Tesla delivered the first 25 editions of the new Model S Plaid Friday night, during an event for these customers and other interested parties.
The Plaid version of the car has three engines, and according to Tesla should be able to drive 0-60 miles per hour (0-96.5 kilometers per hour) in less than two seconds. The specification sheet says 1.99 seconds.
This is an improvement over the figures Tesla first stated when they presented the car. It would then do this sprint in 2.1 seconds, while the so-called “Plaid +” model would do it in less than two seconds.
0-100 kilometers per hour Tesla states on its Norwegian website is 2.1 seconds. This with a foot rollout, a measurement method that is unusual, but which Ford also uses, among other things, on its Mustang Mach-e.
In other words, it does not seem realistic that Model S Plaid in practice can achieve these times from a standstill, but it remains to be seen.
Canceled version with longer range
It’s been a few days since Tesla canceled the “Plaid +” model, via Elon Musk’s Twitter feed. He claimed that no one needs as much range as this model should have anyway. What the real reason why the model was dropped we can only speculate. That edition was to have a range of 840 kilometers.
The plaid version that is delivered has a range of 628 kilometers, according to Tesla. By the way, it is only 24 kilometers smaller than the so-called Long Range version of the new Model S. The cars come with a heat pump, which will provide better energy consumption than before.
Although the car does not appear to be particularly different from the previous Model S, it should have better aerodynamic performance. It is already known that it has an air resistance coefficient of 0.208, but Musk made a point that this is the number when the wheels rotate. He implicitly says that other manufacturers’ figures are air resistance for a stationary vehicle in a wind tunnel, if we interpret him correctly.
The engine
As mentioned, the car has three engines, two of which are on the rear axle. Total maximum power is 760 kilowatts.
Tesla has developed a new engine for the car. This has a rotor clad in carbon fiscal shells to ensure higher power density and energy efficiency.
Elon Musk said this has been a challenge, as copper and carbon expand at different temperatures. One of the challenges is that the carbon fibers must be stretched tightly around the rotor. The engine should be able to make more than 20,000 revolutions per minute.
According to Tesla, the new engine not only has a higher power, but also a flatter power curve than previous Model S engines. It will ensure that it can continue to deliver high power even if the speed increases.
According to Tesla, the top speed on the Plaid version is 322 kilometers per hour. The standard Long Range version of the Model S, by comparison, has a top speed of 250 kilometers per hour.
Charges faster
The new model will also charge faster than previous Model S variants. A 15-minute charge should give around 300 kilometers extra range. Whether this means that Tesla has plans to increase the power at its charging stations, or whether the car has a flatter power curve than before, is unclear. Maximum power on today’s V3 charging stations from Tesla is 250 kilowatts.
The infotainment system has also been updated, with a new user interface. This should have good performance, thanks to what Musk calls performance on a par with the Sony Playstation 5, without this
On Tesla’s Norwegian website, the first quarter of 2022 is stated as the estimated delivery time for the new Model S Plaid and Long Range. Prices start at NOK 1.3 million and NOK 830,000, respectively.
Production will initially be on “a few hundred” cars a week, according to Musk. Thereafter, it will be stepped up to 1000 copies a week gradually.
