So what makes a Plaid + worth $30k more than a Plaid? [Update: Plaid+ canceled]

[Cal1]

We saw our fist Taycan today. Wife was not impressed and my planned test drive next month is in jeopardy. I was explaining why our Plaid + will be so much faster, better etc and of course she had to go on Tesla.com and find specs.

At first she thought both a Plaid and Plaid + were 0-60 1.99 sec. Not wanting to miss a chance to show my vast automotive knowledge, I explained that our Plaid + will have 3 motors and Plaid will only have 2 so they can't have the same 0-60 times. She very inconsiderately pointed out that the website shows tri-motors for both. We previously owned a P85 so I do understand inverters can increase power but not worth $30k more. Looking closer at the website I noticed they did spec them differently: Plaid 0-60 1.99 sec and Plaid + <1.99 sec.

More range is fine but not enough for me to pay an additional $30k for. How much less than 1.99 secs are we talking here? Plaid is spec'd at 1020hp and Plaid + spec'd at 1100hp. 80 more hp just doesn't seem enough to have an appreciably affect on 0-60. 1/4 mile times are close also.

So what am I paying $30k more for? Just how much faster will a Plaid + be? Will it come with special tires totally unusable in any winter weather? Perhaps there will be different motors.

Here is the chart from the website: Range and Performance

1. Acceleration 0-60 mph

Long Range

3.1 sec

Plaid

1.99 sec

Plaid+

<1.99 sec

1. Range

Long Range

412 miles

Plaid

390 miles

Plaid+

520+ miles

1. Top Speed

Long Range

155 mph

Plaid

200 mph

Plaid+

200 mph

1. Drivetrain

Long Range

Dual Motor All-Wheel Drive

Plaid

Tri Motor All-Wheel Drive

Plaid+

Tri Motor All-Wheel Drive

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

"profit" (also newer batteries).

for $30k I'd rather pickup the normal one and a used Wrangler for top down, doors off fun

 

[ucmndd]

Nobody really knows the answers to your questions because the Plaid+ is still vaporware and won’t be delivered for at least a year and a half.

 

[Muzzman1]

I have had a plaid + on order at about 30 secs after it was announced back in Sept 2020. I was wondering the same things.
Here's my take:
1.) For me less than 9.0 ET means the car will be in the 8's. I've been drag racing my whole life and the thought of a reliable 8 sec car is too good to pass up.
2.) 520+ sounds great for road trips. (this was my main selling point to my wife)
3.) I STRONGLY suspect the new battery tech will allow MUCH faster charging at SC's.
4.) With that I suspect stronger regen, since the batteries will be able to take more amps in.
5.) I also suspect there will be some suspension/wheel/tire difference to support the crazy Laguna Seca time. (not critical for me)
6.) Having the latest battery tech is also appealing, cause I'm hoping this will be my last car for 10 yrs. at least.
I've been saying that since my 1st model S in 2014, and since then I've purchased 4 teslas.

 

[BigNick]

Likely at least 25 kWh more capacity with the 4680 cells.

 

[lolachampcar]

Teslas make most of their 1/4 mile performance in the 60 ft. Trapping at 155 ( or close to that IIRC the video) makes for a car that will pull muich harder beyond the 60 foot mark and not lay down with speed. That makes the car more useful to me on a daily basis. That said, maybe the Plaid would be good enough.

A decrease in internal cell resistance allows for faster charging and added capacity without added weight. This makes for a car that does not pay an additional handling penalty for the performance increase. This would differentiate it from the Plaid.

CCFs???

Improved suspension?

Just guessing here.

 

[dark cloud]

Will it come with special tires totally unusable in any winter weather?

definitely.

 

[Darmie]

I have had a plaid + on order at about 30 secs after it was announced back in Sept 2020. I was wondering the same things.
Here's my take:
1.) For me less than 9.0 ET means the car will be in the 8's. I've been drag racing my whole life and the thought of a reliable 8 sec car is too good to pass up.
2.) 520+ sounds great for road trips. (this was my main selling point to my wife)
3.) I STRONGLY suspect the new battery tech will allow MUCH faster charging at SC's.
4.) With that I suspect stronger regen, since the batteries will be able to take more amps in.
5.) I also suspect there will be some suspension/wheel/tire difference to support the crazy Laguna Seca time. (not critical for me)
6.) Having the latest battery tech is also appealing, cause I'm hoping this will be my last car for 10 yrs. at least.
I've been saying that since my 1st model S in 2014, and since then I've purchased 4 teslas.

Wish I ordered like you. Now it's up 10 grand more.

 

[Cal1]

What are CCFs?

I really want it to be much better than a Plaid to justify the price diff. We aren't trip folks so that additional milage/faster charging will not be of interest. I'm not a drag expert but I have tracked cars and used to be pretty familiar with the sports car performance market.

To get below 4 sec 0-60 used to take at least $100k. To get below 3 sec took another $100k Then every every 1/10 sec was crazy $. Like literally millions of $ to go from say 2.8 to 2.5. No one was below 2 sec. Even 2.5 was rarified air. Less than 2 sec is truly supercar territory for a standard production car.

