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Tesla’s two Model S ‘Plaid’ variants are being benchmarked against each other

Red Tesla Model S P100D+ spotted at the Nurburgring with upgraded rear diffuser (Photo: Teslarati)

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True to its word, Tesla has returned to the Nürburgring with two “Plaid” Model S units. Both vehicles have been spotted running hot laps since they arrived at the iconic German racetrack, and if recent observations are any indication, it would seem that Tesla has actually brought two variants of its track-capable Model S for its Nürburgring comeback. What’s more, it seems that Tesla is benchmarking the performance of the two Plaid Model S against each other. 

Tesla’s Plaid Model S units in the Nürburgring could be differentiated by their color and rear badges. One is a blue unit with a Dual Motor badge, while the other is a red vehicle that’s marked P100D+. Recent reports and accounts from sources in the area suggest that these two vehicles do not have the same performance. While both are Plaid Model S prototypes, their track results suggest that they are somewhat different, perhaps along the same lines as Porsche’s Taycan Turbo and Turbo S variant. 

The differences between the two vehicles were hinted at last month during Tesla’s first excursion into the Nürburgring. Observing the two vehicles, a photographer from motoring publication Motor Authority mentioned that the blue Plaid Model S was able to complete a lap around the iconic German track in 7:40, a couple of seconds faster than the record set by the Porsche Taycan Turbo. 

The same photographer also recorded an impressive 7:23 lap with the red Model S Plaid unit, which is identical to a hand-timed lap reported by German media outlet Auto Motor und Sport. Quite interestingly, Tesla departed from its initial Nürburgring rounds after the red Model S Plaid unit seemingly broke down in the middle of a hot lap. 

These two vehicles returned to the Nürburgring this week. This time around, the Plaid Model S units sported a refreshed widebody kit that included side vents, and in the case of the blue unit, a massive rear diffuser reminiscent of the one used by Tesla in the next-generation Roadster. Images taken of the red Plaid Model S’ return to the nearly 13-mile closed circuit revealed that the vehicle was not equipped with a rear diffuser, though it had the same side vents and large rear spoiler with Gurney flap found in its blue sibling. 

Interestingly, images recently acquired by Teslarati reveal that Tesla has installed the same large rear diffuser in its red Model S at the Nürburgring. The vehicle was brought over to the track at the back of the truck, and once on the road, it was clear that the additional aeros have been installed on the vehicle. A closeup picture of the track-capable flagship sedan further revealed that the red Model S Plaid was fitted with a front lip spoiler as well. 

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With these images in mind, it appears that Tesla is currently testing how each Plaid Model S prototype performs on the Nürburgring with and without additional aeros. This suggests that Tesla is likely benchmarking the two Model S Plaid units against each other, potentially as a way to refine and tune each vehicle’s performance for closed circuit driving. These efforts ultimately bode well for Tesla’s upcoming Plaid versions for the Model S and Model X, as the electric car maker appears to be leaving no stone unturned in its efforts to develop a flagship vehicle that can attack one of the racing world’s most notorious tracks with no hesitation. 

Elon Musk has mentioned a few details about Tesla’s upcoming Plaid Model S. For one, the vehicle will have three motors, similar to the next-generation Roadster, which is equipped with one electric motor at the front and two at the rear. Musk also stated in a recent tweet that the production Plaid Model S, which will reflect the final iteration of the car that will set Tesla’s official Nürburgring record, is set to enter its manufacturing stage sometime in Summer 2020. Pricing for the Tesla Model S Plaid variants have not been revealed by Tesla, though Elon Musk has mentioned that the vehicles will be priced higher than the current top-tier Raven Model S Performance with Ludicrous Mode. 

Red Tesla Model S P100D+ spotted at the Nurburgring with rear diffuser (Photo: Teslarati)

 

Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Elon Musk says he knows how to save Earth for a billion years

Elon Musk says sentient AI satellites launched from the Moon could keep Earth livable forever.

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Elon Musk spent part of his weekend describing a plan to keep the planet livable for roughly a billion years, and it starts with satellites that can think for themselves.

In a post on X, Musk argued that swapping fossil fuels for solar and wind power will not be enough to protect humanity from what he called extremely severe extinction events, the kind that occur roughly every 100 million years. His fix is what he called sentient satellites, or solar-powered satellites, controlled by AI, that would sit in a fixed spot between Earth and the Sun after being launched off the Moon using a giant electromagnetic catapult instead of rockets.

The satellites’ onboard AI would make continuous, small adjustments rather than waiting on human instructions. The mass driver is Musk’s proposed way of getting the raw material there cheaply by using an electromagnetic launch track built on the Moon, where lower gravity and no atmosphere make it far easier to fling cargo into space than it is from Earth.

Musk shared a Grok generated estimate suggesting roughly 5 percent of Florida’s land, or about 1.68 million acres, could face regular flooding by 2070 under a high sea level rise scenario, and said humanity has about 50 years to act before coastal living looks very different than it does today.

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This is not the first time Musk has floated the idea. He raised a similar concept in November, describing a solar powered AI satellite constellation that could make tiny adjustments to incoming sunlight to fine tune Earth’s temperature. Musk has also tied planetary risk to his broader vision at SpaceX, where his compensation package is explicitly linked to establishing a self-sustaining Mars colony, one he has described as an insurance policy against the kind of extinction event he referenced this weekend, and where he has said humans could set foot within five to seven years.

