Automobiles

Tesla begins delivery of high-performance Plaid model

Tesla is set to begin delivering its high-performance Model S Plaid, with a price tag of around $129,990 per vehicle.

Deliveries of the new model were announced at Tesla’s test track in California during a livestream event on Thursday, CNBC reported.

“We’re in production and going to deliver the first 25 cars now, and then basically should be at several hundred cars per week soon and a thousand cars per week next quarter,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk said at the event. 

Elon repeatedly mentioned the car can go from zero to 60 miles per hour in 2 seconds, saying during the event that it was “faster than Porsche but safer than Volvo.”

“You can pick this motor up with your hands and it can accelerate a two-ton car to 60 miles an hour in 2 seconds. That kind of power-to-weight is insane,” Musk said.

The vehicle has not yet been rated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Tesla recently had to recall its Model 3 vehicles from 2018 and 2020, as well as Model Y cars from 2019 to 2021, due to seat belt and tire safety issues. 

The company has also been under scrutiny for car crashes involving the autopilot feature.