Tesla is pulling the plug on the Model S Plaid+, per the brand’s chief executive officer, Elon Musk. Musk tweeted the news on Sunday, June 6, 2021:
While the upcoming Tesla Model S Plaid offers plentiful performance for its $121,190 asking price (including the ability to hit 60 mph in less than 2.0 seconds and a top speed of 200 mph, according to Tesla), its estimated driving range of 390 miles on a full charge falls 130 miles short of the claimed range of the $141,190 Plaid+ (520 miles). As such, we wager the real reason for the Plaid+’s cancellation is the result of limited pre-orders for the model, given its nearly identical straight-line performance to the lesser Model S Plaid (Tesla originally stated the Plaid+ was marginally quicker to 60 mph than the Plaid).
Sure, the Plaid+ reportedly offered even greater driving range and marginally better acceleration performance relative to the Plaid, but the cheaper tri-motor Model S variant’s estimated range and acceleration figures are certainly nothing to scoff at. Arguably, neither the Plaid+’s performance and driving range gains never quite justified the trim’s $20,000 price bump relative to the regular Model S Plaid.
Whatever the reason, the Model S Plaid+ is dead. We ought to know more about the 1,020-hp Model S Plaid in the coming days when Tesla reveals more details about the model, including if the trick active rear spoiler spotted on Plaid’s caught testing at Laguna Seca Raceway in Salinas, California makes its way to the production vehicle as a standard or optional extra feature. Currently, Tesla’s configurator for the Model S Plaid lacks this detail. Then again, the configurator also only shows the updated Model S sporting its kitschy yoke-style steering wheel, even though images of the revised Model S testing in the wild (and hidden within Tesla’s own website) seem to confirm Tesla will offer a more typical circular steering wheel, too.
