One of the world’s most well-known electric carmakers began deliveries of its new Model S Plaid on Thursday with a livestream event at Tesla’s test track in California. Elon Musk made his entrance on Thursday by driving a Tesla Model S Plaid around the company’s test track and onto the stage before stepping out to cheers of select customers as well as fans.
At the event, he said the new Model S would be “faster than Porsche but safer than Volvo”. But Musk also caveated some of his own sweeping safety claims, by noting that NHTSA has not yet rated the Model S Plaid for safety.
Based on the information taken from Tesla’s website, the tri-motor, all-wheel-drive Model S Plaid produces 1,200 horsepower. Model S Plaid features a battery with an estimated EPA-rated range of up to 390 miles. On Thursday, the price of the Model S Plaid increased by $10,000 to $129,900.
It has the ability to reach a top speed of 200 miles per hour if equipped with the proper wheels and tires. Such models won’t be available until the fall according to the company.
On Thursday, Elon Musk offered no significant details regarding the Model S Plaid battery pack. The company is struggling to manufacture a 4680 battery cell it designed. Tesla plans to use it in the future. He quickly moved on from a brief mention of the battery to show images of the S Plaid drive unit. Musk mentioned that the Model S Plaid can get 187 miles of range in just 15 minutes plugged into a Tesla Supercharger.
Tesla Model S Plaid and Elon Musk
Elon Musk did not forget to talk about the interior of the Model S Plaid. It includes a steering yoke rather than a traditional steering wheel. It is equipped with a 17-inch center touchscreen display and a separate 8-inch display in the rear for passengers’ entertainment. Tesla’s car comes with the processing power that Tesla says puts its systems on par with modern gaming consoles.
Tesla Model S Plaid comes with a new feature called “Waypoints”. Thanks to this new feature, drivers will be able to enter several destinations into one trip within Tesla’s navigation system.
Musk also talked about the car’s autopilot. He stated that Model S Plaid with Autopilot could guess what direction, location, and route a driver would want to take.
