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The Tesla Model S Plaid is quite capable of demolishing many modern-day supercars, but we still wouldn't bring one home.
When it comes to EVs, Tesla has been the king of the hill for quite a while now. It isn't too much of a stretch to say that for most of the non-gearhead populace, the term 'electric vehicle' is synonymous with Tesla. Today, with the age of the internal combustion engine nearing its end and gas-powered supercars closer than ever to electrification or death, Tesla's EVs are some of the most delightful cars to drive. A decade ago, Tesla released the Model S, and since 2012, the car has been the company's flagship. Now in its third generation, the Model S got upgraded with a 'Plaid' nameplate last year in 2021.
The Tesla Model S Plaid promised to be not only one of the fastest EVs on the planet but one of the fastest cars altogether. Impressively, the car didn't disappoint. Today, it remains capable enough to smoke many modern-day supercars that are ludicrous in both price and power, and yet fail to match up to the Model S Plaid. That said, here are 5 reasons why the Tesla Model S Plaid is better than a supercar, and 5 reasons we still won't bring one home.
Tesla had originally made big promises before the launch of the Model S Plaid, and much to the delight of customers, they delivered. While there was an initial setback because the car didn't reach its promised top speed of 200mph, Tesla fixed the problem, and the car now has a top speed of 216 mph.
In fact, what makes the Tesla Model S Plaid such a formidable vehicle is its tri-motor setup, which propels the car from 0 to 60 in a mere 1.9 seconds. This is all thanks to the 1,020 horsepower that the 100 kWh battery and the car's 0-60 time is a lot faster than many supercars today.
The EPA-estimated range for the Tesla Model S Plaid was 348 miles on one charge. However, the Model S Plaid has a limited range and can go up to between 240 and 350 miles before it needs a recharge. Considering just how much mileage one can get on hybrid cars or even a gas-powered supercar, the Model S Plaid fails to impress or inspire confidence.
In fact, for Youtuber Parker Nirenstein, their Tesla Plaid S only managed to go for around 150 to 170 miles before needing a charge. Even though he admitted to running the car only on Plaid mode, the range for Model S is still pretty disappointing.
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Gearheads love supercars because of their exotic looks, their fast speed, and the bragging rights of having a ten-second car. The Tesla Model S Plaid, too, proves itself to be a ten-second car, covering the quarter mile in just 8.8 seconds. That is face-meltingly fast and beats many supercars to the punch.
For comparison, the likes of the Lamborghini Huracan Evo and the Bugatti Veyron SS cover the distance in 10.6 and 9.8 seconds. Needless to say, the Model S Plaid goes like hell and does it as silently as possible, too.
There's no denying that the Model S Plaid looks modern and stylish, and is easy on the eyes. However, while this remains a matter of opinion, one simply can't refute the fact that current supercars, and in fact, even those from a couple of generations ago, look far more exotic and eye-catching than the Plaid S.
Customers and critics alike have called the exterior of the Model S Plaid unoriginal and boring. Furthermore, all the cars across the entire Tesla lineup tend to look pretty much the same, which isn't an exaggeration at all. The Tesla Sport, the Models X and Y remain almost indistinguishable from each other.
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The Plaid S comes with a 100 kWh battery pack that develops 1,020 horsepower in the car. The car features a tri-motor system and all-wheel drive that has torque vectoring. The car's three independent carbon-sleeved rotors work to distribute all of its massive horsepower to every wheel.
Thanks to the state-of-the-art, sophisticated computer systems that run this EV supercar-smasher, none of the horsepower ever goes to waste. The systems directly send as much power as is needed to each wheel in every scenario, ensuring optimum power outputs and unrivaled performance.
There is no denying that Tesla has always had a problem when it comes to making its electric vehicles affordable. In today's automotive market, EVs are in extremely high demand, and Tesla has failed to bring down the prices of their cars and make them more affordable to a larger customer base.
The Model S Plaid costs $130,000 today, which is the same price as many popular luxury sports cars. You could bring home a BMW M8 Competition Coupe for the price, and an M5 CS at just $10,000 more. Sure, you save a ton of money when you go electric, but the limited range of the Plaid S also makes that less convincing of an argument.
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All Tesla cars have undeniably beautiful interiors, but buyers complained for a long time about the Model S cabin looking bland and cheap. With the Plaid, however, no one would be complaining, as the car now comes with a beautiful and premium interior that is worthy of the price tag.
With materials like wood and aluminum throughout the interiors, and the cabin feels extremely roomy and airy, the Model S looks better on the inside than many contemporary supercars. Manufacturers tend to make their high-performance supercars quite cramped, with black upholstery making their cabins feel stuffed. In that regard, we'd pick the Tesla Model S and its highly-refined interiors.
Critics and buyers both have not been too fond of the steering yoke that comes in the Model S Plaid. Trying to go for an out-of-the-box experience, Tesla swung and miss here. Generally, too, consumers and critics have expressed worry about the brand's yokes and their lane-wandering habits when the cars are going at top speeds.
Furthermore, when it comes to parking in tight spots or turning the steering around, you'd end up grabbing empty air more often than not. Nobody wants that, and it would take a very long while, and some occasional fender-benders, before you'd get used to the yoke.
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This one is a clear winner in favor of the Model S against supercar rivals. Truly, no car is ever faultless, and despite its drawbacks, the Tesla Model S is quite clearly on the side of the environmentally conscious. The Model S, like every other EV, has far less of a carbon footprint than any gas-powered car, especially the gas-guzzling V8 and V12 supercars it smashes.
For far too long, going electric has always meant compromising on power and performance. The Model S Plaid is a shining example of an electric supercar, which takes no prisoners as it sets the tarmac on fire, with no emissions and no sound pollution either. It has set the path forward for more electric supercars to come onto the market, and we aren't complaining at all.
Electric vehicles operate on electric batteries, and in the case of a car that runs on the road for hours at a time, the batteries work at full capacity the entire time. With a car as powerful as the Tesla Model S Plaid, there is a massive amount of pressure on the battery to be churning out the power the car is capable of.
Thus, batteries are always prone to overheat, which can often result in explosions as well. At the same time, constantly charging the batteries, especially those that support fast charging, is also risky. In a strange turn of events, Tesla had to recall 130,000 of their vehicles due to overheating issues in their infotainment system which made the screens malfunction. While one would prefer their infotainment screen to overheat rather than the car itself, the risk of heating and a subsequent explosion in battery cells remains one of the reasons one could stay away from an EV altogether.
If it has wheels and an engine, Samarveer Singh is going to be obsessed with it. He is a budding Indian motorcycle racer, competing at the national level in his country in his very first year, chasing his dream around every corner of the racetrack. A touring enthusiast, Samarveer is forever stuck between the urge to constantly redline his bike, or save its clutch plates for longer.