The Tesla Model S is fast in any configuration, but we all know about the Plaid. For those who either forgot or aren't up-to-speed on 1980s pop culture, plaid is a reference to the comedy flic Spaceballs, referencing a speed faster than ludicrous, which was the range-topping mode for earlier Teslas (also borrowed from Spaceballs).
But you aren't interested in that. You want to see a car go from a dead stop to 166 mph in 14 seconds. For that, just click play on the above video but don't bother with the sound. It's an eerily silent surge of acceleration punctuated by wind noise and perhaps a touch of whine from the electric powertrain.
Gallery: 2021 Tesla Model S Plaid Refresh
The video comes from the crew at AutoTopNL, which are certainly well acquainted with speed runs on unrestricted sections of Germany's autobahn network. We don't often see EVs put to the test in this setting, never mind one of the quickest accelerating models available. Perhaps that's why this video features multiple low-speed and standing-start acceleration blasts, because there are few production cars in the world that pull harder than a Tesla Model S Plaid.
It's one thing to see numbers frantically climbing, but midway through the clip we see the driver entering the highway behind slower traffic, patiently waiting for the left lane to clear. A hatchback passes with some haste as the Tesla hovers around 38 mph (60 kph), but the gap barely exceeds a bus length once the driver starts to accelerate. That particular run sees the Model S Plaid go from 38 mph to 159 mph (256 kph) in 12 seconds, and the driver didn't apply full throttle for nearly half the run.
The final sprint in the video is the keeper. that's the 0-166 mph sprint in 14 seconds, though nearly all of the run is done in just 11 seconds. Tesla officially lists the top speed at 200 mph, though it's only available through certain hardware upgrades. Otherwise, the Model S Plaid is electronically limited in normal operation to 166 mph.
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