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Transportation

Tesla Unveils Model S Plaid: 520+ Miles, 200 MPH, and 0-60 MPH In Less Than 2s (electrek.co) 191

Posted by BeauHD from the now-we're-talkin dept.
In addition to promising a $25,000 Tesla, Elon Musk unveiled its Model S Plaid, the new highest performance version of its flagship sedan. Electrek reports: The electric car is going to have over 520 miles of range, 200 mph top speed, and 0 to 60 mph acceleration in less than two seconds. The automaker lists the following features on its website:

- Quickest 0-60 mph and quarter-mile acceleration of any production car ever
- Acceleration from 0-60 mph: less than 2.0 s
- Quarter mile: less than 9.0 s
- Tri Motor All-Wheel Drive

In a quick video, Tesla briefly revealed the latest Model S Plaid prototype design. This new prototype appears to be significantly toned down versus the prototype unveiled last week and looks closer to the current Model S. Tesla is now taking orders for the vehicle, and it unveiled the price. It starts at $139,990 before options. Musk said that Tesla brought the Model S Plaid prototype to the Laguna Seca racetrack last weekend, and they achieved a 1:30 lap time. Last year, Tesla completed a lap in 1:36.55 with the prototype Model S Plaid. What about the $25,000 Tesla? Well, thanks to its various battery innovations, "We're confident we can make a very, very compelling $25,000 electric vehicle, that's also fully autonomous," Musk said. "And when you think about the $25,000 price point you have to consider how much less expensive it is to own an electric vehicle. So actually, it becomes even more affordable at that $25,000 price point."
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Tesla Unveils Model S Plaid: 520+ Miles, 200 MPH, and 0-60 MPH In Less Than 2s More

Tesla Unveils Model S Plaid: 520+ Miles, 200 MPH, and 0-60 MPH In Less Than 2s

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  • But not referenced in the article or is Spaceballs just that popular

    • Re:Spaceball Reference (Score:5, Funny)

      by geekmux ( 1040042 ) on Tuesday September 22, 2020 @08:05PM (#60533766)

      But not referenced in the article or is Spaceballs just that popular

      Popular in general? no.

      Popular here? Are you kidding? Being bilingual on this forum means you understand both Klingon and Vogon.

      Of course we know how fast Plaid is. And yes, some of us have even survived a poetry reading.

      • Re:Spaceball Reference (Score:5, Insightful)

        by burtosis ( 1124179 ) on Tuesday September 22, 2020 @08:28PM (#60533828)
        This would also explain why I’m surrounded by assholes.

        • Re:Spaceball Reference (Score:4, Funny)

          by geekmux ( 1040042 ) on Tuesday September 22, 2020 @08:42PM (#60533870)

          This would also explain why I’m surrounded by Assholes.

          FTFY

          C'mon now, at least acknowledge the family name.

      • Oh freddled gruntbuggly,
        Thy micturations are to me
        As plurdled gabbleblotchits on a lurgid bee.
        Groop, I implore thee, my foonting turlingdromes,
        And hooptiously drangle me with crinkly bindlewurdles,
        Or I will rend thee in the gobberwarts
        With my blurglecruncheon, see if I don't!

    • It had better be a spaceballs reference. Or spending $140K for a car painted plaid is going to piss off a lot of rich customers.

  • Is it called plaid as a homage to the spaceballs scene where they go so fast they are seen as plaid?

  • I don't want it to be autonomous

    you keep working on that but please do not hold EV adoptability hostage with it you jerk

    • I think can safely ignore the autonomous part of what he said. Ignoring that -

      $25K is cheap. The Nissan Leaf starts at $31.6K, and I've never heard anything good said about it. I wonder if Tesla can pull that off and if so what it would be like. Obviously it won't be a Model S.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by troon ( 724114 )
        Here goes then. I have a 2020 LEAF and I think it's great. Admittedly if an equivalent or better car were available at a significantly lower cost, that might change my opinion but I wanted it now, not in Elon's idea of three years.

    • I don't want it to be autonomous

      Then don't put it into autonomous mode. Problem solved.

      • I don't want it to be autonomous

        Then don't put it into autonomous mode. Problem solved.

