Tesla’s ultra-fast Model S Plaid, which the company has been teasing since 2019, is finally ready for its public debut. The company will hold a “delivery event” on June 3rd at its factory in Fremont, California, CEO Elon Musk tweeted Thursday though it’s unclear when Tesla actually plans on delivering the vehicle to customers. And there’s still no word on when we can expect to see Plaid versions of the Model X.
The Model S Plaid, which is a step above Tesla’s Ludicrous trim level, can sprint from 0–60 mph in less than two seconds and reach speeds of up to 200 mph, Musk says. It will have a range of 520 miles, which is well above Tesla’s highest range models, and it will retail for $139,990. Musk says it will be the “fastest production car ever.”
Tesla actually never ended up holding an event or even a presentation about the new Model S and Model X as it just unveiled it as part of its earnings results back in January.
Musk talked about holding a conference call about the new version of the electric vehicles the next week, but it didn’t happen.
Now that we know there’s going to be a delivery event, we would expect Tesla to have a more detailed presentation of the new version with more details on the updates.
Specifically, we would expect Tesla to comment on the status of the new Model S’s steering wheel.
Tesla is believed to have moved to a steer-by-wire technology for the new Model S, which was unveiled with a butterfly steering wheel.
But several new Model S prototypes were also spotted with a normal round steering wheel, and Tesla should explain the situation at the event.
Tesla is not inured to the challenges facing the entire auto industry, including supply chain problems and a global semiconductor chip shortage. In an April earnings call, Musk said deliveries of the refreshed Model S should begin “shortly” without specifying an exact date.
According to Tesla’s website, Plaid Model S deliveries are expected “August-September,” while Plaid Model X won’t reach customers until “January-February” 2022. Plaid Plus versions of both vehicles, with the extended 520 miles of range, aren’t expected until “mid-2022.”
