The latest version of its all-electric plug-in, the Model S, for instance, features two electric motors.

Hence, it's called the Model S Dual Motor.

Neither does Tesla have any qualms about spruiking its performance potential, so when discussing the selectable drive modes (of which there are three) Tesla has again resorted to the truth.

Where most car-makers opt for something nebulous like Sport-Plus or Dynamic, Tesla has gone for the jugular of truth and called its top-whack driving mode, wait for it, Insane mode.

Insane? Well, if you consider a 2500kg luxury sedan marching from a standing start to 100km in a claimed 3.3 seconds (as fast as the fastest supercars and faster than most) then insane is hardly stretching the truth, is it?

The Dual Motor builds on the basic Model S 'skateboard' architecture (where the batteries form the floor of the car and the motor is between the rear wheels) to add a second motor between the front wheels.

This gives the Dual Motor constant all-wheel-drive but without a complex network of driveshafts as in a conventional all-wheel-drive car.

But it also endows the Dual Motor with a ferocious power output of – when you combine both motors and press the Insane button – no less than 515kW, almost twice that of a current-model Holden Commodore V8.

And with the instant torque of an electric motor (times two, in this case), all-wheel-drive grip to get it off the line and torque-vectoring to maximise grip, the Model S Dual Motor is clearly among the quickest road-registered cars we've ever sampled here at Drive.

Press on and the Tesla will reach an electronically-limited 250km/h top speed but not before covering the first 400m of your journey in just 11.7 seconds.

And if that's not fleet enough for you, there's also a 'Ludicrous' power upgrade (Tesla's own name for it)  that lops the 0-100km/h time down to three seconds neat and shaves the 400m trip time to 10.9 seconds.

The Ludicrous setting is part of an upgrade that will be offered to Model S Dual Motor owners who feel Insane is a little lacking, and amounts to a post-purchase software update and a small tweak to the battery pack.

Of course, disappointment of that sort should be unlikely given there's a 193kW electric motor between the front wheels and a 375kW motor at the rear.

Combined, the motors give a monstrous 967Nm of torque at it's all available more or less from standstill.

And that bogey of electric cars; range anxiety? Not so much in the case of the Tesla which is capable of 491km between charges depending on how it's been driven.

Tesla has also given plenty of thought to the other big turn off for would-be buyers, and that's the prospect of the batteries dying young and expensively. So, there's an eight-year unlimited kilometre warranty on the batteries (and driveline).

But the Tesla techno-feast isn't all about speed. The Dual Motor also brings Tesla's Autopilot technology which uses radar, cameras, sonar sensors and real-time traffic upgrades to give the closest thing yet to a true autonomous driving experience.

Autopilot has self-steering modes for both open-road and stop-start traffic and can even initiate a lane-change at the touch of the indicator stalk.

Obviously, the car will park itself once it has you safely arrive at your destination and the latest software upgrades to the system have incorporated blind-spot warning and autonomous braking right down to a complete stop.

Sadly, only the active cruise-control, lane departure, speed-sign alerts and autonomous braking are activated in cars being delivered now, but Tesla says all the hardware for the other feature is in place and will be switched on as infrastructure and legislation permits.

So much for stopping, but is the Dual Motor Tesla as fast as the brochure would have you believe? And even if it can match the claimed acceleration times, what does that mean in a big, luxury car?

Fundamentally, what it all means is that you can forget what you thought you knew about electric cars in particular and acceleration in general. The Tesla doesn't rewrite the physics text-books, but it sure makes some alleged performance cars look pretty lame.

Like all EVs, there's no fanfare in starting it up; a push on the button switches it all on, but there's no other hint that it's ready to rock and roll. Next, you bring up the menu on the huge centre screen, hunt down driving mode and switch the setting to Insane.

Congratulations, you've just switched the Model S from 'stun' to 'kill'. About now, you'd be wise to make sure there's nothing between you and the horizon and, having established that there's a clear path ahead, you can drop the hammer.

And make sure you have both hands firmly on the wheel. And hang on.

The lack of mechanical noise is eerie, but the sensation of having gravity try to push you through the backrest of the driver's seat is what really grabs your attention.

The Tesla punches out of the blocks so hard, you'll probably lose your hat and you'll be straining to haul yourself out of the seat.

The numbers on the digital speedo whir around in blue and, trust us, 150km/h is just another number in the roughly $180,000 (depending on options) Dual Motor.

That it manages this act of brutality in almost complete silence and with a total lack of vibration only makes it more other-worldly.

You could argue that the lack of a booming internal combustion soundtrack robs the experience of some of its theatre, but that is to ignore the sheer thrust that is hurling you up the road.

Going back to silent movies might be a backward step, but moving to a silent world of performance-luxury cars is clearly the future.

Price: From $185,000 (plus on-road costs)

On-sale: Now

Engine: Twin-electric motors

Power: 515kW

Torque: 660Nm

Transmission: Direct drive, AWD

Consumption: 0L/100km