Tesla Could Build A Model 3 Plaid. That Doesn’t Mean It Will

Tesla’s top engineer says he thinks about a tri-motor Model 3 “all the time,” but the company’s priorities lie elsewhere.

2025 Tesla Model 3 Performance (Euro-Spec)

Photo by: Andrei Nedelea

Andrei Nedelea

By: Andrei Nedelea

May 30, at 7:36am ET

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Tesla has considered a tri-motor Model 3 internally, but it probably won't become the next Plaid model.
Lars Moravy says Tesla’s best performance hardware is currently being aimed at the Roadster.
A Model 3 Plaid would need more than just extra power, like major brake and cooling upgrades.

With the Model S and Model X now retired, one obvious question hangs over Tesla’s performance lineup: where does Plaid go next? The Model S Plaid was the car that turned Tesla’s already quick luxury sedan into something absurdly fast, using a tri-motor powertrain to deliver acceleration that is still almost unbeatable nearly five years later. The Model S Plaid was quicker than the new four-motor Ferrari Luce, which is set to cost over $600,000.

But Tesla no longer offers a Plaid model and hasn’t announced plans to introduce a new one. However, during an appearance on the Ride The Lightning podcast, Tesla’s engineering boss Lars Moravy revealed that he thinks about putting the Plaid powertrain into a Model 3 “all the time.”

He then goes on to talk about carbon sleeves and permanent magnet motors, which sounds like actual engineering speak rather than just humoring the podcast host’s question. That's a reference to the drive units for the Plaid powertrain, whose rotors are wrapped in a tightly wound carbon-fiber sleeve, allowing it to achieve higher rpm.

Gallery: 2025 Tesla Model 3 Performance (Euro-Spec)

2025 Tesla Model 3 Performance (Euro-Spec)

Source: Andrei Nedelea

Moravy says the Plaid powertrain was originally developed for the 2017 Roadster prototype before being pushed into the Model S after Porsche set a Nürburgring benchmark with the Taycan. That paved the way for the Model S Plaid to be created, but it also showed how much the upgraded supporting hardware matters.

He recalled early Plaid testing when a prototype's carbon-ceramic brakes caught fire after a single lap and a hard stop. The production Model S Plaid initially arrived without carbon-ceramic brakes, and early track use quickly exposed the mismatch between its colossal acceleration and its stopping power.

Tesla eventually offered upgraded brake kits for the Model S Plaid, including carbon ceramic brakes that cost a whopping $20,000, making the car far more suitable for track use.

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But a Model 3 Plaid would be a considerably lighter vehicle. While it, too, would need bigger brakes than even the Performance has, with power levels much closer to the old Model S Plaid than the current Model 3 Performance, it would still be easier to stop from high speeds.

A Model 3 Plaid sounds almost obvious from the outside, because Tesla already has the badge, the motors, and a car that would make good use of both. A Model Y Plaid would probably also get a lot of people excited. However, Moravy seemed pretty reserved about a production prospect, even though he clearly finds the engineering challenge tempting.

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