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Tesla Model S Plaid: Everything we know – performance, features, versions and more
Elon Musk remarked during the recently-held third-quarter earnings call that Tesla is continuing the production of the Model S more for “sentimental reasons.” The vehicle, after all, is a niche product compared to the best-selling, reasonably-priced Model 3. Yet, the Model S remains Tesla’s flagship car, and it will remain so, if Musk’s statements are any indication.
“The Model S literally won Motor Trend‘s best car ever in history by the way. It’s incredible, especially the new one with variable damping suspension, hospital operating room HEPA filter for air purification, the raven powertrain. It’s the fastest car in the world, and it’s just so easy to drive. It makes you feel like Superman driving that car. It’s incredibly safe. It’s just an amazing vehicle,” Musk said.
The Model S is Tesla’s first car that it designed from the ground up, and thus, is already about seven years old. As such, it appears that the time is right for Tesla to look into updating the Model S for the Model 3 and Model Y era.
Enter the “Plaid” Model S. The aggressively styled vehicles were brought to the Nurburgring seemingly as part of Tesla’s efforts at establishing its own record at the track, which just so happens to be the location where the Porsche Taycan — a car long expected to be a Model S rival — was tempered as it was refined for release.
Based on images and videos of the Model S Plaid, the vehicle seems to be every bit of a monster as intended by the electric car maker. Here’s what you need to know about Tesla’s Model S with Plaid Powertrain.
It will look slightly different
While the vehicles retain the classic general Model S look, Tesla’s Plaid prototypes in the Nurburgring today feature a widebody kit to accommodate wider tires. The vehicles are also optimized for track use, as could be seen in various aero improvements to the all-electric sedan. Among these are a larger front air intake, a front lip spoiler, large air vents behind the front wheels, a diffuser at the rear, and a new spoiler.
Being test units, it remains uncertain if the Plaid Model S production version will retain these aero enhancements.
It will have three motors
Taking a page from the next-generation Tesla Roadster’s playbook, the Plaid Model S will have a three-motor configuration. Tesla has not announced details about this setup, though one can infer that it involves placing two motors at the rear and one motor at the front, just like the company’s upcoming all-electric supercar.
It will be track-capable
The Model S, even at its P100D trim, was notoriously prone to throttling issues on the track. Not so with the Plaid version. The Plaid Model S is made to attack corners at incredibly high speeds and complete multiple laps around a track without losing performance. So far, comments from eyewitnesses at the Nurburging have remarked that the Plaid vehicles Tesla brought over are almost disturbingly fast, and even at their initial iterations, each vehicle was reportedly finishing five or six laps a day around the nearly 13-mile Nurburgring with optimum performance.
It will likely have at least two trims
Tesla’s Plaid Powertrain appears to be a direct reference to the three electric motors in the vehicle. But it appears that the electric car maker will be releasing more than one variant of its tri-motor Model S. During its initial excursion to the Nurburging, it was reported that the blue Plaid Model S unit was able to complete a 7:40 lap, close to the results of the Taycan Turbo. The red Model S Plaid prototype, on the other hand, achieved a hand-stopped time of 7:23.
This certainly seems to be an indication that the two prototypes correspond to different versions of the vehicle. It might be cliche or Elon Musk’s classic meme lord-worthy humor, but it appears that its red Plaid Model S is the faster of its two prototypes. This is quite interesting, as spy shots of the blue Plaid Model S seem to suggest that the car was stripped down, while the seemingly faster red Model S is attacking the track with all its door panels and extra seats.
Its price will be expensive but cheaper than the Taycan Turbo
Elon Musk has noted on Twitter that the Plaid Model S will be priced higher than the Raven Performance version that is on sale today, though he also noted that the vehicle will cost “less than our competitors.” With this in mind, it appears that a Plaid Model S will start between the $100k-$150k range. This seems to be the case considering that Porsche priced its Taycan Turbo variant at just over $150k before options.
It will enter production in less than a year
Elon Musk has stated that the Tesla Model S Plaid units are set for production around Summer 2020, which is also around the same time that the company will start manufacturing the Model Y crossover. This is quite in line with previous leaks from the Fremont plant, which pointed to the electric car maker tooling the facility for the production of the Model Y and an updated Model S.
Elon Musk
Tesla reveals it is using AI to make factories more sustainable: here’s how
Tesla is using AI in its Gigafactory Nevada factory to improve HVAC efficiency.
Tesla has revealed in its Extended Impact Report for 2024 that it is using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enable its factories to be more sustainable. One example it used was its achievement of managing “the majority of the HVAC infrastructure at Gigafactory Nevada is now AI-controlled” last year.
In a commitment to becoming more efficient and making its production as eco-friendly as possible, Tesla has been working for years to find solutions to reduce energy consumption in its factories.
For example, in 2023, Tesla implemented optimization controls in the plastics and paint shops located at Gigafactory Texas, which increased the efficiency of natural gas consumption. Tesla plans to phase out natural gas use across its factories eventually, but for now, it prioritizes work to reduce emissions from that energy source specifically.
It also uses Hygrometric Control Logic for Air Handling Units at Giafactory Berlin, resulting in 17,000 MWh in energy savings each year. At Gigafactory Nevada, Tesla saves 9.5 GWh of energy through the use of N-Methylpyrrolidone refineries when extracting critical raw material.
