Palladium (Plaid)
Introduction
The Tesla Palladium was announced on Tesla's "Battery Day" on September 2020. It is the company's most powerful car. The project was initially rejected by Elon Musk, claiming that the Model S platform will only receive minor upgrades. [1] The refresh included a new interior, new powertrain, suspension and thermal management amongst other improvements.[2] The refresh originally consisted of three models, the Long Range (LR), the Plaid, and the Plaid+, although the latter was cancelled shortly before deliveries began. The "Plaid" name is applied to the performance model and is a reference to the only speed faster than "Ludicrous" in the movie Spaceballs. Elon Musk claims that this will be the fastest production car ever made. [3] First 25 cars was delivered on the same day as their launch event on Jun 11th, 2021.
The Plaid model was announced on Tesla's "Battery Day" in September 2020[4], with initial deliveries in June 2021. First 25 cars were delivered on the same day they had their press conference. The refresh included a new interior, new powertrain, suspension and thermal management amongst other improvements.[2] The refresh originally consisted of three models, the Long Range (LR), the Plaid, and the Plaid+, although the latter was cancelled shortly before deliveries began. The "Plaid" name is applied to the performance model and is a reference to the only speed faster than "Ludicrous" in the movie Spaceballs. Elon Musk claims that this will be the fastest production car ever made. [3]Exterior:
Visually, the Plaid features a revised front, rear bumper, hood, black trim, rear diffuser, carbon fiber spoiler and subtle fender flares to accommodate wider tires. The car now features 9.5 inch wide front tires, and 10.5 inch wide rear tire, an increase of 1.0 and 1.5 inches respectively.[5] This means that the Plaid model has the lowest drag coefficient of any production car, with Cd=0.208. The car still features the same 8 camera autopilot system, and the same door handles, but now in satin black. The car features two factory wheel options. The standard 19-inch wheels features hubcaps called the tempest wheels. The other option for another $4500 USD is 21 inch wheels.[6] Franz von Holzhausen said in an episode of Jay Leno's garage that the Model S was designed to be like a tuned athlete. The philosophy of the vehicle is to have it feel lightweight and nimble. The idea of the design is to keep it attractive. The front grill was placed so that the brand can be recognizable as the brand grew, a place to carry the badge.[7]Interior:
Internally, the car has been drastically reworked. The interior features a non-circular, controversial "yoke" steering wheel. The yoke steering wheel was designed for better visibility, and specifically maximize and utilize Tesla's autopilot function. The stalks were deleted because Tesla believes that all human inputs are prone to error. The driver has a 12.3 Inch display and an additional 8-inch for the second row passengers. An upgraded 17 inch touch landscape-oriented center video screen was added with a resolution of 2200x1300. Musk claims it creates a cinematic experience. A new, customizable user interface, and improved gaming (via the AMD RDNA 2 GPU) rated at 10 Teraflops[8] was also added.[9] This was also complemented with an all new sound system, which features a 960W sound system and 22 speakers.[6] The company claims that the front seat rails are the only part they retained.[5] Changes to the Plaid also include a redesigned front seat and second row, which allows for more legroom and headroom for the backseat passengers. The rear inclined angle of the seats was changed and reduced the amount of interior trim at the same time. The interior also features a 36-Watt USB C charging supply, which Musk claims can support charging a laptop. Rear seat passengers also get dual wireless phone chargers. Like the Model 3 and Y, the Plaid features hidden tri-zone air vents, which allows rear passengers to have their own control.
Drive Train:
The Plaid model includes Tesla's first ever triple motor system, which produces 1020 Horsepower (760 kW) and 1050 pound-feet of torque (1,420 N⋅m). It features one motor for the front wheels, and two for the rear wheels. At the core of the motor features is brand new, innovative carbon-fiber sleeve-wrapped rotor which spins at 20,000 RPM and allows that car to hit a claimed 200 mph top speed. Tesla claims that peak horsepower happens at around 80 MPH and steadily increases all the way to 200mph.[5] Musk claimed that this presented challenges, because carbon and copper (the rotor material) have different thermal expansion rates.[10] The battery pack is slightly smaller than previous generations, but their main focus was on thermal capacity. Tesla engineers also claim that these changes help the Plaid charge faster. Charging was claimed to increase by 187 miles (301 km) in 15 minutes (on a 250 kW Supercharger).[11] The Plaid offers a range of 390 miles. The new HVAC system uses a heat pump that Tesla claims provides 30% longer range and requires 50% less energy in cold weather conditions than the previous Model S. The Plaid also features bigger brakes, a revised air suspension, and custom Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires from the factory.[5]
The company estimated that deliveries will reach 1000/week in Q3 of 2021. The Plaid was independently tested by Motor Trend to go 0–60 mph (0–97 km/h) in 2.07 seconds (1.98 on a prepped drag strip) and cover a quarter-mile (400 m) in 9.34 seconds at 152.2 mph (244.9 km/h). The Plaid set a new EV lap record at the Nürburgring with an official lap time of 7min 35.579secs, with an average speed of of 166.320 KM/H.[12] The cars starting price will be $133,100.[13] The Long Range model includes the front motor and a single rear motor (starting price $80k, but raised to $85k soon after deliveries began).[14]
