Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA), Ford Motor Company (F): Is This the Greatest American-Made Car Ever?

Tesla’s Model S. Photo credit: Tesla Motors.

The automotive industry has been using internal combustion engines to drive vehicles for more than a century, and the industry was begging to be disrupted by an innovative solution. Some have dubbed electric vehicles the ride of the future, but the likes of Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F)‘s Focus Electric and Nissan‘s Leaf leave something to be desired.

Then something happened – Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)‘s Model S took America by storm. People aren’t even sure how to classify it. Is it a sports car, a luxury car, an electric car, or all three combined? Whatever it’s classified under, there’s no mistaking that this could be the greatest American-made car ever. Here’s why.

Performance
Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s Model S performance delivers in a multitude of different ways. First, it delivers more driving range than the Leaf and the Focus Electric combined.

Graph by author. Information credit: Consumer Reports.

The extended driving range will enable Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) to build out its supercharger network wider and faster in the months and years to come. In a few short months it will already be possible to drive a Model S between our nation’s major metro areas and even diagonally from L.A. to New York.

As far as driving performance goes, Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s Model S could definitely be considered a sports car, with its top-spec model accelerating from 0 to 60 in 4.2 seconds. To put that in comparison, a 2001 Lamborghini Diablo VT 6.0 does 0 to 60 in the same 4.2 seconds. The Model S is even quicker to 60 mph than Porsche’s 2013 911 Carrera, which takes 4.3 seconds.

Typically, we don’t associate lightning-quick sports cars with being safe — and that’s something that separates the Model S yet again. It recently earned a five-star safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA. It topped the list in every subcategory, and its overall Vehicle Safety Score achieved a new combined record of 5.4 stars, according to Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s press release. This might not only be the greatest American-made car ever, but it could also be the safest.

I’m not the only one insanely impressed by the revolutionary EV. Motor Trend unanimously voted the Tesla Model S as its “2013 Car of the Year.” Consumer Reports said the flashy EV is “off the charts” and gave it a stunning 99 out of 100 points in the magazine’s tests — one of the highest scores it’s ever given.