On the evening of June 10, 2021, local time, Tesla held a live delivery ceremony for its new Model S Plaid in Fremont, California. Elon Musk personally drove the new car and mischievously appeared on the stage. Musk began to introduce the product with his unique and slightly awkward stutter. The 2021 Model S Plaid has not been updated in the traditional sense of car manufacturing for 9 years.
Although the Plaid+ version was delayed (probably due to unsatisfactory CTC technology and 4680 batteries), the regular Plaid without a plus sign is indeed amazing in terms of performance. It can accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 2.1 seconds (1.99 seconds for 0-60 mph. According to the standards of the NHRA, the time it takes for a “rollout” of one foot after starting is not counted).
Vehicle weight is a data point that is relatively easy to overlook, after all, electric cars are heavier, and manufacturers also want to avoid this parameter that does not help all performance indicators. However, we can see that the new Plaid is about 80 kg lighter than the old Performance model.
This weight reduction is an admirable figure for the difference between new and old models of the same car type, as there is no difference in material between the two. Moreover, the new model has an additional motor and a larger radiator.
However, a careful comparison of the historical screenshots of old models and the white body pictures of new models on Tesla’s official website reveals many integrated reinforcements on the lower rear body of the new car, indicating that it has been die-casted with Giga Press just like Model Y.
Further inspection reveals more holes punched in the floor of Plaid’s body, and the crossbeam on the B pillar has been removed. This makes people curious about how the white body’s torsional rigidity will be affected. Unofficial data found on the internet shows that the torsional rigidity of the old Model S is 19,000 N·m/deg, which is below the industry average.
Automatic gear shifting, which has been criticized by a few netizens for safety issues, can actually be switched on or off as desired.
🔗Information source: Tesla
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.