The Tesla Model S Plaid Just Smashed Two More Records

May. 17, 2021 6:48 AM ET by Karl Furlong Electric Vehicles / 22 Comments

First the quarter-mile, and now another Laguna Seca record has allegedly tumbled.

The new Tesla Model S Plaid is one of the most ballistic sedans in the world. With three electric motors and all-wheel drive, Tesla claims it'll reach 60 mph in under two seconds and go on to a top speed of 200 mph. The slower Model S Performance already set a new quarter-mile record a year ago at 10.4 seconds before a stripped-down Lucid Air managed a 9.245-second time last September. A new report from Drive Tesla Canada indicates that the Plaid just set a blistering new quarter-mile time and this, together with another Plaid's recent Laguna Seca Raceway lap, indicates that Tesla is chasing two speed records.

The numbers show that the Model S Plaid's new quarter-mile time was a mind-blowing 9.23 seconds with a trap speed of 152.16 mph. This is faster than both a Porsche 918 Spyder and Bugatti Chiron Sport, both of which managed sub-10-second runs. The Tesla's time is a whisker quicker than the Lucid Air's time set last year but that particular Air was a stripped-down model whereas the Plaid in question was a stock Model S. The Tesla's time, set at the Autoclub Famoso Raceway in Bakersfield, makes it the quickest production car in the world over the quarter-mile. The presence of Tesla officials and Jay Leno lead us to believe that this was an official test and the footage should be revealed soon.

BREAKING: Tesla is CURRENTLY attempting lap records in a couple of Model S Plaid (possibly a Plaid+) prototypes at Laguna Seca Raceway!
They just secured a 1:30:XX (unconfirmed time)
This is a developing story - more photos and videos to follow. pic.twitter.com/BqxPdK4k43
— The Kilowatts ???? (@klwtts) May 14, 2021

In a separate video shared by The Kilowatts on Twitter, Model S Plaid prototypes took to the Laguna Seca Raceway recently and set an unconfirmed time of 1:30:XXX. Interestingly, the Plaid model spotted on the track was wearing an active rear wing so it seems that Tesla has focused on aerodynamics too, not just power. Last year, the Lucid Air with a stripped interior managed an impressive time of 1:31.3 on the same track. Still, it seems that Tesla has the edge in all major performance metrics over its Lucid rival and practically every other car on the planet. We expect that it won't be long before Elon Musk and his team announce these numbers officially with much fanfare.