Featured Image Credit: xlost_king_media/Instagram
Car Owner: that_tesla_life/Instagram

Tesla’s “Cheetah Stance” Launch Mode upgrade for the Raven Model S Performance adds over 40 horsepower to the flagship all-electric sedan at absolutely no cost. With this update, Tesla has emphasized the point that in the electric car era, performance upgrades can quite literally be downloaded over the air. 

Tesla owner and experienced drag racer Brooks Weisblat of the DragTimes YouTube channel recently got his hands on a Raven Tesla Model 3 Performance that was able to receive the new “Cheetah Stance” Launch Mode update. Cheetah Stance lowers the front of the vehicle just like the predator it’s named after, and it allows the Model S to launch even harder when its Ludicrous+ Mode is engaged. 

Being a veteran drag racer, Weisblat has a lot of experience racing Teslas. He also maintains a website called DragTimes.com, where drag racing enthusiasts can share their vehicles’ data with each other. This allows Brooks to have access to a lot of stats from many different cars, including the Raven Model S Performance, giving him a good background coming into his Cheetah Stance Launch Mode test. 

“Cheetah stance”??!! Wow. Love you @Tesla pic.twitter.com/1IGyVDOoMH

— KP (@Kimonas) April 9, 2020

To tap into the full power of the Model S, the veteran drag racer opted to charge the flagship sedan to 100%. According to the car’s owner, the Raven Model S Performance was able to show a peak power of 580 kW with Ludicrous+ Mode when it’s fully charged before it received the Cheetah Stance update. Based on VBOX and Dragy data from his multiple runs in the Raven Model S, Brooks noted that the vehicle is able to show a peak power of 614 kW, an increase of 46 hp, with the Cheetah Stance upgrade in place. 

This additional horsepower ultimately allowed the Raven Model S Performance to improve its 0-60 mph, 1/8-mile, and 1/4-mile times. Without the Cheetah Stance Launch Mode update, Brooks noted that a Raven Model S Performance could hit 60 mph in 2.47 seconds, completing the 1/8-mile in 6.77 seconds at 102.23 mph and the quarter-mile mark in 10.67 seconds at 124.70 mph. 

With the Cheetah Stance Launch Mode update, the Raven Model S Performance was able to go from 0-60 mph in 2.41 seconds, allowing the car to hit the 1/8-mile mark in 6.71 seconds at 103.55 mph and the 1/4-mile in 10.54 seconds at 127.5 mph. In a drag race, this improvement can be the difference maker between victory and defeat. The additional 46 hp that Tesla added to the Raven Model S Performance is no joke, and owners of the vehicle are getting it for free with a simple software update. 

Tesla’s software updates are a game-changer in the auto industry. Currently unrivaled, Teslas’s cars are the only vehicles today that receive updates on a regular basis, and together with them, new features and performance boosts. This is a key difference-maker in the auto market, and it’s one that can make Tesla into one of the most prominent players in the industry. 

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