Spotted – Tesla “Raven” Model S with upgraded range, motors and suspension

One of the first upgraded electric Model S vehicles with longer range and adaptive suspension, code-named “Raven” by the electric carmaker, has been spotted in a Tesla showroom at Walnut Creek in California.

Thanks to a reworked, more efficient Model 3 permanent magnet rear wheel drive unit on the front axle, the new “Raven” Model S has a range of nearly 600km, making it the longest range electric car around, according to the carmaker.

Along with its SUV stablemate the Model X, the Model S received in April a number of upgrades including longer range, faster charging and adaptive suspension.

The black electric sedan was spotted by Twitter Chad Mortensen, who posted images on the social media channel on Monday (US time).

At first unsure if it was a Raven, Mortensen was assured by a Tesla “sales associate” that it indeed was.

The vehicle pictured, which is the Performance version of the premium electric sedan, confirms that it is a Raven by virtue of the fact that the Dual Motor badge has a red underline.

Additionally, there has been a style update on the headlights, as pointed out by fellow Tweep Walter MacVane.

The adaptive suspension of the Raven allows for two modes, referred to as Standard or Sport.

Whereas the standard suspension mode delivers a “softer and more fluid ride” (as confirmed in Youtuber DÆrik‘s video on the Raven below), sport mode offers a “firmer, more controlled ride that increases driver engagement and connection to the road”.

As with its predecessor, the Raven offers suspension lowering settings allowing the driver to choose whether to lower the suspension automatically at higher speeds, or always or never lower the vehicle (earlier models used to do this automatically and these settings were added later in a firmware update).

The new adaptive suspension system was also made available for owners of earlier Model S vehicles via a firmware update.

The new, upgraded Model S and X, however, have a one-up on previous models, with a superior charging rate of up to 200kW allowing the vehicles to charge 50 per cent faster than before.

The specifications for the Raven were first introduced by the EV maker via its online blog in April 2019.

While Tesla confirmed at the time that the Raven would go into production straight away and was available for order from April 23, 2019, this is the first time we’ve seen it reported in-store.

CEO and founder of Tesla, Elon Musk, has said since the Raven announcement that it will not be long before Tesla can deliver even more range of up to 650km.

Note: This article has been updated to reflect that it is a Performance model captured in the photos.