Car and Driver Says the Tesla Model S Plaid Is the Quickest-Charging Electric Vehicle Tested
Tesla is known for quick and innovative electric vehicles. However, Tesla is also a pioneer for quick electric vehicle charging. Car and Driver says that the Tesla Model S Plaid is the fastest charging EV tested so far. What does that mean for future electric vehicles? The bar has just been raised, again.
Car and Driver tested the Tesla Model S Plaid and its charging capabilities
When Car and Driver recently tested the Tesla Model S Plaid for performance, it provided stellar results. But when it came to charging the EV, it outperformed any other vehicle the experts at C&D have tested. Fast-charging is all the rage right now, but the Plaid has that one covered.
The Model S Plaid accepted 250 kW of charge for five minutes. That beat the regular Model S charging speed by around 20%. When the Model S first hit the market, it had some trouble charging from the Tesla Supercharger network. That isn’t surprising, as Tesla was still working some things out.
So what happened when Car and Driver took the new Model S to a Tesla Supercharger this time? It offered impressive results.
The Tesla Model S Plaid charging results were impressive
It seems now that with a re-worked battery pack using the Panasonic 18650 cells, the Model S Plaid is ready to charge. From 10% State of Charge (SoC) to 90% SoC, it charged at peak power for five minutes. After that, it replenished the charge at a higher rate than before for the remainder of the charge.
The total charging time was 38 minutes, which was nine minutes or 19% faster than the 2021 Model S Long Range Plus tested last time. It was also the highest average charging rate, coming in at 125 kilowatts.
Car and Driver did the usual 75 mph range test, which offered the Plaid 280 miles. That means the Plaid would be good for 224 miles of highway range at 75 mph in between stops. What range anxiety?
How do these numbers compare to similar electric vehicles?
When tested by Car and Driver, these results are still pretty astronomical. The Audi e-tron came in a close second to the Plaid’s 125 kW with 121 kW. The Porsche Taycan came in at 118 kW. But where it really shines is against electric vehicles like the Volkswagen ID.4’s 82 kW. The Ford Mustang Mach-E came in at a disappointing 47 kW.
The Tesla Model S Plaid might not have hit 200 mph as the automaker promised, but it impressed in most of the other areas. While electric vehicle charging is improving every day, it seems the Plaid is leading the way as usual.
