Since 2012, Tesla’s Model S has been the US manufacturer’s benchmark for electric cars. It is also one of the most popular EVs on sale today. Tesla then announced that a Model S Plaid Plus variant would going into production in 2021. The car would get an interior refurbishment, a tri-motor, 1,100 horsepower, have a range of 520 miles and would be the most expensive Tesla sedan. Earlier in March, Tesla had increased the price of the Model S Plaid Plus by $10,000, bringing the cost to $150,000.
However, Tesla’s Technoking, Elon Musk announced yesterday that the Model S Plaid+ has been officially canceled. Musk put a statement out on Twitter saying, “Plaid+ is canceled. No need, as Plaid is just so good. 0 to 60mph in under 2 secs. Quickest production car ever made of any kind. Has to be felt to be believed.”
The option to order the Model S Plaid Plus variant was removed from Tesla’s website in May, but now Musk has finally confirmed why.
The high-end variant of the Model S Plaid is still available costing about $119,900 and it comes with a 390-mile range battery, 1,020 horsepower and acceleration from 0 to 60 miles per hour in two seconds. Although a delivery ceremony was tentatively planned for the Model S Plaid at the Tesla factory in Fremont for June 3, Musk said it was delayed until the 10th of this month as it needed “one more week of tweak.”
Tesla cars have seen increased prices this year for the Model 3 and Model Y electric cars, which the Technoking puts down to supply chain issues. In May, he tweeted, “Prices increasing due to major supply chain price pressure industry-wide. Raw materials especially.”
Tesla and all other North American automobile manufacturers have had problems with their supply chain particularly the computer chip shortage. In April, Musk said, “Q1 had some of the most difficult supply chain challenges that we’ve ever experienced in the life of Tesla. Insane difficulties with the supply chains with parts, over the whole range of parts. Obviously, we were upset about the chip shortage. This is a huge problem.”
And during the company’s last earnings call, he spoke about technical challenges developing and designing new versions of the Model S sedan and Model X SUV.
“There were more challenges than expected in developing the Plaid Model S or the Paladium program, which is a new version of the Model S and X, which has a revised interior and new battery pack and new drive units and new internal electronics and has resembled a high-station level infotainment system. It took quite a bit of development to ensure that the battery of the new S and X is safe.”
The cancelation of the Model S Plaid Plus is probably due to all these reasons and the heavy price tag likely doesn’t make it a feasible project for Tesla. But the Model S Plaid is expected to deliver enough without needing the Plaid Plus.
Just last week, Jay Leno had the chance to take a Tesla Model S Plaid out and the EV registered a time of 9.247 seconds and a trap speed of 244.9 kmph. However, Tesla says it will have a top speed of 321.87 kmph.
So, it certainly sounds like it is set to send a sheer thrill down the spine of the drivers. Musk has even described the Model S Plaid as a spaceship. "This car feels like a spaceship. Words cannot describe the limbic resonance."
The Model S Plaid is the top-performance sedan model with an enhanced level of dynamic performance and triple motor setup. The Tesla Model S Plaid replaces the Model S Performance.
