Tesla Model S Plaid Max Performance Secured, No Sticky Drag Strip

It turns out you don't need a specially treated drag strip to pull off the Plaid's incredible acceleration times.

tesla model s plaid no drag strip required

Steven Loveday

By: Steven Loveday

Jul 19, 2021 at 9:16am ET

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It comes as no surprise that Brooks Weisblat of Drag Times took delivery of a brand-new Tesla Model S Plaid. It's the quickest production car ever built, so there just has to be one for Drag Times' videos.

We already watched Brooks demonstrate the Model S Plaid's performance at the strip, but this video is a bit different. In fact, most of the video doesn't even focus on the car's "magic" acceleration times. Rather, it's about taking delivery of the refreshed Model S, as well as getting the car cleaned and having paint protection applied.

At any rate, Brooks talks about Motor Trend's recent coverage that claims the Model S Plaid can't actually pull off the numbers Tesla advertised except under very specific conditions. You probably remember, Motor Trend sort of went to bat against Tesla's zero to 60 mph claims due to rollout, which is strange since rollout is common. However, the publication also talked about how Tesla insisted the Plaid do the runs at a specific track with a specially prepped surface.

Since Motor Trend was the first big automotive publication to officially test the Model S Plaid, and people look to the site for acceleration times, it seems Tesla wanted to make sure everything was done correctly.

Fast-forward to the present and Brooks takes the car onto a "street" surface. He doesn't disclose exactly what this street surface looks like or where it's located. The point here is that the Model S Plaid can actually pull off the numbers Tesla promised without being on a sticky drag strip.