AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File
This June 22, 2012 file photo shows a Tesla Model S outside the Tesla factory in Fremont, Calif.
- MotorTrend on Wednesday named Tesla's 2013 Model S sedan the best of the 92 cars that have won the publication's car-of-the-year award in the last 70 years. It is considered one of the most prestigious honors in the automotive industry.
- The Model S was released in 2012 and became the first electric vehicle to win MotorTrend's car-of-the-year award.
- In an article published on Wednesday, MotorTrend cited the Model S's technology - like its heavy reliance on touchscreens, over-the-air software updates, and ability to unlock and start without a key - range, and acceleration as factors that distinguish it from other vehicles released since 1949, the year MotorTrend debuted.
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MotorTrend on Wednesday named Tesla's 2013 Model S sedan the best of the 92 cars that have won the publication's car-of-the-year award in the last 70 years. It is one of the most prestigious honors in the automotive industry.
The Model S was released in 2012 and became the first electric vehicle to win MotorTrend's car-of-the-year award. MotorTrend lists advancement in design, efficiency, engineering excellence, performance of intended function, safety, and value as the criteria it uses to determine the best car of each year.
Read more: 40 electric cars you'll see on the road by 2025
In an article published on Wednesday, MotorTrend cited the Model S's technology - like its heavy reliance on touchscreens, over-the-air software updates, and ability to unlock and start without a key - range, and acceleration as its standout features.
"The Model S changed the way the world thinks not only about electric cars but also about cars in general," MotorTrend's William Walker wrote. "Divorce the car from the controversies and polarized opinions of the company and its mercurial CEO, and it remains clear there isn't another vehicle created during our 70 years of existence that has had a truly comparable effect on automobiles, the automotive industry, and society at large."
According to the estimates from the electric-vehicle website InsideEVs, the Model S was the second best-selling electric vehicle, after the Nissan Leaf, as of December 2018.
The following seven vehicles were also finalists for MotorTrend's "ultimate" car-of-the-year award:
- 1996 Dodge Caravan
- 2004 Toyota Prius
- 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air
- 1949 Cadillac Series 62 Sedanette
- 1972 Citroen SM
- 1968 Pontiac GTO
- 1986 Mazda RX-7
Read MotorTrend's full story here »
Have you worked for Tesla? Do you have a story to share? Contact this reporter at mmatousek@businessinsider.com.
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