—and, by some metrics, the first production car—to complete the quarter mile in under 9 seconds, with a record time of 8.834 seconds recorded in June 2022.

The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) announced the creation of a new electric vehicle drag racing class in April of 2021—just in time for the Tesla Model S Plaid to hit the scene and make history on the drag strip. Introduced in June 2021, the Plaid is the Model S’s hypercar trim: an absurdly fast, brutally powerful electric car from the company that made EVs seriously cool.

Here to walk you through the Plaid Model S’s quickest times and coolest specs is

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How fast is the Tesla Model S Plaid in the quarter mile?

The Tesla Model S Plaid can complete the quarter mile in under 9 seconds—with some minor modifications, that is.

In standard testing by Car and Driver and Edmunds, the 2021 Plaid’s quarter-mile time was 9.4 seconds: stupid fast, in other words, but not actually record-breaking.

That’s still quicker than the 2020 Model Y Performance, which did the quarter mile in 12.1 seconds, or the 2019 Model 3 Dual Motor Performance, which blew past the quarter-mile mark in 11.6 seconds. But it’s not the fastest a Tesla’s ever been.

The Plaid set its first quarter-mile record in November 2021, when Christine Dodworth drove the quarter-mile in 8.994 seconds—the first 8-second time ever recorded in any Tesla. In fact, by some estimates, that’s the fastest quarter-mile ever driven in a production car.

But your definition of “production car” matters here. To break that 8-second mark, Dodworth had to make some minor modifications, including removing the passenger seat to cut down on weight and upgrading the wheels and tires with high-performance equipment.

In June 2022, the Plaid broke its own record when a Tesla owner named Zack posted his quarter-mile time on Twitter: 8.834 seconds. According to reports from the drag strip, Zack had modified his Plaid to remove about 600 pounds of weight.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk responded to his car’s new record with just one word: “Nice!”

How much horsepower does the Tesla Plaid have?

So just how are these Teslas breaking speed records? Let’s take a look at the specs: the 2022 Tesla Model S Plaid is powered by three electric motors rated for a whopping 1,020 horsepower and 1,050 lb-ft of torque.

What is the top speed of a Tesla S Plaid?

When it comes to top speed, the Plaid Model S sets another record. When the Plaid was first released, Tesla claimed it could break 200 mph—a boast that

a lot of experts scoffed at

. But, lo and behold, engineers at a Quebec-based tech company managed to record a top speed of 216 mph in June 2022, proving Musk right and the haters wrong.

Without hacking into Tesla’s software, though, the top speed is 162 mph—still just about as fast as you could ever need to go.

MORE:

What is the maximum Tesla Model S range?

Can anything beat a Tesla Plaid?

Unfortunately for Tesla lovers—yes.

The Model S Plaid might be the fastest Tesla out there, but it’s not quite the fastest production car. That honor goes to the Rimac Nevera, an all-electric speed demon designed by Croatian automaker Rimac Automobili.

This $2.27 million limited-production sports car recorded a quarter-mile time of 8.58 seconds, just beating the Plaid.

But so far, the Nevera is the only production car that can catch the Plaid. Check out the quarter-mile times of some of Tesla’s competitors:

Bugatti Chiron Super Sport: 9.1 seconds

Ultimate Evolution: 9.3 seconds

Ferrari LaFerrari: 9.7 seconds

Koenigsegg One: 9.8 seconds

Porsche 918 Spyder: 9.8 seconds

McLaren P1: 9.8 seconds

Porsche 911 Turbo S: 9.9 seconds

Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport: 9.9 seconds

Can a Tesla beat a Lamborghini?

Easily. The 2020 Lamborghini Huracán Evo—the fastest Lambo on the market right now—required a full 10.4 seconds to complete the quarter mile. In the real world, that’s insanely fast. To a Tesla? Mediocre.

MORE:

How long do points stay on your record after a speeding ticket?

Super app Jerry sets the world record for fastest car insurance quotes

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