Tesla is now taking pre-orders on the new highest-performance version of its flagship sedan – the Model S Plaid. The announcement was made as CEO Elon Musk’s classic “one more thing” when speaking at the Tesla Battery Day on September 22.
The car isn’t entirely new news. Early prototypes of it were seen at different racetracks around the world last year. However, the specs were unknown. Those have now been revealed as well, and they’re incredibly impressive!
It has a 520+ miles range, packs 1,100 HP, can go from 0-60 mph in under 2s, and has a top speed of 200 mph. On the automaker’s website, it says the new vehicle has the quickest quarter-mile acceleration of any production car ever. It’s powered by three motors and is all-wheel drive.
Last year, when Tesla was racing prototypes at the Laguna Seca racetrack, it achieved a lap time of 1:36.55. Lucid Air managed to beat the time earlier this month with its top performance electric sedan, achieving a 1:33 time. Last week, (as a twitter video of the car in action shows – shown below) the latest edition of Tesla’s Model Plaid re-did the lap and achieved a 1:30 lap time, taking back the lead.
In-car footage from Sunday’s Plaid Model S run at Laguna Seca pic.twitter.com/rwQDBFCWoH
— Tesla (@Tesla) September 23, 2020
The current lap record is 1:27:62 – held by the £750,000 McLaren Senna. But Musk is hopeful that, in the right hands, the Model S Plaid can skim three seconds off its best time and take the top spot.
So, the 200mph tri-motor Model S Plaid is by far the rangiest car available, and it’s ridiculously fast. Although, deliveries have been delayed to “late 2021,” so it’ll be a little while before you can get behind the wheel. And it’s quite expensive. The starting price before options is $139,990 (£130,980).
A few other great things were announced at the Tesla Battery Day.
The automaker is developing new cylindrical battery technology, which would enable it to make its EVs more affordable. It has plans to make a model– priced from $25,000 (£19,700) – using the lighter, more efficient battery.
Musk said:
Ultimately measuring the fundamental good of Tesla would be “by how many years we accelerate sustainable energy. To achieve the transition to sustainable energy, we must produce more affordable EVs and energy storage, while building factories faster and with far less investment.
The price drop would be primarily due to the production of the batteries being in-house, which negates the need for external suppliers and helps keep the cost down. However, the new batteries won’t be ready for another three years.
Oh, and the batteries will offer a 16% increased range and 500% more power – meaning they’ll dramatically increase the cars’ performance!
The company’s network of Superchargers now spans over 17,000 units worldwide.
