Tesla's Model S Plaid is the fastest car MotorTrend has ever tested
Edmunds
Tesla's Model S Plaid is the most impressive car on the road today. It's not just that it looks great, but it has some serious power underneath the hood... or frunk. Recently, MotorTrend tried the Tesla Model S and declared it the fastest car they have ever tested. That's saying something.
MotorTrend first appeared on magazine stands in 1949. With more than 70 years of experience driving thousands of cars, the Model S Plaid beat them all.
0-60 MPH in 2.3 Seconds
The Tesla Model S Plaid is a high-speed car, and the stats back it up. According to MotorTrend, the Model S accelerates from 0-60 MPH in an astonishing 2.3 seconds.
"When experiencing the acceleration of a Plaid, it's abundantly clear that virtually the only force you feel is the Tesla's seatback hurling you forward to a degree that genuinely makes the horizon the floor. Except that floor is rushing up at you far faster than any free fall ever could."
Earlier in the article, the author explains that a free fall speed equates to accelerating from 0-60 in 3 seconds.
The Tesla website says the Plaid can go faster than MotorTrend reported, with a 1.99 second 0-60 time. Its three mighty electric motors, two in the back, power the all-wheel drive system producing a ridiculous 1,020 horsepower and 1,050 ft-lb of torque. The top speed is pegged at 200 MPH; for comparison, the maximum speed in NASCAR last season was recorded at 190.7 MPH.
Tesla Model S Plaid Specs
Spec
Value
Curb Weight:
4,816 lbs
¼ Mile Time:
9.3 seconds at 152.2 mph
Motor Layout:
Tri-motor, one front, two rear
Maximum Horsepower:
1,020 hp
Maximum Torque:
1,050 lb-ft
Top Speed:
200 MPH
Cost:
$119,990
Model S Plaid Does the Quarter Mile in 9.3 Seconds
The power curve on Tesla's Model S Plaid speaks for itself
Tesla
Tesla's Model S also laid down a blistering quarter-mile to earn the title of the fastest carMotorTrend has ever tested. The blue Plaid devoured the quarter mile time in 9.3 seconds. It should've been a red Model S because this car was burning the record books and lighting the track on fire.
It's not just the motors; the cutting-edge software and aerodynamic design also contribute to its superior acceleration.
60-0 MPH Braking in 104 Feet
In addition to its blistering quarter-mile time, the Model S is able to achieve 60-0 mph braking in just 104 feet, while providing a maximum lateral acceleration of 1.02 Gs. This makes it one of the quickest cars ever produced and gives it the performance capabilities that rival some of the world's top supercars.
In other tests, the Plaid had a record stopping time as low at 98 feet. The impressive stopping power of the Model S can be attributed to its combination of powerful brakes and low center of gravity. The regenerative braking system also helps reduce wear on the brakes and allows for maximum braking performance. In addition, the Model S also features an advanced stability control system that helps to keep the car stable and in control during hard braking maneuvers.
Top 10 Fastest Electric Cars
Car
0-60 MPH Time
2021 Tesla Model S Plaid
2.3 Seconds
2020 Porsche Taycan Turbo S
2.4 Seconds
2022 Lucid Air Grand Touring Performance
2.7 Seconds
2022 Audi RS E-Tron GT
2.9 Seconds
2022 Mercedes-AMG EQS 4Matic+ Sedan
3.0 Seconds
2022 GMC Hummer EV Edition 1
3.0 Seconds
2022 Rivian R1T Launch Edition
3.1 Seconds
2023 Kia EV6 GT
3.2 Seconds
2023 BMW iX M60
3.2 Seconds
2022 Rivian R1S Launch Edition
3.2 Seconds
The Tesla Model S Plaid, which added track mode in 2021, has pushed the performance boundaries and set a new standard for high-performance electric vehicles. Its quarter-mile time of 9.3 seconds is remarkable, and its ability to reach 0-60 mph in just 2.3 seconds is extraordinary. Elon Musk wrapped it up best, responding to a tweet about MotorTrends results. He tweeted: Plaid is sickkk.
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Tesla’s vehicles all have a built in Service Mode, where you can find working diagrams of anything from the HVAC system, low or high voltage systems, your power steering, or infotainment. All of this is included on-vehicle, and doesn’t require a third-party tool or subscription.
Of course, if you need more information, Tesla does offer Toolbox3, a fairly inexpensive subscription package that can be downloaded onto any laptop and connected to any Tesla - without the hassle of needing a special manufacturer-specific OBD tool.
Thanks to John Kelly for finding this. Let’s dig into it.
48V LVCS Connector Reference
Cybertruck runs on a 48V architecture, called LVCS, or Low-Voltage Connector Standard. They recently launched this standard to the rest of the automotive industry, in hopes of promoting standardization and progress.
