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Tesla’s two Model S ‘Plaid’ variants are being benchmarked against each other
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.
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- Tesla Model S P100D+ with Plaid Powertrain returns to the Nurburgring. (Credit: Teslarati)
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- Blue Tesla Model S with Plaid Powertrain returns to the Nurburgring. (Credit: Teslarati)
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- Red Tesla Model S P100D+ with Plaid Powertrain returns to the Nurburgring. (Credit: Teslarati)
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.
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- Blue Tesla Model S with Plaid Powertrain returns to the Nurburgring. (Credit: Teslarati)
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- Blue Tesla Model S with Plaid Powertrain returns to the Nurburgring. (Credit: Teslarati)
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- Red Tesla Model S P100D+ spotted at the Nurburgring without a rear diffuser (Photo: Teslarati)
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- Red Tesla Model S P100D+ spotted at the Nurburgring without a rear diffuser (Photo: Teslarati)
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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- Tesla spotted delivering a red Tesla Model S P100D+ with 2nd set of aero improvements to the Nurburgring track (Photo: Teslarati)
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- Tesla spotted delivering a red Tesla Model S P100D+ with 2nd set of aero improvements to the Nurburgring track (Photo: Teslarati)
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- Red Tesla Model S P100D+ spotted at the Nurburgring with upgraded aero package (Photo: Teslarati)
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- Red Tesla Model S P100D+ spotted at the Nurburgring with upgraded aero package (Photo: Teslarati)
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- Red Tesla Model S P100D+ spotted at the Nurburgring with upgraded aero package (Photo: Teslarati)
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- Red Tesla Model S P100D+ spotted at the Nurburgring with upgraded front spoiler (Photo: Teslarati)
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.
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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.
Tesla released Full Self-Driving version 14.3.6 last week, and after what was potentially one of the best FSD releases in v14.3.5, there has been a bit of a regression. While there are some bright spots, the changes made to v14.3.6 seem to have backtracked some behaviors.
Overall, it is hard to really complain about FSD in any sense; it has revolutionized how I travel literally anywhere. According to my self-driving app, the last time I went a day without using it was 59 days ago.
However, I think it’s also important to recognize when things are just plain bad with FSD. There are times it does truly mind-boggling things, and I’ll dive into those here. Additionally, I only had these issues on local roads, not on highways. Highway operation, generally, is always incredible other than the occasional complaint about speed or left lane camping.
With those things being said, my personal experience may not represent others’ experiences. A handful of people have said they have had a similar experience on v14.3.6, while others have said it is more than normal.
Turning Hesitancy, Inaccuracy
I’ve noticed more inaccuracy turning into multi-lane stretches of road than in any version I can remember. I’ve had at least three instances of FSD turning into a stretch of roadway that has two or more lanes, and not selecting a lane confidently as it has in past versions.
I think Tesla FSD v14.3.6 is a regression from previous .3 branches
This version in particular has been incredibly hesitant, jerky, and indecisive at times. There’s actually been two drives that I have decided to not used FSD for the remainder of the trip. These were local trips… pic.twitter.com/YobHDOKRS6
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 26, 2026
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Instead, the car will drive over one of the dashed road lines, and the steering wheel will jerk back and forth before picking the lane. It should be said that it has always picked the correct lane when choosing based on the navigation, but it is still very indecisive. The steering wheel jerking is reminiscent of some of the later versions of v13.
I admit I really hate to see the steering wheel jerking come back. However, I think when Tesla releases v14.3.7, it won’t be present. When there are occurrences of it in FSD versions, it is usually resolved by the following release.
FSD Disregards Manual Turn Signals
This is my biggest bone to pick with FSD other than Navigation issues, but this one seems like it would be such an easy fix.
If Tesla is going to put the word “Supervised” on the end of “Full Self-Driving,” then when I tell the car to do something, it should do it. If I input an increase in speed by pressing the accelerator, the car will immediately respond. It does not disregard my input because it feels it is traveling at the right speed.
FSD should never disobey and turn off turn signals that the driver inputs. Trying to direct the car into the correct lane, I had initiated the left turn signal not once, not twice, but three times, with the car turning it off all three times and continuing in a lane that would end in just one block. The only solution at this point would be to zipper merge.
This goes back to the fact that self-driving’s biggest bottleneck might be rider preference. A zipper merge might have been more than reasonable, might have saved me time that I spent sitting through an additional light cycle, and might be something many drivers would do. I was in no hurry, I traditionally do not try to zipper merge because it feels inconsiderate, and lastly, the car should have just followed my input.
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This caused me to disengage and drive manually the rest of the way home. Sometimes I just do not need FSD to try to pass every car it can at intersections.
Bird Braking is a Thing of the Past
The big complaint with recent versions of Full Self-Driving has been what we’ve coined as “bird braking,” which is when the car will brake suddenly as a bird flies past.
There have been zero issues with this so far in v14.3.6, which is an excellent improvement.
FSD Might Already Be Taking Note of Driver Preferences
Another thing I have noticed over the past few days is that v14.3.6 seems to already be taking my preferences with navigation into account.
This is something that is supposed to be rolling out with the Summer Update, but I have a hunch it’s already present and might have been included in this v14.3.6 build. On Friday, FSD pulled into an entrance to a local convenience store that it had never attempted to go into before.
