Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) has canceled the Model S Plaid+, which had been expected to be the fastest mass-market car in the world. CEO Elon Musk tweeted that the Plaid+ is canceled because there’s “no need, as Plaid is just so good.”
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Tesla cancels the Model S Plaid+
The Model S Plaid+ was the most expensive variant of the luxury sedan. Tesla and Musk had said the car would provide 520 miles of range on a full battery, 1,100 horsepower and acceleration from 0 to 60 miles per hour in less than two seconds.
In his tweet about the cancelation of the Model S Plaid+, Musk also promised that the regular Plaid model would accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour in less than two seconds. He added that it will be the "quickest production car ever made of any kind" and that it "has to be felt to be believed."
Tesla increased the price of the Plaid+ by $10,000, bringing the price tag to about $150,000. In addition, CNET reported that the automaker removed the option to order the model from its website around the last week of May.
Details on the standard Model S Plaid
The standard Plaid version of the Model S will be priced at about $119,900 and have a range of 390 miles with 1,020 horsepower. According to CNBC, Musk had planned a ceremony to deliver the first Plaid sedans on June 3.
However, as the date neared, he pushed it back to June 10 because the vehicle required "one more week of tweak." Musk also said the Plaid "feels like a spaceship" and that "words cannot describe the limbic resonance."
Tesla deals with supply chain pressure
CNBC also noted that Tesla and other automakers in North America have been dealing with supply chain issues, especially a shortage of computer chips. Tesla has raised its prices multiple times this year, citing pricing pressure in the supply chain. The automaker also removed radar and lumbar support from the front passenger seats in its Model 3 and Model Y for North American customers.
During the first quarter, Tesla didn't produce any Model S or Model X vehicles, although Musk had said production on them was ongoing during the fourth-quarter earnings call. Then during the first-quarter earnings call, Musk said they faced "more challenges than expected in developing the Plaid Model S or the Paladium program, which is a new version of the Model S and Model X, which has a revised interior and new battery pack and new drive units and new internal electronics and has resembled a high-station level infotainment system."
Tesla is part of the Entrepreneur Index, which tracks 60 of the largest publicly traded companies managed by their founders or their founders' families.
