Tesla’s Model S P100D can already match the still unreleased Faraday Future FF91’s top 0 to 60 mph time, and that’s using a stock car with software available to any driver right now. The Ludicrous+ software Easter Egg update pushed out by the automaker late last year has resulted in a 0 to 60 mph time of just 2.389 seconds, a hair faster than Tesla’s own claims about its current fastest time for the standard acceleration measurement distance. The P100D used in the tests was not modified in any way, either on the software or the hardware side, according to Tesla Racing Channel, which posed the run to its YouTube channel. Electrek notes that this means a current, street legal production Tesla car can already beat Faraday’s own claims of a 2.3-second time for its FF91, which is a time achieved also with a modified interior designed to cut some weight and make the concept car a bit faster than the eventual shipping version. Tesla hasn’t really made any direct responses to Faraday Future, which called out its electric rival on stage and even went so far as to bring out both a Model S and a Model X for a time trial at its splash Las Vegas reveal of the car. But Musk noted that he thinks a 2.3-second time is theoretically possible for a stock Model S with the Ludicrous+ update, based on Motor Trend’s testing standards, and this demonstration from a third party certainly makes that seem well within reach. Most people will never use this feature and it’s probably not great for things that you want on the vehicle like tires. But it’s a measure EV makers have chosen to rally around and it’s fun to watch. Plus, FF still has to ship that car for which it has made those impressive acceleration claims, and when it does it seems increasingly like the FF91 will cost somewhere just south of $300,000. Now that’s Ludicrous+.
Hold onto your hat while you immerse yourself in a spectacular 360-degree view of a powerful NASA engine during a blazing hot-fire test. NASA's RS-25 engine is an absolute beast. The space agency posted a 360-degree video last week showing the engine during a hot-fire test in Mississippi on February 22. The engine kicks in like an angry dragon, sending smoke, fire and water flying hard enough to completely cover one of the camera views. The engine delivered 512,000 pounds of thrust during the test. Eventually, it will team up with three other RS-25 engines to provide 2 million pounds of thrust to power NASA's Space Launch System, the agency's most powerful rocket. NASA describes the SLS as "an advanced launch vehicle for a new era of exploration beyond Earth's orbit into deep space." The SLS will eventually power both crew and cargo missions. NASA hopes to launch the first flight test in 2018 with an Orion spacecraft attached. The video serves as a highlight reel for the hot-fire test, and it's thrilling to immerse yourself in the sounds and visuals of the engine's fury. Now just imagine being an astronaut rocketing into space with four of these attached to your spacecraft... By Amanda Kooser - cnet