        Or for that matter don't even buy it. It costs $8K extra which if you got it would be 24% the overall price of the car.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by kriston ( 7886 )

      Musk doesn't know what "fully autonomous" actually means. If he does, he's lying. Again.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by psergiu ( 67614 )

      > I don't want it to be autonomous
      It's not, unless you pay for that extra option

  • Here we go again... (Score:5, Funny)

    by theskipper ( 461997 ) on Tuesday September 22, 2020 @07:54PM (#60533722)

    "We're confident we can make a very, very compelling $25,000 electric vehicle, that's also fully autonomous, and includes a nubile supermodel at no extra charge"

    • Re:Here we go again... (Score:4, Informative)

      by deek ( 22697 ) on Tuesday September 22, 2020 @09:13PM (#60533962) Homepage Journal

      To be fair, $25K can buy a fairly nubile supermodel. For at least one day, anyway.
      And if you have one, who wants to drive?!

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      They missed the $35k target, and they are going to miss the latest full autonomy target (December 31st 2020). Do investors actually believe this stuff any more?

      There are already decent EVs in the $25k bracket. The Leaf 40, MG ZS EV, Zoe, Ioniq.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by shilly ( 142940 )

        I have a Zoe. It doesn't cost $25k! It's a lot more than that. Per month, it can be pretty cheap though

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

          If you look around you can get a pre-reg new one for around £25k including taxes. The exchange rate is bad at the moment but it's in the bracket.

          As you say they offer some silly deals if you lease or do finance.

    • and includes a nubile supermodel at no extra charge

      Well you may want to charge it before putting it in Plaid mode or you won't get very far.

  • "fully autonomous" (Score:2, Interesting)

    by kriston ( 7886 )

    "fully autonomous"

    Haha, no, not without LIDAR it isn't.

    • Re:"fully autonomous" (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Rei ( 128717 ) on Wednesday September 23, 2020 @04:08AM (#60534820) Homepage

      You seem to be of the impression that LIDAR is the only way to generate point clouds, and that it doesn't generate faulty point clouds in adverse weather conditions?

      Lidar and high-resolution premapping are the two main cheats a company can use to try to make them look further ahead on general autonomy than they actually are.

      (All of this said: I have no expectations of general autonomy any time soon. Eventually, yes, but I'm not holding my breath)
      (That said: Autopilot, as it is - paired with a human - is friggin' magic. Back when it was optional I wouldn't have even bought it, but it became standard, and now it feels like stepping back into the stone age to drive without it)

  • 520 miles / 800km range (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Camembert ( 2891457 ) on Tuesday September 22, 2020 @09:19PM (#60533980)
    That is an impressive range and frankly good enough for nearly anyone. You can use it on. A holiday drive and if you need to go farther then for sure you should have a break underway where you can just as well charge it.
    • sit with it plugged in at the hotel over night, or if all the hotel chargers are used spend another night by waiting in line to charge.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Mal-2 ( 675116 )

      Although this range is obviously not going to hold up to hard driving, I still take this as an encouraging sign that electric vehicles may actually be able to complete Grand Prix events on a single charge in the not-too-distant future, and F1 can move over for Formula E, which is where the manufacturers actually want to dump their money. Strategically, how is a car that doesn't refuel during the race any different from one that doesn't charge during the race, aside from one getting lighter and the other not

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Rei ( 128717 )

        Indeed, EV makers still have to make design effort to damp sound from their powertrains. I love the sound my Model 3 makes when I floor it - it's not loud, but it's like a sort of soft "sci-fi jet turbine" sound as you get pushed back into your seat. Don't add fake "vroom"s... just amp that up if people want louder vehicles at races!

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      For most people it's a waste of money. Like dragging around a trailer full of gas in your fossil car.

      Unless you regularly do 8+ hour non-stop journeys you might as well save yourself a small fortune and take a nice break while you charge, and splash some of the cash you saved on a fancy meal.

      Anyway it remains to be seen if it's even true or not, until it's in the hands of customers this is just another Elon Musk promise that's not worth the electrons he tweeted it with.

      • Well, you often hear the complaint of not enough range for EVs and this one shows that this weakness is not true anymore (and will likely seep down the range). Elon is pushing the whole car industry into the 21st century, whether they like it or not.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

          The fossil crowd will just find some other thing to complain about. Range is reduced when towing a 5 tonne trailer, it's more expensive than my 25 year old pick-up, my remote cabin in the woods is range+1 mile...

