Tesla Model S Plaid Breaks 1/4-Mile Record, According To Jay Leno

Leno says the run and timing were official.

2021 Tesla Model S Plaid Refresh

Steven Loveday

By: Steven Loveday

Jun 3, 2021 at 9:18am ET

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Amid production and delivery delays, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been touting the Model S Plaid on social media. It stands to be the quickest production car ever built, with a 1.99-second zero-to-60-mph time. We assume we'll hear much more about it at the upcoming delivery event next week. However, what we're especially interested in are recent claims by Jay Leno that the Model S set an all-time quarter-mile record, and it's not just for electric cars.

Leno recently talked on the Spike's Car Radio podcast. He says the Model S Plaid pulled off an incredible 9.247-second quarter-mile pass. If this is true, and it's considered official, it's a new world record, and you'd better bet Musk will be officially announcing it at next week's big event.

Last month, there were reports of Tesla breaking the record, albeit unofficially. We've also read several reports stating that the Model S Plaid, as well as other Teslas were testing at various tracks. Now, if Leno's words are true, and it seems he has no reason to lie publically, the previous announcements may actually be official.

The most impressive part here is that the Model S is a large family sedan with seating for up to seven people. The quickest version, the Plaid+ carries a starting price of around $150,000. For comparison, the current quarter-mile record-holder is the limited production Bugatti Chiron Sport supercar, which costs over $3 million. The current leaders are as follows, assuming the Model S Plaid's time is made official publically:

2021 Tesla Model S Plaid - 9.2 seconds
2018 Bugatti Chiron Sport - 9.4 seconds.
2015 Porsche 918 Spyder - 9.7 seconds
2015 McLaren P1 - 9.8 seconds

Perhaps Tesla will make the news official on June 10, when it has its Model S Plaid delivery event. Folks in the community have been speculating about what big news Musk might reveal at the event.

What do you think?

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According to Leno, he was at the Autoclub Famoso Raceway in Bakersfield, with the NHRA on hand for official timing. He said on the podcast:

“I’ll tell you what I did. I went up to Famoso Dragway in Bakersfield. And the Tesla Plaid...I drove by, and the NHRA guy was there to make it official. It turned a 9.247, at 152 MPH."

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