit and a credit towards a Model 3 sedan or Model Y SUV should they want to switch.

“Due to recent changes to the vehicle program, Model S will not be available in Right Hand Drive. Unfortunately this means your order is unable to be fulfilled and will be cancelled,” Tesla’s website states. “You will receive a full refund for any payments made,” it continues.

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Buyers in the UK and Japan will still be able to import left-hook versions of the facelifted Model S but that’s clearly not an option for Aussie customers.

If you want a Model S – or, indeed, its Model X SUV sibling – it’s the end of the road. It also raises significant questions as to if and when right-hand-drive versions of the long-awaited Cybertruck will arrive Down Under.

Meanwhile, we doff our hats to the magnificent Model S. Genuine game-changers don’t come by very often. Here’s one that will be remembered as one of the 21st Century’s most significant cars.

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Fast, faster, fastest?

It now seems somewhat quaint that we were all rather blown away in 2015 at the 4.4 second 0-100km/h performance of the Model S P85+.

That was followed by the P90D (2.6sec), the P100D (2.4sec) and, ultimately, the Plaid, which can rocket to 100km/h in a vanishing 2.3sec but which will no longer be officially imported to Australia. Shame.

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How many?

Telsa has been famously reticent about releasing sales figures, with the company reporting initially not to VFACTS but with an aggregated figure sent to the EV Council of Australia.

This finally changed in March 2022, by which time Model S supply had been strangled. In 2017, Tesla sold 1410 Model S and Model X cars, so the pre-COVID parc of Model S is likely to be around 3000 Aussie units.