Tesla Model S Plaid Is Fastest Car from 0-60 MPH Ever Tested by Motortrend (2024)

Jan 7, 2023

By Eva Fox

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Image: Tesla

Tesla Model S Plaid is the fastest car from 0-60 mph that Motortrend has ever tested. “When experiencing the acceleration of a Plaid, it's abundantly clear that virtually the only force you feel is the Tesla's seatback,” the publication wrote.

Tesla cars are known in the industry for their mind-blowing acceleration. Its new Model S Plaid is even more unique in terms of speed and is the fastest car in mass production. Motortrend also tested it and several other electric vehicles to see which one was the fastest and the winner was determined. The publication noted that the most understandable measure of acceleration for most would be measurements in terms of acceleration time from 0 to 60 mph. However, it emphasized that when it comes to the fastest electric vehicles on the planet, the best indicator might be “sustained gravitic force.”

“At 3.0 seconds to 60 mph—or less—a vehicle exerts roughly the same g forces on a human as the earth does when the same person is free falling.”

Motortrend has published a list of the 10 fastest 0-60 mph electric vehicles they have personally tested, and the 2021 Tesla Model S Plaid is the fastest car they have ever tested. Although in the overall standings, Motortrend indicated that the car they tested achieved a 0-60 mph time of 2.3 seconds and the Model S Plaid actually took first place, this is a bit confusing. When they tested the car, the actual acceleration time was 1.98 seconds on the specially prepared track and 2.1 seconds on the standard test track they always use. “The next day we took the car to our regular testing facility, where it laid down a 2.1-second 0-60 sprint,”wroteMotortrend.Therefore, it would be more correct to point out that the 0-60 mph acceleration time for the 2021 Tesla Model S Plaid is 2.1 seconds, although this still does not change the overall result.

2021 Tesla Model S Plaid: 0–60 MPH in 2.3 Seconds (2.1 Seconds)
2020 Porsche Taycan Turbo S: 0–60 MPH in 2.4 Seconds
2022 Lucid Air Grand Touring Performance: 0–60 MPH in 2.7 Seconds
2022 Audi RS E-Tron GT: 0–60 MPH in 2.9 Seconds
2022 Mercedes-AMG EQS 4Matic+ Sedan: 0–60 MPH in 3.0 Seconds
2022 GMC Hummer EV Edition 1: 0–60 MPH in 3.0 Seconds
2022 Rivian R1T Launch Edition: 0–60 MPH in 3.1 Seconds
2023 Kia EV6 GT: 0–60 MPH in 3.2 Seconds
2023 BMW iX M60: 0–60 MPH in 3.2 Seconds
2022 Rivian R1S Launch Edition: 0–60 MPH in 3.2 Seconds

Tesla Model S Plaid 2021 is fitted with three extraordinarily efficient and powerful electric motors, all-wheel drive thanks to those motors with two at the rear to further bolster the power shove, and an advanced traction control system that interacts seamlessly with said electric motors, wrote Motortrend. All this produces 1020 horsepower and 1050 ft-lb of torque.

“When experiencing the acceleration of a Plaid, it's abundantly clear that virtually the only force you feel is the Tesla's seatback hurling you forward to a degree that genuinely makes the horizon the floor. Except that floor is rushing up at you far faster than any free fall ever could.”

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Article edited by @SmokeyShorts; follow him on Twitter