Starting at £50,000 for the latest ‘S’ model, Tesla’s all-electric cars are gradually getting more affordable. You wouldn’t regard the ‘S’ as cheap, but for a sleek executive saloon, it matches its combustion-engine rivals on price. The ‘S’ also costs substantially less than the £87,945 asked for the original Roadster model of 2009.

But £50k to join the all-electric club is still quite steep, no matter how much of a trendsetter you want to be. More compelling reasons are required. And without question, Tesla’s multi-billionaire co-founder Elon Musk has provided them.

Free Range

The first great reason is the range. The latest S models can take you up to 270 miles on a single charge – a little less than a Jaguar XF. But of course, while filling up an XF will set you back the cost of a posh meal for two, UK and European Tesla owners can re-charge their cars for free, using one of more than 700 superchargers set up by the firm.

But while getting 270 miles of range for free in just 20 minutes sounds fantastic, using a domestic power point will take a lot longer – providing just 6 miles of range per hour charged.

That grumble aside, looking at the Model S range, it’s easy to see how much electric cars could bring down the cost of motoring.

Engines(s)

The engine itself is a surprisingly small affair in the basic Model S, tucked away as it is somewhere behind the rear seats. The top-end P85D boasts two motors, delivering all-wheel-drive performance.

Battery

What isn’t so small is the battery. It takes up the entire floor, and can push the basic Tesla S to 120mph, going from 0-60 in just 5.9sec in the process.

The top-of-the-range P85D, however, can hit 155mph and reach 60mph from standstill in just 3.2 seconds. And let’s just remind ourselves – this is an electric car.

Knight Rider technology

But Musk and company didn’t stop at amazing range, speed and acceleration. The high-end versions of the Tesla S would make Knight Rider envious.

The key, shaped like a little Tesla, automatically wakes the car up as you approach; there is no ignition. There are also no gears to worry about in a Tesla; you simply select ‘D’ and off you go.

While reviewers say driving the Tesla takes a little getting used to, it has been highly praised for its incredible acceleration, with overall performance comparable to the best high-end petrol-driven performance saloon.

Everything in the car is controlled via a huge multi-media screen on the dash.

Remote monitoring

And when you’re away from your prized electric car, you can keep tabs on it with your smartphone. A special app lets you know exactly where your ride is, and even what the inside air temperature is. But for the pranksters among us, most interesting is the ability to remotely open the sunroof or honk the horn from wherever you are.

Personal assistant

And much like the greatest personal assistant car of all time, Knight Rider’s Kit, this astonishing vehicle can even download your upcoming appointments and tell you, via your smartphone, when it’s time to leave for that dentist appointment or business meeting.

Any drawbacks to the ‘S’ range revolve around charging, which is not going to be convenient unless you live near one of the UK’s 20 supercharge points.

Nevertheless, the latest versions of the Tesla Model S are truly revolutionary. The combustion engine’s number could well be up.