Perhaps the most interesting way Tesla is conserving energy is through the use of AI at Gigafactory Nevada, as it describes its use of AI to reduce energy demand:
“In 2023, AI Control for HVAC was expanded from Nevada and Texas to now include our Berlin-Brandenburg and Fremont factories. AI Control policy enables HVAC systems within each factory to work together to process sensor data, model factory dynamics, and apply control actions that safely minimize the energy required to support production. In 2024, this system achieved two milestones: the majority of HVAC infrastructure at Gigafactory Nevada is now AI-controlled, reducing fan and thermal energy demand; and the AI algorithm was extended to manage entire chiller plants, creating a closed-loop control system that optimizes both chilled water consumption and the energy required for its generation, all while maintaining factory conditions.”
Tesla utilizes AI Control “primarily on systems that heat or cool critical factory production spaces and equipment.” AI Control communicates with the preexisting standard control logic of each system, and any issues can be resolved by quickly reverting back to standard control. There were none in 2024.
Tesla says that it is utilizing AI to drive impact at its factories, and it has proven to be a valuable tool in reducing energy consumption at one of its facilities.
Elon Musk
Tesla analysts believe Musk and Trump feud will pass
Tesla CEO Elon Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump’s feud shall pass, several bulls say.
Tesla analysts are breaking down the current feud between CEO Elon Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump, as the two continue to disagree on the “Big Beautiful Bill” and its impact on the country’s national debt.
Musk, who headed the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under the Trump Administration, left his post in May. Soon thereafter, he and President Trump entered a very public and verbal disagreement, where things turned sour. They reconciled to an extent, and things seemed to be in the past.
However, the second disagreement between the two started on Monday, as Musk continued to push back on the “Big Beautiful Bill” that the Trump administration is attempting to sign into law. It would, by Musk’s estimation, increase spending and reverse the work DOGE did to trim the deficit.
Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame!
And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 30, 2025
President Trump has hinted that DOGE could be “the monster” that “eats Elon,” threatening to end the subsidies that SpaceX and Tesla receive. Musk has not been opposed to ending government subsidies for companies, including his own, as long as they are all abolished.
How Tesla could benefit from the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ that axes EV subsidies
Despite this contentious back-and-forth between the two, analysts are sharing their opinions now, and a few of the more bullish Tesla observers are convinced that this feud will pass, Trump and Musk will resolve their differences as they have before, and things will return to normal.
ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood said this morning that the feud between Musk and Trump is another example of “this too shall pass:”
BREAKING: CATHIE WOOD SAYS — ELON AND TRUMP FEUD “WILL PASS” 👀 $TSLA
She remains bullish ! pic.twitter.com/w5rW2gfCkx
— TheSonOfWalkley (@TheSonOfWalkley) July 1, 2025
Additionally, Wedbush’s Dan Ives, in a note to investors this morning, said that the situation “will settle:”
“We believe this situation will settle and at the end of the day Musk needs Trump and Trump needs Musk given the AI Arms Race going on between the US and China. The jabs between Musk and Trump will continue as the Budget rolls through Congress but Tesla investors want Musk to focus on driving Tesla and stop this political angle…which has turned into a life of its own in a roller coaster ride since the November elections.”
Tesla shares are down about 5 percent at 3:10 p.m. on the East Coast.
Elon Musk
Tesla scrambles after Musk sidekick exit, CEO takes over sales
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is reportedly overseeing sales in North America and Europe, Bloomberg reports.
Tesla scrambled its executives around following the exit of CEO Elon Musk’s sidekick last week, Omead Afshar. Afshar was relieved of his duties as Head of Sales for both North America and Europe.
Bloomberg is reporting that Musk is now overseeing both regions for sales, according to sources familiar with the matter. Afshar left the company last week, likely due to slow sales in both markets, ending a seven-year term with the electric automaker.
Tesla’s Omead Afshar, known as Elon Musk’s right-hand man, leaves company: reports
Afshar was promoted to the role late last year as Musk was becoming more involved in the road to the White House with President Donald Trump.
Afshar, whose LinkedIn account stated he was working within the “Office of the CEO,” was known as Musk’s right-hand man for years.
Additionally, Tom Zhu, currently the Senior Vice President of Automotive at Tesla, will oversee sales in Asia, according to the report.
It is a scramble by Tesla to get the company’s proven executives over the pain points the automaker has found halfway through the year. Sales are looking to be close to the 1.8 million vehicles the company delivered in both of the past two years.
Tesla is pivoting to pay more attention to the struggling automotive sales that it has felt over the past six months. Although it is still performing well and is the best-selling EV maker by a long way, it is struggling to find growth despite redesigning its vehicles and launching new tech and improvements within them.
The company is also looking to focus more on its deployment of autonomous tech, especially as it recently launched its Robotaxi platform in Austin just over a week ago.
However, while this is the long-term catalyst for Tesla, sales still need some work, and it appears the company’s strategy is to put its biggest guns on its biggest problems.
Tesla reveals it is using AI to make factories more sustainable: here’s how
Tesla analysts believe Musk and Trump feud will pass
Tesla scrambles after Musk sidekick exit, CEO takes over sales
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