Since Tesla's announcement of a refreshed version of the Model S in January 2021, fans of the brand have been eagerly awaiting the release of the flagship Plaid edition.
While the Model S Plaid was scheduled for release on June 3, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has announced that deliveries are being pushed back by a week due to the need for more testing and tuning.
Despite the delay, comedian and car aficionado Jay Leno was recently on hand for an event that saw the Plaid set an official world-record quarter-mile time for production vehicles, according to the podcast Spike’s Car Radio.
At Famoso Raceway in Bakersfield, CA, Leno reports the Plaid ran the quarter-mile in 9.247 seconds at 152.09 mph, as recorded by NHRA officials.
"You’re talking about a four-door car with the air conditioner on,” Leno said.
While other electric carmakers such as Rimac claim even faster unofficial times, Leno gives the nod to Tesla in terms of overall usability combined with performance.
“To me, it seems like Tesla is years ahead of everybody else in terms of battery technology,” he said. “I’ve got to go with the guy that built the infrastructure before he built the car.”
“When [Musk] came to my garage in 2007 or ‘08 with that roadster, he told me they were building the infrastructure, and I went ‘oh all right, good luck, how many of these are you going to sell, really?’ It's pretty amazing,” he said.
Updated Tesla Model S Plaid Edition
The updated Model S, code-named ‘Palladium’, will reportedly feature significant updates to the interior, exterior, and drivetrain of the vehicle. Inside the cabin will be a new ‘yoke’ steering wheel along with a horizontal center display and instrument cluster screen. In addition, a third screen will be included for viewing by rear-seat passengers.
The drivetrain has also been updated to the latest battery cell technology paired with a Tri-motor configuration. Pre-release photos of the vehicle’s exterior show an updated body with widened fender flares.
As described by Leno, Tesla has distinguished itself from competitors that have concept electric vehicles not yet ready for production. “To me, these people that show up with prototypes but you can’t drive them, I don’t get it,” he said. “It’s like, ‘here’s a Thanksgiving dinner, you can’t eat it, but it looks pretty good.’”
Source: Spike's Car Radio Podcast