Tesla Cancels Most Expensive Electric Car, Model S Plaid Plus

Red Tesla Model S cars hold their value best on the resale market. John Keeble/Getty Images

A month ago, Elon Musk told his fans that Tesla would hold a “delivery event” at the company’s Fremont, Calif. factory on June 3 for a high-end version of the Model S sedan, called Model S Plaid. He also teased an even more advanced variation called Model S Plaid Plus. The event has since been delayed to June 10 to allow for “one more week of tweak” and will no longer feature the Plaid Plus.

“Plaid+ is canceled,” Musk tweeted Sunday afternoon. The reason, according to the CEO, is that the upgraded Model S Plaid will be good enough.

“No need. Plaid is just so good,” Musk said in the same tweet, adding in another, “0 to 60mph in under 2 secs. Quickest production car ever made of any kind. Has to be felt to be believed.”

Model S goes to Plaid speed this week

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 6, 2021

0 to 60mph in under 2 secs. Quickest production car ever made of any kind. Has to be felt to be believed.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 6, 2021

The Model S Plaid is powered by Tesla’s newly developed tri-motor Plaid powertrain, which gives drivers 1,010 horsepower, acceleration from 0 to 60 mph in just 1.9 seconds—the fastest of any road car on the market—and a top speed of 200 mph. The standard Model S can accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in 3.1 seconds.

The only shortcoming, compared with Plaid Plus, is range. The Model Plaid has a range of 390 miles. The cancelled Plaid Plus was designed for a 520-mile range on a full charge.

Plaid Plus was originally expected to enter production in 2022. Tesla had priced it at $150,000, which would have made it the most expensive car the company had ever made. The link to order Plaid Plus on Tesla’s website was disabled as of last week. The Model S Plaid starts at $120,000.

Tesla has been selling fewer of its high-end Model S and Model X vehicles in recent quarters as its mass-market car sales ramp up. In the first quarter, the company didn’t produce any new Model S or Model X and delivered only 2020 vehicles across these two models out of 184,800 total deliveries.