The 2021 Tesla Model S is claimed to be the fastest production car in the world with its Plaid Plus variant capable of accelerating 0-100 kmph in sub-2 second timing.
If Tesla is the artist, the Tesla Model S is certainly one of the beautiful creations of the brand. In the business since 2012, the Tesla Model S electric sedan has grabbed a lot of attention with its design, power-packed performance and of course the exclusive features and functions that make it distinctive as compared to the other models in the fray.
Despite being nearly a decade in business, Tesla has finally given the luxury electric sedan a much-awaited redesigning touch. The EV manufacturer company’s CEO Elon Musk has announced that the new Model S is now completely ready to hit the roads. The new Tesla Model S comes available in three different variants – Long Range, Plaid and Plaid Plus.
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Available for order now, Tesla will start delivering the Long Range and Plaid variants of the updated Model S from March 2021. However, the buyers of Plaid Plus variants will have to wait until late 2021.
Tweaked exterior
As it has been revealed, the Tesla Model S has been given a complete design overhaul when compared to its previous iteration that entered production almost 9 years back.
On the outside, the new Tesla Model S has a new front bumper with slightly tweaked intakes, a revamped rear diffuser. Also, the electric sedan received a new 19 and 21-inch wheel designs. The entire exterior of the car is now finished in Black to match the Model Y.
A plush and futuristic interior
The real eye-catching redesigning touch lies inside the car. If the exterior has been retouched, the interior comes as a brand new one.
There’s a large 17-inch landscape-oriented central screen much like that of the Tesla Model 3 and Tesla Model Y. The all-new Tesla Model S also comes with a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster in front of the drive. Tesla, being the ‘Tesla’, had to give all parts of this new Model S a cutting edge technological upper hand on its competitors and hence the designers thought, why keep an analogue dashboard at all? Let’s go savvy. Let’s give a digital dashboard. However, that’s not exactly what’s unique in this model, as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi too have been trying their hands on similar ideas.
The real deal is the half circle steering wheel with touchpads, which looks straight from a Formula One car cockpit.
But, wait. The real deal is the steering wheel. Honestly, the steering wheeler doesn’t look like anything conventional anymore. Instead, it looks like straight from a Formula One car cockpit. The super sporty looking steering wheel can be mistaken for a spaceship controller right from the Star Trek as well. Tesla has removed the indicator, headlamp and windshield wiper stalks removed from their traditional position behind the steering wheel. Instead, Tesla has made way for integrated feather-touch buttons, which perform the tasks now. No wonder, this change not only makes the console roomier but stylish as well.
Removing the headlamp stalks may not be an issue in the 2021 Model S, as the electric sedan has an intelligent adaptive lighting system. The onboard sensors notice changing lighting conditions up ahead and turn the LED headlamps accordingly automatically, ensuring the required illumination on the road and objects ahead.
If this is not enough to make the interior look like a gaming cockpit, the centre screen certainly is. As Tesla says, the new central touchscreen is basically a gaming computer with 10 teraflops of processing power, and the released images show it running the popular fantasy RPG game Witcher 3. This is the similar infotainment system that we find in the Tesla Model 3, and it also uses a high-powered graphics processor, which is comparable to the new Sony Playstation 5.
The centre console has become more spacious and carries multiple wireless charging options. If we look at the dashboard, it is covered mostly with carbon fibre and wood trims. Tesla designers didn’t spare the door cards even.
For the rear occupants, the automaker has added a drop-down armrest with two adjacent cup holders. There’s an 8-inch screen on the back aimed to entertain people who’ll sit behind. This screen though will carry the same gameplay or movie display as the main screen at the front. The Gaming system supports wireless game controllers too! Too tired of driving? Park your car and jump straight into a race of NFS to relax your mind, in the middle of the trip.
Apart from that, the Tesla Model S has three-zone climate control, a 22-speaker audio system, and heated seats all around, front ventilated seats, ambient lighting and a glass roof. The interior colour options available are – White, Black and Beige.
The ‘half steering wheel’: Safety concern, wild imaginations
No wonder, the wonky half-wheel is garnering the most attention of the whole car that has received a wide range of updates. The half steering wheel that looks sporty and uber cool in picture and reality too, is probably too much to digest for National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
According to an NHTSA spokesperson, NHTSA is yet to determine if the steering wheel meets Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards or not. The agency will be reaching out to Tesla for more information. Elon Musk’s company would be diligent in ensuring radical new designs meet various federal requirements.
Lucid Motors has poked fun at the half wheel of 2021 Model S in its tweet, without naming Tesla though. As Lucid Motors has tweeted, “Take the wheel: The knurled metal turbines and capacitive touchbars provide intuitive control of #LucidAir DreamDrive ADAS functions. It’s also pretty nice to look at, too.”
It might appear as a coincidence, but by asking its followers to “take the wheel,” Lucid probably made a direct comparison with what the 2021 Tesla Model S has instead of a conventional steering wheel. By saying, “It’s also pretty nice to look at, too,” Lucid made a reference to the jokes that we can now see all over social media, even coming from some of the most devoted Tesla fans as well.
While some Tesla lovers compared the half steering wheel with the face of Sid, the loquacious sloth from Ice Age movies; some compared it with the face of a Koala or even elephants.
Power redefined
Available in three different variants, the 2021 Tesla Model S is the fastest production car in the world, thanks to the Plaid Plus variant, if the American electric vehicle manufacturer’s claim is to be believed.
The Long Range version comes with two electric motors and all-wheel drive (AWD) system. It is claimed to be capable of accelerating 0-100 kmph in just 3.1-seconds, at a top speed of 249 kmph. The model is capable of running at a range of 663 kilometres on a single charge. The Tesla Model S Long Range is priced at $79,990.
The Tesla Model S Plaid comes with three electric motors, carbon-sleeved rotors and torque vectoring technology. The Model S Plaid is capable of churning out 1,034 PS of power output with its electric powertrain. The car can accelerate 0-100 kmph in 1.99 seconds at a top speed of 322 kmph and it has a range of 627-kilometre range on a single charge. The Model S Plaid is priced at $119,990.
The third variant is christened as Tesla Model S Plaid Plus and it is claimed to be capable of churning out 1,115 PS of power output. The model is capable of accelerating 0-100 kmph in 2 seconds. The car can run at a top speed of 321 kmph. It is claimed to have a range of 836 kilometres on a fully charged battery. It is priced at $139,000.
What’s more interesting about the Tesla Model S Plaid Plus, it is claimed to be the most aerodynamic car in production across the world.
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