When Will The Presidential Limo Become A Tesla Electric Car?When Will The Presidential Limo Become A Tesla Electric Car?

Forgive us a Friday fantasy, if you will.
We’re looking forward a few years to a Request For Proposals issued by the Secret Service for a future presidential limousine.
There’s already a proposal out to replace the current limo, known as “The Beast,” that’s been used by President Barack Obama since 2009.
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But we’re thinking about the one after that–the one that will go into service around, say, 2025.
We think it should be a heavily adapted Tesla electric car.
Using an all-electric, silent, emission-free vehicle to transport PoTUS in public conveys a message that underscores several things.
Tesla presidential limo rendering
It nods to the entrepreneurial spirit that makes the U.S. a preferred location for starting new businesses. Think Apple, and Google, and Facebook … and Tesla Motors.
It clearly telegraphs the message that luxury, comfort, and blazing performance can all be combined in a vehicle that has absolutely no emissions. Indeed, no tailpipe at all.
And it would associate the White House with a brand that has far more global cool factor than Cadillac or Lincoln, the two most recent badges affixed to the custom-built conveyances known as presidential limos.
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The current “Beast” is apparently built on a GMC truck chassis, with a custom-designed body that nods to the upright, square-cut lines of Cadillac DTS circa 2009.
That car’s successor, the Cadillac XTS, will apparently not be replaced after its production run ends, as Cadillac continues its 15-year effort to reposition itself globally as a genuine U.S. luxury competitor to Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz.
Tesla’s cars, meanwhile, are already driven by captains of industry and car aficionados around the world (even if the company has so far been challenged establishing itself in China).
The Beast Presidential Limo from White House Down
We can, of course, imagine the howling and snickering from those who think that an electric car wouldn’t be capable of meeting the special requirements of protecting The Leader Of The Free World.
But with the cost-performance ratio of lithium-ion cells improving at about 7 percent a year, we figure that by 2025, the engineers at Tesla Motors should be able to construct a fully protected, IED-impervious, high-performance battery pack capable of P85D-like blistering acceleration, all the power needed to run multiple redundant life-support and communications systems, and still provide a range of 100 miles or more.
Because, let’s face it, how far does The Beast really travel in a single outing?
Besides, by 2025, we can imagine a security detail casing and then closing down the nearest Tesla Supercharger location for a “special visit” along a nearby route if required.
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We embarked on these musings courtesy of Jalopnik, which noted in February that Vice President Joe Biden’s motorcade during a European tour included a Tesla Model S.
Why? Because it was American-made, of course.
So we figure the next Beast, the one that will go into service with the president who takes office in January 2017, will be another iteration of the old-fashioned, truck-based, combustion-engined vehicle we’ve all seen on TV.
After that, we hope the country and those charged with protecting its President could go for something a little more 21st-century.
[NOTE TO COMMENTERS: We welcome your thoughts on this article. Please omit any references to past, present, and future occupants of the White House and any contenders for that seat. This is an article about a car, not about politics. Thank you in advance for keeping the discussions civil and respectful.]
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