Should point out that you can do amazing things aftermarket but we're talking unmodified off the showroom floor cars here. This website is pretty good for seeing speed comparisons for the Plaid +.

Fastest Cars 0-60 Times | 0 to 60 & Quarter Mile Specs for the Fastest Cars in the World

Find 0 to 60 specs for the Quickest Cars in the World Car makers are constantly releasing new high-performance cars that have been carefully engineered to accelerate even faster than their predecessors. Many car manufacturers invest substantial resources in an effort to build some of the fastest...

www.zeroto60times.com

 

[BPeter]

I feel like the $30k (and especially previous $20k) from Plaid to Plaid+ is a better value than the $40k from LR to Plaid.

LR to Plaid the only difference is the rear drive unit, everything else is the same.

From Plaid to Plaid+ you get a much larger and newer battery. That should hopefully bring lots of other good stuff with it like crazy fast charging times.

I felt if you were going for Plaid then it made little sense to not get Plaid+ at $20k more. Now that it's $30k more it's less of a no-brainer.

 

[Cal1]

I should address the Porsche Taycan "Turbo" label controversy. The negative overreaction to Porsche using Turbo on an electric car was way over the top.

I mean after all we already had Plaid so what were they going to do? I'm just saying....

 

[dark cloud]

LR to Plaid the only difference is the rear drive unit, everything else is the same.

I imagine it will have 10k of better brakes, and we don’t know what else at this point.

Brembo® - GT Series 2-Piece CCM-R Cross Drilled Brake Kit

 

[Aggmeister2010]

Neither car actually exists at this point, just like the Cybertruck and the Roadster. So it's all just speculation. But it'd be hard to sell me on a plaid + unless I just had money to burn. So many better things to do with $30k than get to 60 .1 seconds faster and have to charge one more time per week.

That said, maybe the Plaid would be good enough.

"Maybe 1.99 second 0-60 would be good enough" - what a wild world we live in

 

[46&2]

Potential 7 seater? New body shape? Brakes? Suspension? More yet to come from a new battery architecture?

So many things nobody knows.

 

[Ohmster]

My wish list

For all S variants:

• Matrix Headlights
• New tailights w/ updated LEDs/diffusers

And selfishly specific to Plaid+

• Upgraded brakes
• Cross drilled brake rotors
• Suspension enhancements
• Faster charging
• Subtle but substantial visual body differences
• HUD
• More paint color choices
• Body color trim and door handles
• + Branded seats
• Ventilated rear seats
• Power doors (our X has me spoiled and waiting for my S doors to open)
• Rear steering

 

[sillydriver]

I assume it's brakes, some aero (probably a larger rear diffuser) and whatever it takes to sustain performance over the 7 or so minutes needed to lap the Nurburgring, i.e. a better cooling architecture for a 4680 structural pack.

 

[Aggmeister2010]

I assume it's brakes, some aero (probably a larger rear diffuser) and whatever it takes to sustain performance over the 7 or so minutes needed to lap the Nurburgring, i.e. a better cooling architecture for a 4680 structural pack.

I certainly hope Tesla sees the benefit of a big brake kit on the Plaid/+. On the old Performance models, IIRC the only difference in brakes from a base model is that the calipers are painted red.

 

[sillydriver]

I certainly hope Tesla sees the benefit of a big brake kit on the Plaid/+. On the old Performance models, IIRC the only difference in brakes from a base model is that the calipers are painted red.

Agree. I was recently driving my old P85DL on a two lane country road with a 55 speed limit and passed another car faster than I had to out of sheer exuberance. I decided to brake hard afterward - also just for the joy of driving - and I was nearly back down to the limit when the brake pedal collapsed almost to the floor. I was too busy looking at the road to read the error message on the screen, but I think I caught the words "... assist for brake low performance" or something like that out of the bottom of my field of vision. I probably need the brake fluid changed, which is a pain because I hate Tesla service, but it would be nice if the whole brake system was more robust.

 

[Aggmeister2010]

Agree. I was recently driving my old P85DL on a two lane country road with a 55 speed limit and passed another car faster than I had to out of sheer exuberance. I decided to brake hard afterward - also just for the joy of driving - and I was nearly back down to the limit when the brake pedal collapsed almost to the floor. I was too busy looking at the road to read the error message on the screen, but I think I caught the words "... assist for brake low performance" or something like that out of the bottom of my field of vision. I probably need the brake fluid changed, which is a pain because I hate Tesla service, but it would be nice if the whole brake system was more robust.

thats happened to me a few times. “Reduced braking performance” or something. It’s like the electronic brake booster can't keep up with the vacuum needed or something. I know Cadillac CTS-V brakes fit on the S, but I’m curious if the Bosch iBooster is the weakest link.

 

[dark cloud]

Tesla testing Model S Plaid prototypes at Laguna Seca with new adjustable rear wing - Drive Tesla Canada