Vehicles
Tesla Model S Plaid
Car and Driver's instrumented Model S Plaid test, repeated on a 2026 car, is the ranked acceleration.
0–60 mph
2.10s
Car and Driver instrumented test, non-prepped surface, Drag Strip mode. 2021 results: 2.1 seconds, omitting a 1-foot rollout of 0.2 seconds. Michelin Pilot Sport 4S. A 2026 retest recorded the same 2.1 seconds. Tesla's 1.99-second claim was on a prepped drag strip and is not the ranked figure.
This list
Why it's so fast
An electric car makes torque as soon as the motor turns. Top speed is the harder question: how long that push keeps winning against the air, and whether software stops the car first.
Torque without a wait
There is no turbo lag and, on most of these cars, no multi-gear hunt on the way to the ranked speed. The launch and the top speed are still two different problems.
Batteries and software
A battery has to supply the current, and a limiter may cut the run before drag does. The sources say which of those the figure is.
See the Tesla Model S Plaid for a tested electric launch.
This is how the category works. A note written for this entry appears here once it is in the database.
Provenance
Every measurement
Claimed, measured and official figures side by side, each with its source. The ranked figure is marked.
- 322km/h200mph89.4m/s174knRanked figure
Top speed. Tesla's owner's manual states 200 mph (322 km/h) for a Model S Plaid with carbon-ceramic brakes. Car and Driver reports the Track Package claim of 200 mph. The earlier 162 mph limiter is not stored. The ranked acceleration remains Car and Driver's 2.1-second 0–60.
Claimed - 2.10sRanked figure
0–60 mph. Car and Driver instrumented test, non-prepped surface, Drag Strip mode. 2021 results: 2.1 seconds, omitting a 1-foot rollout of 0.2 seconds. Michelin Pilot Sport 4S. A 2026 retest recorded the same 2.1 seconds. Tesla's 1.99-second claim was on a prepped drag strip and is not the ranked figure.
Verified - 9.40sRanked figure
Quarter mile. Same Car and Driver Plaid tests. 2021 and 2026 results blocks both read 9.4 seconds at 151 mph, omitting a 1-foot rollout of 0.2 seconds. Non-prepped surface. Not Tesla's 9.23-second claim.
Verified
Reference
Specs
- Model years tested
- 2021 and 2026
- Motors
- 3
- Tires
- Michelin Pilot Sport 4S
Spot a wrong number?
Every report is read by a person, and corrections are dated on the page.