It looks like the future with noiseless electric cars glimmering with lots of neon lights is right behind breathing down our necks. And thought it did not last for a long time, Tesla Model S electric cars outsold the traditional cars in Norway. All in all, they became surprisingly popular in the Scandinavian countries. Chilly climate and a rather long winter period should not be favourable for battery-powered vehicles; however, the facts prove otherwise. Due to the victorious march on the markets of the Northern Europe, Tesla CEO Elon Musk went there on tour, occasionally unveiling the company’s upcoming premiers.
Among other things, Musk said that the launch of Model X crossover production will start in April-May 2015. At the same time Model S featuring all-wheel drive will become available, which is hardly a surprise as both models have the same base line. However, introducing all-wheel drive is accompanied by adding one more powerplant. We are yet to learn how it will affect the price of the Model S AWD.
On the other hand, in the beginning of the next year a new high capacity battery will become available for the sedan. Model S can already be configured with different battery types — the capacity of the largest battery is 85 kWh. The sedan can travel 480 km powered by such battery. It approximately corresponds to the average mileage of a mid-size sedan travelled on a single tank of fuel.
But as stated by Tesla’s chief, there are customers who find this distance range insufficient. In one year the line will be featuring new batteries with even higher capacity.
Meanwhile, the market of used electric cars goes through a rather peculiar process. The used vehicles produced by Tesla Motors cost 15–30 % more than the new ones! According to company’s representatives, the reason for that lies in the fact that many customers do not want to spend time in the waiting line and are ready to pay extra in order to get the car “here and now”.
