Tesla announced a new Model S Plaid car Tuesday that can go from 0 to 60 mph in under 2 seconds and has a range of more than 520 miles.
The vehicle — which is listed for $140,000 on Tesla’s website — is available to order now and will be shipped by the end of 2021.
According to a brief teaser video shown during Tesla’s Battery Day event, the new model features some eye-popping specs for a production car. In addition to the speedy 0-60 time, the Model S Plaid has a top speed of 200 mph and over 1,100 horsepower.
The only thing beyond Ludicrous is Plaid
— Tesla (@Tesla) September 23, 2020
The car can also finish a quarter-mile drag in under 9 seconds, the company said.
CEO Elon Musk said the car posted a time of 1:30.3 at the famed Laguna Seca track, and hinted that a few more seconds could be shaved off the time.
“We’re confident the Model S Plaid will achieve the best track time of any production vehicle ever, of any kind, two-door or otherwise,” Musk said.
At the same event, Tesla announced the development of a new energy storage technology for its batteries that can more than halve production costs, store more energy, and lead to a more affordable electric car. Overall, the new battery would increase vehicle range by up to 54%, the company said.
Elon Musk also said the company’s cars would soon get a profoundly redesigned Autopilot feature. Teslas have had the Autopilot feature for a while, but improvements started to plateau a couple of years ago, Musk said. “We had to do a fundamental rewrite of the entire autopilot software stack and all of the labeling software as well,” he said. Instead of using still images from the cars’ eight cameras, Tesla is now labeling 3D video.
By pulling from all cameras simultaneously, the video captures how images change over time, making for more accurate labeling of objects. Musk called the difference “profound.”
The Tesla Model S catapulted the electric car maker from niche player to household name and captured the hearts of many an early adopter. Featuring a sleek body, class-beating range, and more easter-eggs than a Marvel movie, the Model S was an immediate sensation. The Model S is still the standard-bearer which all other EV sedans are judged.
