Tesla Model S Plaid Sets A New 1/4 Mile Record: 9.23 Seconds

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Tesla’s Model S Plaid recently set a new record for the fastest quarter-mile time of any production car, reports Drive Tesla Canada. The official record time was set on May 11, 2021, at the Autoclub Famoso Raceway in Bakersfield — four hours south of Tesla’s Fremont factory. The article noted that an attendee at the even told them that the Midnight Silver Model S Plaid set an official time of 9.23 seconds with a trap speed of 152.16 miles per hour.

This beat the previous record of 9.4 seconds that was held by the Bugatti Chiron Sport, which, at a base price of $3,260,000, is a bit pricier than the Tesla Model S Plaid, which starts at a measly (in comparison) $119,990. The time set by the Tesla is also almost a full half-second quicker than the second fastest car, the Porsche 918 Spyder.

The following list covers the top three fastest cars by 1/4 mile or 400-meter times (11 seconds or less), according to Wikipedia, as well as the new Model S Plaid’s record:

  • 2021 Tesla Model S Plaid — 9.23 seconds.
  • 2018 Bugatti Chiron Sport — 9.4 seconds.
  • 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder — 9.7 seconds.
  • 2015 McLaren P1 — 9.8 seconds.

Previously, the 2020 Tesla Model S Performance with Ludicrous Mode was 19th on the list. Tesla’s newest refresh, the Model S Plaid, made it all the way to the top spot according to the new time. Drive Tesla Canada noted that the new time record lines up almost exactly with Tesla’s targeted time and speed, which has been on the website since the new variant was announced earlier this year. According to Tesla, the quarter-mile time is 9.23 seconds at 155 mph (250 km/h) trap speed.

The article noted that the Tesla Plaid Model S quarter-mile time was quicker than the time Lucid set in its Air tri-motor prototype last year. Although, there was also a key difference. Lucid’s time of 9.245 was achieved in a completely stripped-down version of the Air, while the Model S Plaid had a full interior.

For now, there’s not any official footage of the race. Drive Tesla Canada was asked to keep its source’s identity private, so they are unable to share the footage of the run, but I have verified that Drive Tesla has seen the footage. The article did note that the footage will be shown soon and that there weren’t only Tesla employees at the track — Jay Leno was also there to film the testing session for his show, “Jay Leno’s Garage.” The article noted that he also got behind the wheel and was able to lay down a time of 9.50 seconds with the added weight of two passengers in the car during his run.


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Johnna Crider

Johnna owns less than one share of $TSLA currently and supports Tesla's mission. She also gardens, collects interesting minerals and can be found on TikTok

Johnna Crider has 1996 posts and counting. See all posts by Johnna Crider