Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Bought my first Tesla, 2021 Plaid

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
I ordered a new Red Plaid with black interior and 19" wheels and FSD about a month ago. They told me it would be delivered in June, when I got home I started looking for used ones. I found the exact options on a 2021 Plaid with 300 miles in Texas at a Chrysler dealership for 16k less than new.

I traded in my 2015 Audi A8L 4.0 at the dealership and picked up my new Plaid. It was a 18 hour drive from Michigan and it took me a couple of days to get there and two days to drive it back.

I had never driven an electric car so it was like jumping into the deep end to learn to swim. The navigation software did a great job of routing me back and selecting charging locations on the way. I had put in my credit card info into the app but because it was a used car I believe it charged the previous owner for the charging on the way home. Let the dealership know about the charging costs and they said don't worry about it.

I ordered a wall charger and installed it before I left, I was very pleasantly surprised when I opened the trunk of the plaid to move my luggage and saw another brand new one in the trunk. I will install this one at my office to charge me and my partners cars, I saw that there is a way to have it only charge authorized cars which is great.

I have owned many different cars and this is the first car I can honestly say is fast enough, I wouldn't want a car any faster. It is so fun to give people rides and see and hear their reaction! In previous cars you don't really want to give full throttle launches for the damage to clutches, transmission, tires etc... This car just does it so effortlessly and quietly it is awesome.

After about 3,000 miles I am fine with the yoke for steering but I really dislike the turn signals and horn. I would much rather have a set of stalks to handle the functions for the buttons on the yokes. I disliked the looks of the 19" wheels until I removed the covers and now I think they look great.

The FSD right now seems like a joke, it doesn't really do anything to justify the 12k price. I just opted out and opted back in on the Beta so that I could reset my safety score, the previous owner had a 65 score over the few drives he had, I got it up to a 94 but some of the things it dings you on are pretty ridiculous. I am planning to get a high score by driving off hours and keep it at a 98 or higher for a week to get the Beta.

Still getting used to the UI, some things are great and others not so much, overall I love the big screen and the detail of the maps.

Things I miss from my Audi: Massaging seats, read seat leg room, soft close doors and adjustable seat belts. overall the Plaid is a great car though, probably the best car I have owned.

Just got back from a short trip in some light snow and the car did great, I am not sure if I will need winter tires next year or not. I have a truck I can drive it we get hit with a lot of snow.

Bought some decals for the door handles and the brake calipers, after trying them I removed them immediately. Went with black center caps for the wheels once I removed the covers. I also removed the front license plate bracket as soon as I got home. The yoke covering is coming off on the side and seems very cheaply made.

Sorry for the rambling, just thought I would put some of my thoughts out there.

door handle.jpeg
wheel with cover.jpeg
First Charge.jpg
wheel inserts.jpeg
Wheel without cover.jpeg
 
The way I describe the acceleration (of a slightly slower model than plaid, in my avatar) is that it's effectively no different from having infinite accelleration. At least from a standstill. Af higway passing speeds the acceleration is sometimes fully welcome.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TheMarsMan
awesome we just ordered our used 21 plaid in black with the 21's cream interioir, fsd. it was 115k with 5k miles from tesla direct they really throw a tone of the "add ons" for free if you compare car to car. We felt the free FSD and 21 wheels (which I didnt actually want) made it worth more as a trade in down the road. Were selling our M3P 22 with 2k miles to carmax this week and getting almost what we paid for it last year so thats cool. Glad the used experience was good for you.