Tesla Model S Plaid gets more expensive as deliveries start, Plaid+ is canceled

10 June 2021

Tesla has started delivering the new Model S Plaid version today, with a ceremony held at its plant in Fremont, California. On this occasion the company also confirmed the version's final specs, and a $10,000 price hike - Plaid now starts at $129,990 with shipping, up from $119,990. The latter price remains unchanged for the upcoming Model X Plaid, which is due to start shipping in early 2022.

Tesla has also canceled the Plaid+ Model S, which was announced alongside Plaid last year, for reasons it wasn't very forward about. Elon Musk said Plaid is good enough, but you have to be a huge fanboy to believe there's nothing more behind the decision.

Anyway, the Model S Plaid has three motors (two for the rear wheels, one for the front wheels), which together churn out 1,020 hp. Acceleration from 0 to 60 mph (0-96 km/h) takes 1.99 seconds, and the top speed is 200 mph (321 km/h).

As far as range goes, Tesla promises up to 390 miles (627 km) on one charge, and you can get 187 miles (300 km) worth of juice in 15 minutes on a 250 kW Supercharger. The car has a drag coefficient of only 0.208, which Tesla says is the lowest of any production car. Undoubtedly this helps in reaching the aforementioned numbers.

Outside, the car looks a lot like the old Model S, but there have been many subtle changes - the new car has things like a deeper front splitter, wider side skirts, a big diffuser, a new spoiler, larger brakes, a lower suspension, new dampers, and a revised torque vectoring system.

On the inside the changes are more dramatic, starting with the huge 17" center screen that is now sitting in landscape mode, and not portrait. The steering wheel is a yoke-style affair, and it's still not clear whether a round option will be available and where. There are no stalks anymore, which means that gear changes need to be performed via the touchscreen.

This sounds like a huge hassle, but Tesla promises that the car will do its best to guess what your intended gear could be based on your surroundings and your routine. For example, when you get into the car it will automatically put itself in drive, and once you've selected reverse once it will save the location for when you may next need to reverse in the same spot.

Hopefully that will work in the real world. Like the Model 3 and Model Y, the air vents are hidden now, and you can control the airflow via the screen, for two front climate zones and one rear. The backseat has been redesigned to allow for more head and legroom for rear passengers.

There's a Long Range version of the new 2021 Model S joining Plaid, and this one, like its name implies, has longer range. But also less performance and a lower price. The new Model S Long Range has a dual-motor setup and goes from 0 to 60mph in 3.1 seconds. Range tops out at 412 miles (663 km), and the top speed is 155mph (250 km/h). The Long Range model starts at $79,990.

The new Model X Plaid arriving next year will hit 60 mph in 2.5 seconds, top out at 163 mph (262 km/h), and come with 340-mile (547 km) range.