  • 1) theres no reason for a civilian street vehicle to go faster than 100 mph 2) I live in an apartment (no charger) because I cannot afford a home on 75k in my area. 3) Still takes hours to charge 4) poorer people will not buy these because they dont have homes/chargers. 5) EV will not work untill there is sufficient access to chargers along the major highways, and even then, chargers must be faster. ----- Right now EVs are for the middle class without kids or the upper middle class.
    • If they come through with a decent car for $25K, it would create a lot more demand for charging at apartment complexes. However road trips do seem to be a harder problem to solve for potential ev-only households.

    • However, their progress has been amazing. 10 years ago, before Tesla's Model S, it seems like every auto manufacturer conspired to build EVs to be as unattractive as possible. They looked like penalty boxes (Leaf) or clown boxes (BMW i3) or both, with very short range, and with outrageous pricing. As expected, such projects were stillborn.

      And then lo and behold, Tesla proved to everyone that it's possible to build an EV that looks like a normal sedan, and with a pretty good range, so that even a traveling s

      • think that is very much a personal preference thing, I don't find ANY of the Telsa's attractive and they generally look like cheap sedans from the outside. I don't think that is a good look.
    • This was the same with airbags and ABS and rear view cameras. It's silly to whine about features that show up on expensive cars first when so many features, having been wrung out on so-called luxury vehicles end up as standard features on more affordable vehicles.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by tippen ( 704534 )

      4) poorer people will not buy these because they dont have homes/chargers.

      No, poorer people will not buy these because they can't afford to spend $140K on a car.

  • Other than looks, why not attach wind turbines to the top to increase range?

  • So if it can do 200 mph it'll have to have ZR rated 200 mph tires. They will cost a lot and will sacrifice other attributes in order to be safe at that speed.

    That is one reason cars have speed limiters, otherwise you saddle EVERY purchaser with the cost of the high speed rating tires. So I suspect 200 mph will be an extra cost option, all other Plaids will be deliberately crippled.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by necro81 ( 917438 )

      So if it can do 200 mph it'll have to have ZR rated 200 mph tires. They will cost a lot and will sacrifice other attributes in order to be safe at that speed.

      On a $140k vehicle, I'm thinking the cost of replacement tires is, well, and afterthought.

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • Musk focussing on the wrong thing. (Score:3)

    by Computershack ( 1143409 ) on Wednesday September 23, 2020 @08:01AM (#60535250)
    When you're paying $25,000 for a car you don't give a shit about the 0-60 time or the quarter mile, just as long as acceleration is sufficient enough not to be holding up an 18 wheeler semi-truck. He would do better reducing costs by putting in less powerful and fewer motors which would also have the advantage of increasing the range as well as massively reducing tyre wear as the tyres would be less likely to slip due to not having to cope with massive globs of torque being applied instantly. I'm sure that if that led to a 0-60 time of 6-7 seconds nobody would complain. After all plenty of people are driving a Prius or Nissan Leaf.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      Tesla really needs to switch to pouch cell batteries to get the cost down. Theirs are expensive and lower energy density. They have some small advantages in terms of power output and charge rate, but as you say nobody cares about that down at $25k.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by Rei ( 128717 )

        Meanwhile, most EVs from other automakers are sold at a loss, and the few non-Teslas that earn a profit have small single-digit margins, while Tesla has 20-25% margins, on EVs that out-stat their price competitors. But I'm sure they could all teach Tesla a few things about making EVs affordably. (/eyeroll)

    • Re:Musk focussing on the wrong thing. (Score:5, Insightful)

      by seth_hartbecke ( 27500 ) on Wednesday September 23, 2020 @09:32AM (#60535638) Homepage

      There is a lot that can be done with electric motors to accelerate quickly, and not "burn rubber." Musk has talked about how his cars can detect the folding/ripple in the sidewall of tires just before tire slippage from acceleration would occur, and then back down the applied power.

      Carrying a "larger than needed" electric motor only costs you in terms of perhaps a little bit extra weight. When not accelerating quickly, the larger motor doesn't consume more electricity for simply being larger.

      I like Musk's approach to electric vehicles. He is working hard for a zero-compromise electric vehicle. He wants to make an electric vehicle where I give up nothing, only gain, by switching away from my internal combustion engine car. I deeply appreciate that approach. I wish more people who wanted to change the world took that approach, instead of trying to berate or gilt me into the decisions they wish I was making. Just make something that's so obviously 100% better than what I'md doing to day that I'll want to do it. And hidden inside that is the change you want.

      Thank you Elon for showing the world on what healthy revolutionary change looks like.

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