- Tesla cancels production of Model S Plaid+…
- Musk says Model S Plaid is just as good…
- Electric automaker struggles amid supply chain shortages…
Tesla cancels production of its new top-of-the-line Model S sedan.
In a tweet on Sunday Tesla CEO Elon Musk said production was beginning on the Model S Plaid series this week and also announced, “Plaid+ is canceled. No need, as Plaid is just so good.”
He followed that up with a tweet saying, “0 to 60mph in under 2 secs. Quickest production car ever made of any kind. Has to be felt to be believed.”
This comes after the option to order a Plaid+ model was removed from Tesla’s website in late May.
Both the Plaid and Plaid+ were set to have three motors and the ability to go from 0 to 60 in 2 seconds.
But Tesla had previously said the Plaid+ model would have a driving range of 520 miles on a single charge while the Plaid model is only advertised with a range of 390 miles.
The regular Model S Plaid has a price tag of $119,900 while the Plaid+ model was set to cost $150,000.
What Is the Model S Plaid?
The Model S Plaid is set to be officially unveiled in a delivery ceremony on June 10 at the Tesla factory in Fremont, California.
That event was previously scheduled for June 3 but Musk pushed it back a week saying in a May 28 tweet, “Model S Plaid delivery pushed to June 10. Needs one more week of tweak. This car feels like a spaceship. Words cannot describe the limbic resonance.”
The name “Plaid” comes from the 1987 Star Wars parody film Spaceballs.
In Star Wars the stars turn into streaks as spacecraft enter hyperspace while in Spaceballs, the stars turn to plaid as the spacecraft goes even faster.
According to Tesla’s website, the Model S Plaid features an all-new interior design complete with a 17” cinematic display screen, a redesigned rectangular steering wheel, a state-of-the-art air conditioning system, and freshened-up second-row of seats.
The car will also be Tesla’s most powerful to date with its three independent motors pushing out 1,020 horsepower and reaching that 0-to-60 in 1.99 seconds.
Tesla says the exterior of the car is designed to have the “lowest drag coefficient on Earth and unmatched efficiency.”
But the announcement of Plaid+ being canceled comes amid a recent series of production issues for Tesla.
Tesla Faces Supply Chain Issues
The electric automaker has not been exempt from the supply chain issues plaguing the global auto industry.
The biggest of those issues is a semiconductor chip shortage, which consulting firm AlixPartners estimates will cost automakers $110 billion in revenue this year.
Image credit: Travel mania/Shutterstock.com
And those supply chain struggles have resulted in price increases for Tesla cars.
In a May 31 tweet, Musk confirmed, “Prices increasing due to major supply chain price pressure industry-wide. Raw materials especially.”
That tweet was in response to a Twitter user who was criticizing Tesla for raising prices on the Model 3 and Model Y while removing features like lumbar support in passenger seats.
But Musk said, “Moving lumbar was removed only in front passenger seat of 3/Y (obv not there in rear seats). Logs showed almost no usage. Not worth cost/mass for everyone when almost never used.”
Tesla raised prices for its Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in May after Musk sounded the alarm on supply chain issues during the April earnings call.
During that call, Musk said, “Q1 had some of the most difficult supply chain challenges that we’ve ever experienced in the life of Tesla and same difficulties with supply chain, with parts — over the whole range of parts.”
But he also expressed optimism saying, “I think we’re mostly out of that particular problem.”
Those earnings show the vast majority of all 184,877 vehicles delivered in Q1 were Model 3 and Model Y cars while zero Model S and Model X cars were produced in the quarter
The supply chain issues are being blamed for the delayed delivery of the Model S Plaid.
In the Q1 earnings call, Musk said, “there were more challenges than expected in developing the Model S or what we call the Palladium program, which is the new version of Model S and X, which has revised interior and new battery pack and new drive units and new internal electronics.”
The electric automaker’s stock fell on the news of Plaid+ being canceled and at writing shares were down about 2%.
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