Remembering the Tesla Model S After Production EndedMarc Urbano - Car and DriverTesla has officially ended production of the Model S sedan and Model X SUV.Both electric cars changed the automotive industry and how people think about EVs.We've tested myriad Model S models, from the very first car in 2012 to the 1020-hp Plaid variant, and one was also the first EV subjected to our long-term test.Fourteen years ago, the idea of an electric car was widely considered completely nerdy. No shade on the original Nissan Leaf, but that EV had cribbed its personality from the first-generation Prius, environmentally conscious motoring blended with the sex appeal of an orthopedic shoe. Then, suddenly, a bolt from the blue struck the earth."The reality is that most electric cars simply haven't been very good," we wrote in our first instrumented test of the Model S back in 2012. "The Model S gets the job done. It's attractive, comfortable, fast, practical, technically fascinating, and not overpriced. Most important, it's not just a good electric vehicle, it's a good car."A.J. Mueller - Car and DriverAnd now, it's dead. As of this past weekend, the last Model S and Model X were built at Tesla's Fremont, California, production line. The company now leans on the Model 3 and Model Y as its bread-and-butter cars, with the Fremont facility now pivoting to produce a theoretical army of robots.AdvertisementAdvertisementWith Tesla, projections about what the company might do are a lot hazier than what it actually does. Happily, with the Model S and Model X, it's easy to examine a legacy that entirely transformed the automotive industry. If Tesla as a company collapsed tomorrow, the Model S would still be counted among the most influential cars ever built, right up there with the Ford Model T and the Porsche 911.A 2015 Model S P85D was the first electric vehicle to undergo a Car and Driver long-term test, and despite a hefty $136,720 price, we came away impressed. The car's performance and features delivered in spades, but Tesla's real ace in the hole here was its growing charging network. In just under two years with the car, this grew from 188 locations in the United States to 325. Now, there are more than 3000 Tesla Superchargers in the continental U.S.As for the Model S itself, the biggest compliment that could have been paid to it was the imitation of other automakers. Electrification was long a fascination of Ferdinand Porsche, who put light bulbs in his parents' home at the age of 18 and built a functioning electric vehicle before the dawn of the 20th century. Yet Porsche's first mass-produced EV, the Taycan, was a response to the Model S, not a pioneering effort.Marc Urbano - Car and DriverSince then, the public has come to accept that electric vehicles may have potential limitations with range and reliance on charging networks, depending on where they are driven, but their performance can't be argued with. When the 1020-hp Model S Plaid turned up in 2021, its acceleration was brutally effective.AdvertisementAdvertisementBut the claimed top speed of 200 mph was a bit of a stretch. The car was electronically governed to 163 mph, and if you actually wanted to go that fast in a Model S, on a track or the autobahn, you'd really want the additional braking of the Track package that became available later. Even so, a 1000-hp sedan is a pretty stout riposte to any argument that EVs are glorified golf carts.Alongside this headline-grabbing EV, the Tesla Model X provided much of the same performance in a family-friendly SUV. It wasn't much of a looker, and the gullwing-style "falcon" rear doors were a child's idea of what a car should have. But imagine being eight years old and your parents' car has rear doors that fold like a spaceship and also something called Fart Mode. You might start to get interested in cars.Marc Urbano - Car and DriverThe Model S and Model X ended in a fashion befitting their long run, with a special invite-only delivery event postponed with barely three days' notice and no explanation. If nothing else, Tesla has proved that making promises is more profitable than keeping them, at least on a projected timeline.However, the Model S and X did mostly deliver as expected. They arrived with a seismic impact that forced change in the automotive industry. They changed the very meaning of performance with powerful battery-electric powertrains. They were desirable and fast, and they erased the image of EVs as compromised penalty boxes for green motoring. The original Model S was a four-wheeled crystal ball that previewed the future. And it got things mostly correct.AdvertisementAdvertisement➡️ Skip the lot. Let Car and Driver help you find your next car.Shop New Cars Shop Used CarsYou Might Also LikeGift Guide: Best Ride-On Electric Cars for KidsFuture Cars Worth Waiting For: 2025–2029