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Electrify ing Carmel
I
Teslas are the Talk of the Town
B Y M I C H A E L C H AT F I E L D
s it possible that an automobile Motor Trend calls a "rocket ship"
can also be handed "the best safety rating of any car ever tested" by
the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration?
Sure looks that way. Tesla Motors' 2014 Model S sedan is fast. Really fast.
Carmel restaurateur Rich Pèpe, no stranger to high-speeds, is awestruck
by the performance of his Model S P85.
"If this car had wings, it would most certainly fly," he says. But is it safe?
In 2013, the game-changing vehicle received five stars in every NHTSA
test category, enabling Elon Musk, the manufacturer's never-understated
founder, to issue this statement: "…the Model S is safer in an accident than
any other vehicle without exception."
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