Tesla made a number of bold claims when it released the Model S Plaid, including its proclaimed 0-60 mph time of less than 2 seconds. Is that claim actually achievable?
To find out, Books from the DragTimes channel on YouTube put his Model S Plaid to the test but rather than hitting the drag strip with it, instead decided to test it out on the street where most Model Ss will live.
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On one particular run and with the car’s battery at 79 percent, it accelerated to 60 mph (96 km/h) in a GPS-verified time of 2.16 seconds. With a 1-foot rollout factored in, as Tesla has used in its published acceleration figures for the Model S Plaid, the car hit 60 mph in just 1.99 seconds. It also ran down the quarter-mile in a best time of 9.23 seconds at 152 mph (244 km/h), insane figures for a luxurious family sedan.
However, it is worth pointing out that this run was recorded on a piece of road with a 1 percent decline, meaning it is unclear if these times can be replicated on a perfectly flat piece of road.
Just prior to customer deliveries of the Model S Plaid starting in June, Motor Trend tested it out on the drag strip. On a prepped VHT surface, the quickest-accelerating Tesla recorded a best 0-60 mph time of 1.98 seconds with 1-foot rollout. MT couldn’t quite replicate this time on a non-prepped surface, setting a best time of 2.07 seconds.