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 quick, using a tri-motor powertrain to deliver acceleration that is still almost unbeatable nearly five years later—it’s faster than the new four-motor Ferrari, for instance.
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.
A Model 3 Plaid would not just be a Model 3 Performance with another motor bolted in. Moravy’s own comments made that clear. He described the idea as a “work for reward” decision. That means making a faster Model 3 is not just a question of whether Tesla can make it work, but it also has to be worth the engineering time and cost.
The current Model 3 Performance is already seriously quick, with Tesla quoting 0-60 mph in 2.9 seconds for the U.S. version—the Euro model is marginally slower. But a real Plaid version would be a totally different beast, with power levels much closer to the old Model S Plaid than the current Model 3 Performance.
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.
Source: insideevs.com
