Munro Live Checks Out Tesla Model S Plaid's Track Mode, Spins Car

This was the Model S Plaid's last drive before the long-awaited teardown.

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Dan Mihalascu

By: Dan Mihalascu

Jan 24, 2022 at 7:08am ET

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As part of the buildup to the long-awaited Tesla Model S Plaid teardown, Sandy Munro and his team have taken the high-performance electric sedan to the American Center for Mobility in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

Mind you, this track outing was the last drive before the teardown, with videos of the operation expected to start dropping today. Munro & Associates president Cory Steuben was behind the wheel of the Model S Plaid and he wanted to check out the newly released Track Mode.

Before that, he selected Drag Strip mode and did a 0-100-0 mph run in about 2,000 feet (610 meters). While he had to wait some 20 minutes for the car to condition itself for peak performance, it was well worth it as Cory described the entire experience as "otherworldly."

He then did a 0-60 timed launch to see how close the Model S Plaid could get to the official acceleration time on all-season tires. Pretty close, as it turns out: 2.35 seconds.

After that, it was time to see what the new Track Mode offers and Cory was not disappointed. On an improvised track, he drove the Tesla Model S Plaid as quickly as possible for many laps—there was a lot of tire screeching involved—and was impressed with how quick the car was.

He even spun the car in the heat of the moment (fast forward to the 9:42 minute mark), but thankfully there was plenty of room for the Model S Plaid to come to a full stop without hitting anything.

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As a reminder, Track Mode was pushed to Tesla Model S Plaid vehicles earlier this month as part of the 2021.44.30 over-the-air software update with the goal of allowing "individual adjustability of stability control, handling balance and regenerative braking to give drivers more authority over vehicle control at the racetrack."

Track Mode has five main components: optimized powertrain cooling, lateral torque vectoring, adjustable vehicle dynamics, adaptive suspension damping, and performance UI. The mode also unlocks a higher top speed of 175 mph (282 km/h).

Watch more Tesla Model S Plaid Track Mode videos

Tesla Model S Plaid Track Mode: Donuts, Drifting, And Top Speed