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OpenAI cites distrust of SpaceX in decision to drop Cursor partnership

OpenAI will cut SpaceX-owned Cursor’s model access in November, citing Musk’s history of broken contracts.

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OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, announced late Friday that it is ending its partnership with Cursor, cutting off the coding tool’s access to its models on November 12. The move comes two weeks after SpaceX completed its $60 billion acquisition of Cursor’s parent company, Anysphere, folding the popular AI coding assistant into Elon Musk’s growing SpaceXAI division.

In a post on its website, OpenAI said the decision came down to trust, not technology. “We cannot be confident that SpaceX will use our technology within our terms of service, based on our experience with Elon Musk’s companies violating contracts,” the company wrote. OpenAI pointed to two specific incidents: X, now part of SpaceX, allegedly breaking the terms of an existing OpenAI contract after Musk bought Twitter.

That lawsuit is the backdrop for all of this. Musk cofounded OpenAI in 2015, left the board in 2018, and sued Sam Altman and Greg Brockman in 2024, arguing they abandoned the company’s nonprofit mission for profit. A federal jury sided with OpenAI in May, finding Musk waited too long to sue rather than ruling on the merits of his claims. Musk said at the time he would appeal to the Ninth Circuit, calling the outcome a “calendar technicality” rather than a real judgment.

Elon Musk breaks silence on OpenAI trial decision

SpaceX’s interest in Cursor predates that verdict by weeks. The company first struck a deal with Cursor in April, securing an option to acquire it for $60 billion or pay $10 billion for joint development work instead. As Teslarati reported at the time, the logic was straightforward: Cursor was paying retail prices to Anthropic and OpenAI, two of its most direct competitors, every time a developer used its product, while SpaceX had idle capacity on its Colossus supercomputer, roughly the equivalent of a million Nvidia H100 GPUs, that Cursor could use to train its own models instead. SpaceX exercised the option in June, days after its own IPO, and the deal closed in mid-August.

Once it closed, Musk moved fast. On an all-hands call with more than 1,000 Cursor employees, he reportedly told staff that SpaceXAI’s Grok was playing catchup in the AI race, unlike Tesla and SpaceX in their own markets, and singled out Anthropic as the company to catch. Cursor CEO Michael Truell now reports directly to Musk inside SpaceXAI.

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Elon Musk admits he was ‘clearly wrong’ about Anthropic

Losing OpenAI’s models leaves Cursor leaning harder on Anthropic’s Claude, which has its own compute agreement with SpaceX, and on Cursor’s in-house Composer model, the one SpaceX’s compute was supposed to accelerate in the first place. OpenAI framed the November deadline as maximum notice under its contract, and said it wants to “go above and beyond” to help developers through the transition. Whether Anthropic makes the same call is now the open question in AI coding.

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Tesla Theater might be getting plenty more streaming platforms

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Credit: YouTube/Tesla Theater

The in-car Tesla Theater is among the most unique features available within the cars. When charging, parked, camping, or just hanging out, vehicle occupants can access a variety of streaming platforms on the large center screen, helping keep them entertained during downtime.

However, the Theater might be getting plenty more streaming platforms, something that owners have requested for some time.

Tesla owners recently discovered that visiting Apple TV in the vehicle browser can launch a fullscreen interface that looks and behaves like a dedicated application rather than an ordinary webpage:

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The experience drops the usual address bar and browser chrome, presenting catalogs, continue watching rows, and playback controls in the same window Tesla Theater already uses for its listed services. Independent testers soon found similar treatment for HBO Max, Paramount+, Peacock, Disney+, and Prime Video when those sites are opened from the car browser.

This shift is a plausible early signal that Tesla is widening Theater support without a formal software note. Theater has long been a set of web views rather than native applications, so recognizing extra domains and stripping the browser frame is a small server-side change that can expand the catalog quickly.

Owners still lack permanent Theater icons for the newly recognized services, and video remains limited to Park, yet the smoother launch is a meaningful step toward a broader lounge while charging.

Tesla Theater arrived with software version 10 in September 2019. The first video services were Netflix, YouTube, and Hulu, available only while parked and originally tied to WiFi. Spotify arrived in the same era as music rather than Theater video. Disney+ joined officially in July 2021 with the 2021.24 update, giving owners another major catalog on the center screen. Twitch and TikTok later appeared among the default Theater tiles, and Tesla Tutorials remained a persistent educational tile.

Not every addition stayed put. In December 2023, a Holiday software build removed the Disney+ tile for many United States owners after a public dispute involving advertising on X. Hulu stayed visible even though Disney owned it. Visiting disneyplus.com in the browser often restored the tile, which suggested the removal was a recognition list change rather than a complete block. Owners have also reported occasional blank Theater grids after updates, usually fixed by language toggles, resets, or later firmware.

Tesla axes Disney+ from vehicles with Musk-Iger rivalry, but there’s a workaround

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Code archives from 2024 listed many unused source names, including Apple TV and Prime Video, that never became official icons, which now looks like groundwork for the current fullscreen browser behavior.

Now that this hint toward an expanded Theater experience has been recognized, Tesla could follow through with these additional shortcuts as a sign that more streaming platforms are available in Teslas than ever before.

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