Tesla’s ‘Ludicrous Plus’ mode is nothing to laugh at: 0-60 mph under 2.5 seconds

Tesla’s Model S P100D was already the quickest car to 60 mph currently on sale, but the California company has released a software tweak that unleashes even more performance.

The software tweak is part of Tesla’s most recent over-the-air software update and, when the correct steps are taken, unleashes a more potent performance mode than the existing Ludicrous mode. Tesla owners have nicknamed this mode Ludicrous Plus.

With Ludicrous mode, the Model S P100D will sprint from 0-60 mph in 2.5 seconds. But in a Tweet made in November, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the more potent mode should see the car hit 60 mph in 2.4 seconds and complete the quarter mile in 10.6 seconds.

In this video from DragTimes, we get a demonstration of the steps involved in activating Ludicrous Plus mode. Among the changes is an increase in battery temperature to 122 degrees F (50 degrees C) and a 33-horsepower boost in peak power. It should be noted that activating the mode brings up the warning it will cause “accelerated wear of the motor, gearbox and battery.”

DragTimes managed to get the car to hit 60 mph in 2.46 seconds. With additional testing at the drag strip, we might see that number drop to the 2.40 seconds claimed by Musk. Still, fellow electric car company Faraday Future has demonstrated that its FF 91 due out in 2018 can hit 60 mph in 2.39 seconds.

This post first appeared on Motor Authority.