Elon Musk Claims Tesla S Plaid Model Breaks Electric Car Speed Record

Tesla Model S Plaid accelerates, reaching 60 mph in less than 2 seconds. (photo: doc. unsplash)

JAKARTA – Elon Musk announced on Thursday, September 9 that the 'completely unmodified, factory direct' Tesla Model S Plaid is capable of setting a new world speed record for electric car production.

The Model S Plaid completed a full lap on Germany's 13-mile Nürburgring Nordschleife track in seven minutes and 35.579 seconds. This time surpassed the previous best time of seven minutes 42 seconds set by the Porsche Taycan Turbo in 2019.

This German circuit is known as a place for automakers to test the performance of their new vehicles against competitors. Musk himself stated that the red sedan with 1,020 horsepower was not modified except for the tires.

However, the Tesla CEO also plans to test a modified Model S Plaid on the track that will boast 'aero surfaces, carbon brakes & track tires.'

Musk, along with Tesla lead designer Franz von Holzhausen, introduced the car for nearly $130.000 in early June. He proudly flaunts that the car is capable of accelerating from zero to 60 miles per hour in less than two seconds.

However, to reach a top speed of 200mph, drivers need 'proper wheels and tires' for an undisclosed additional fee, which according to Tesla's website, won't be available until fall 2021.

“Faster than Porsche but safer than Volvo”, Musk said during a live broadcast of the event. After Thursday's test, Musk's statement appears to be true.

The Model S Plaid cruised on windy roads, with a top speed of 103mph, as reported by Inside EVs media.

This electric car, according to Tesla, can complete the quarter-mile in just 9.23 seconds and go from zero to 60mph in just 1.99 seconds, all of which Musk says allowed the prized vehicle to set a new world record in Germany.

Tesla Model S Plaid just set official world speed record for a production electric car at Nurburgring. Completely unmodified, directly from factory. pic.twitter.com/AaiFtfW5Ht

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 9, 2021

Tesla previously released a boxed Model S in Colorado Springs in June, where Musk saw this vehicle race at the Pikes Peak Hill Climb race.

However, this time the car was modified to climb a mountain of 12.780 feet, the track was 14.000 feet, but bad weather shortened the course.

Tesla began shipping the Model S Plaid on June 11, which is a new iteration of the nine-year-old luxury sedan.

According to the company's website, the Model S Plaid tri-motor has a range of 390 miles, a top speed of 200mph, and 1.020 horsepower. As for the dual-motor configuration, it can cover 412 miles on a single charge and Musk says it can cover 187 miles on just 15 minutes of charging.

This Plaid model is a reference to Musk's love of the movie 'Spaceballs,' which updated the Model S at 'ludicrous speed' of the past.