About Model S
The Tesla Model S is the car that convinced the world that electric vehicles could be desirable. When it arrived in 2012, it combined a sleek, spacious hatchback body, a huge touchscreen, a range that made long trips possible and acceleration that embarrassed sports cars. It won Motor Trend's Car of the Year award for 2013, and its success forced German luxury brands to accelerate their own electric programs. Few cars of its era did more to change the direction of an entire industry.
Over its long life, the Model S evolved constantly. Dual-motor all-wheel drive arrived in 2014, followed by the Ludicrous mode that made the car one of the quickest production sedans ever built. A facelift removed the fake grille, and in 2021 a major update brought a new interior with a yoke-style steering wheel, later made optional, and the tri-motor Plaid, with more than 1,000 horsepower and acceleration that few hypercars could match. Critics pointed to aging interiors, build-quality issues and the yoke, but loyal owners kept their cars for years.
Tesla announced in early 2026 that the Model S and Model X would be discontinued, with production at Fremont ending soon afterward and the lines converted to build Optimus humanoid robots, a quiet end for the car that made Tesla. Service, parts and software support continue for the many cars still on the road. By the end, the Model S faced a crowd of rivals that it had essentially summoned into existence, among them the Porsche Taycan, the Mercedes-Benz EQS, the Lucid Air and the BMW i7, several of them engineered with the Tesla squarely in their sights.
The coverage now leans toward the Model S's legacy and its life on the used market: software updates, Full Self-Driving releases for older hardware, battery health and repair costs, recalls, resale values and collector interest in early Signature cars and other special versions. Expect stories about high-mileage examples still running on their original packs, Plaid drag races against hypercars costing several times as much and the lingering debate over whether Tesla will ever return to the luxury sedan it once owned outright.