Remember when Elon Musk said during an earnings call in October 2019 that Tesla only continued to build the Model S and X for sentimental reasons?
Now we have refreshed, updated ‘Plaid’ versions of each.
Tesla has given the cars all-new interiors, with updated screens and climate controls. It’s also redesigned the battery pack and modules in the new cars and has been making upgrades to the plant in Fremont ahead of their launch later this quarter.
The Model S Plaid is quite something. Tesla says it’s capable of 0-60 in less than two seconds, claiming in the earnings presentation that it’s the fastest-accelerating production car in the world.
It will cost $112,990, including potential incentives. That will get you 627 kilometres of range and a top speed of 322kph. Deliveries will start around March, according to the company’s website.
There’s a higher-spec $132,990 Plaid+ model, which has a greater 837km range on a single charge. The company estimates it will be set for delivery in late 2021.
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Mr Musk unveils a new all-wheel-drive version of the Model S car in Hawthorne, California, in 2014. Reuters -
Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk. Getty Images -
Mr Musk with music producer Quincy Jones. AFP -
The wealthiest person in the world with a worth of $274.3 billion, Mr Musk was named 'Person of the Year' by 'Time' magazine in 2021. Getty Images -
Focus on Mr Musk's taxes grew last year as Tesla achieved a rarefied $1 trillion in market value. Reuters -
The billionaire has hit back, saying he does not draw a salary from either SpaceX or Tesla, and pays an effective tax rate of 53 per cent on stock options he exercises. AFP -
Then US president Barack Obama speaks to Mr Musk on a tour of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, in 2010. Reuters -
Mr Musk during a television interview after Tesla's initial public offering at the Nasdaq market in New York, in 2010. Reuters -
With former wife Talulah Riley at the 2011 Orange British Academy Film Awards in London. Getty Images -
With Japan's former prime minister Shinzo Abe after a test drive of the Tesla Model S P85D in Palo Alto, California, in 2015. Reuters -
Mr Musk during the 67th International Astronautics Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 2016. EPA -
From left: SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk, Corning chief executive Wendell Weeks, then US president Donald Trump and Johnson & Johnson chief executive Alex Gorsky during a meeting at the White House. AFP -
Mr Musk and former wife Grimes at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, in 2018. AFP -
Mr Musk leaves a court in New York City, in 2019, after a hearing in a lawsuit brought against him by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Getty Images -
A prototype of SpaceX's Starship spacecraft is seen before Mr Musk gives an update on the company's Mars rocket Starship in Boca Chica, Texas, in 2019. Reuters -
Mr Musk at the construction site of the Tesla Gigafactory in Gruenheide, near Berlin, Germany, last year. EPA -
Dancing onstage during a delivery event for Tesla's China-made Model 3 cars in Shanghai. Reuters -
Mikey Day as a lawyer, Cecily Strong as a judge, and host Elon Musk as Wario during the "Wario" sketch on NBC's 'Saturday Night Live', in May. Getty Images -
Mr Musk with Armin Laschet, CDU party federal chairman and prime minister of Germany's North Rhine-Westphalia, talk during a tour of the plant of the future foundry of the Tesla Gigafactory in Grünheide, near Berlin, Germany. Getty Images
The Plaid version of the Model X has had a similar makeover and injection of speed and power. In fact, Tesla claim it is the “highest performing SUV ever built” in terms of power and acceleration.
Starting at $113,190, inclusive of incentives, it has a maximum range of 547km (less than the more standard Long Range model) and can do 0-60kph in 2.5 seconds. Three high-performance motors give the X plaid peak power of 1,020 horsepower. Musk said in the earnings call deliveries of the Model S Plaid will be in February.