48V and LVCS offer Tesla the unprecedented ability to optimize the wiring inside Cybertruck and future vehicles, massively reducing the complexity and cost - and also ensuring that everything within the vehicle is networked. That networking means that you can also debug the Cybertruck’s wiring from within the vehicle - without needing to disassemble the entire thing.
The wiring diagram, set to the front cabin view.
John Kelly on X
The Wiring Service Diagram offers the ability to search for particular connectors, and also see where the wiring runs originate and terminate. And that’s not all - you’re also able to pull up the pinouts, wire colors, and harness connections to see everywhere that specific connector brings data, power, or anything else to.
The pinout view for a particular connector.
John Kelly on X
This is an fantastic update, and enables anyone, including a DIY home mechanic, to be able to figure out exactly what might be wrong with a particular system, as well as how to potentially correct it. In addition, all of this data is freely available within the vehicle, and nothing else is required to be able to access it other than sitting down and entering Service Mode Plus.
How to Access It
For this particular interface, you’ll need to access Tesla’s Service Mode Plus, which means you’ll need a subscription to Toolbox 3, Tesla’s Service Software. We won’t walk you through that procedure here, as we recommend you review Tesla’s Service Manuals before jumping in.
Assuming you know what you’re doing, once TB3 is setup and connected to the vehicle, you can enter Service Mode Plus from the TB3 primary menu, and then navigate your way to the Low Voltage section. The Connector Reference Tool is its own sub-heading, and the search tool to look for particular connectors is in the top right.
Tesla has recently committed new code to its Light Show Github repository that reveals several additional Lightshow features and shares specifications for others.
Tesla hosts the software for building Lightshows on GitHub, an open-source code repository. The new code was added five days ago, but given that this is a change to the actual software and not an on-vehicle change, we’re not sure whether the features below will be available for immediate use or will be available in a future software update.
Up to Four-Hour Long Light Shows
The feature update is pretty extensive and, for the most part, is focused on the Cybertruck and Model 3 Highland, but also features changes for other Tesla models.
There’s one general change, which now lets you create Light Shows that are up to four hours in length — yes, that’s really long. In the Holiday update, Tesla mentioned that Light Shows can now be longer, but this recent commit makes it seem like Tesla is essentially removing the limit of how long a Light Show can be.
Front & Rear Light Bars
On the outside of the Cybertruck, you’ll now be able to control the front light bar, but what’s even better is that you can control each of the 60 LEDs individually. The rear light bar is seeing similar improvements, letting you control each of the 52 LEDs individually.
This feature alone is going to create some amazing Light Shows, anything from which has 60 individually configurable LEDs each. The rear light bar has 52 individually controllable LEDs as well.
This alone is going to inspire some really creative designs, such as a Knight Rider-like animation as seen on Rivian.
These are, of course, locked to just white for the front light bar and red for the rear, but Lightshow designers will be able to configure how bright each individual LED is and feather them up and down in brightness.
As we saw in the absolutely epic Tesla octa-truck Lightshow, the off-road lightbar is also controllable on vehicles that have it equipped. For now, that’ll just be Foundation-Series Cybertrucks, but the lightbar has been confirmed to be compatible with the non-Foundation-Series vehicles once it arrives in the Tesla shop later this year.
The off-road lightbar has six segments - two side-facing ditch lights and four forward-facing lights. Although you won’t be able to address individual LEDs here, you’ll be able to control each segment (six total) and brightness.
This feature was added as part of the Holiday update, so it should be available for all vehicles on 2024.44.25 and higher.
Center Display Color
Over on the interior side, designers will get full RGB control for the center display. Even when viewing the light show from the exterior of the vehicle, the center display will light up the interior in any color of your choice, letting you add festive colors to your Light Shows.
The interior display is also available on the Holiday update and is available for all vehicles, including legacy Model S and Model X vehicles that support Light Shows.
Ambient Lighting
This one has been a long time coming, but you’ll finally be able to control the vehicle’s ambient lighting feature on the Cybertruck and new Model 3. The accent lights are split into five segments and are all controllable RGB, so you can set each section to a different color if you want. The sections include center front, left and right front, and left and right rear.
These are some massive additions to Tesla’s Light Show feature, and they’re arguably some of the best. The individually controllable LEDs in the light bars and the ability to choose colors for the first time will undoubtedly create some of the best Light Shows we’ve ever seen.
Unfortunately, Christmas is behind us now, but we’re sure developers will find other holidays that take advantage of colors, such as Independence Day.
Light Shows bring the Tesla community together, and they’re one of the most distinctive Tesla features. Enjoy the awesome Christmas Light Show compilation below. Thanks to Rhys Samson for sharing these Light Show changes with us.