Typically, I manually pull into this entrance because it avoids heavy cross traffic at the main entrance. FSD has always chosen that congested main entrance.
I don’t want to get anyone excited but my Tesla running FSD v14.3.6 just:
✅ Pulled into an entrance at my local Sheetz that I routinely pull into manually but FSD never has entered
-✅ Pulled into my assigned parking space at home despite many other spots being vacant https://t.co/ZUShvknTWO pic.twitter.com/83O5a2S0eh
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 24, 2026
Additionally, FSD has pulled into my assigned parking spot at my townhouse community on multiple occasions with this release. This is something that used to happen ocassionally, but not consistently.
It also navigated back to the same convenience store last night, drove through crazy cars scrambling to gas pumps, navigated out of the parking lot correctly, drove me home, and, once again, parked in my assigned spot.
As previously stated, this release just seems to have a few things that need to be brought to Tesla’s attention, and also to make others who use FSD aware of some things that I’ve experienced. I look forward to the next release that will remedy these issues, just as Tesla has always done in the past.
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Elon Musk’s massive Terafab project, which will be the first true conglomeration between each of his major entities, is set to get its final location soon, the CEO said on Tesla’s recent earnings call.
“The Terafab, we expect to announce a location soon, and provide more details about our plans in that regard. We’ll leave that to the product, the launch announcement rather than try to squeeze it into an earnings call,” Musk said last Wednesday.
Tesla Terafab set for launch: Inside the $20B AI chip factory that will reshape the auto industry
Terafab was announced by Musk back in March and was essentially a massive, vertically integrated semiconductor manufacturing project that would provide all the chips the three companies needed for their AI initiatives without needing third-party companies.
The plant will produce over 1 terawatt of AI compute each year, and will help back up projects like Optimus, Full Self-Driving, and other AI-based projects that Musk’s companies are working on.
In April, less than a month after the project was launched, Intel announced it would join the project, contributing manufacturing expertise and consulting to Terafab as a whole. Intel is one of three chip manufacturers that produce sub-5 nanometer chips at scale. TSMC and Samsung are the other two.
However, there was no true indication of where Terafab would end up, but most believe it will likely be somewhere in Texas. Business Insider has reported that SpaceX plans to build out Terafab in Grimes County, Texas, but this is unconfirmed.
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Musk confirmed recently that it would not be on Giga Texas property, as it is simply too large.
The sheer scale of TERAFAB is going to be insane.
Elon said it wouldn’t be suitable for anywhere on Giga Texas property because it’s too big:
“We couldn’t possibly fit the Terafab on the GigaTexas campus. It will be far bigger than everything else combined there.
Several… pic.twitter.com/79GbhNNuf4
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) March 23, 2026
Terafab holds much of Musk’s grand ambitions for the future within its construct. It holds so much responsibility for the future and the biggest projects that Musk’s companies can imagine.
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“I think this is a very big announcement and it deserves to have its own day in the spotlight and not be squeezed into an earnings call,” he said. “I do think Terafab is going to be an amazing initiative and a necessary one, and one without which we will be constrained in our ability to scale Optimus production, because we simply won’t have enough AI chips.”
He continued by stating that Terafab is necessary for scaling Optimus, which Musk said could be the biggest product of any kind of all time. “It’s crucial to solve that, and we’ll have to solve memory, logic, and packaging in order to scale Optimus.”
SpaceX performed a secret test on a specific portion of Starship with its recent 13th test flight last week, CEO Elon Musk revealed.
Starship’s 13th test flight took place last Friday, and in many aspects, it was one of the most overwhelmingly successful launches in the project’s history.
All of the mission objectives were met without incident, both the Super Heavy Booster and Ship managed to perform safe splashdowns in the Gulf of America and the Indian Ocean, respectively, and the deployment of Starlink satellites came and went without any complications.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 25, 2026
However, there was more on the agenda for SpaceX with Flight 13. Musk revealed an internal test of the ship’s heat shield tiles, as the space exploration company wanted to push them to the limits after previous issues.
Many noticed that Starship’s initial launch seemed to be more accelerated than normal, and that was not a mistake. Musk revealed that SpaceX decided to give Flight 13 an intentionally aggressive acceleration rate in an effort to test how well the tiles would remain attached to the ship:
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This flight intentionally had much higher acceleration to test how well the heat shield tiles would remain attached at high dynamic pressure.
Test was successful.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 25, 2026
SpaceX had issues with some of the heat shield tiles remaining attached early on in the Starship program. The first six test flights presented some kind of anomaly with them, so the company’s big focus with them was to figure out a way to keep them intact through the duration of the flight.
Things truly improved as Flight 10 showed that ceramic tiles generally stayed attached to the ship far better due to refined attachment, as SpaceX utilized pins instead of adhesives. Flights 10 through 13 truly showed some clear progress with the heat shield tiles, and this latest test seems to be where some real progress was noticed, especially by Musk.
The 13th Starship launch last Friday was the second with Starship V3, SpaceX’s latest and greatest iteration of the spacecraft. Goals and ambitions are getting even grander as the project continues to progress. Musk has already hinted that SpaceX will likely try to catch Starship with Flight 14.
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Tesla claims supplier is holding Cybertruck production hostage
Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.3.6 review: a rare regression, but some bright spots
