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Tesla fans and aficionados worldwide were excited about the June 10 debut of the 2021 Tesla Model S Plaid Plus. Unfortunately for them, Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk tweeted that the Tesla Model S Plaid Plus is canceled. It was supposed to be almost light-speed fast (okay, just really, really fast). Could there be a supply chain problem with flux capacitors?

“Back To The Future” DeLorean | Back To The Future

Elon Musk is kind of vague about why the Tesla Model S Plaid Plus is canceled

A red Tesla Model S Plaid driving down a highway.
2021 Tesla Model S Plaid | Tesla

Elon Musk loves to communicate with the Tesla community via Twitter. In fact, Tesla did away with their communications department. This means most people get their breaking Tesla news from Musk’s tweets. While it’s an extremely swift means of disseminating information, it can leave a lot of murky water to wade through for answers. 

When Musk tweeted that there would be no promised forthcoming Tesla Model S Plaid Plus, he simply wrote, “Plaid+ is canceled. No need, as Plaid is just so good.” While there may be customers who are content with the Tesla Model S Plaid, those who had already placed orders for the Model S Plaid Plus are likely disappointed.

Could the Tesla Model S Plaid Plus cancelation be due to a lack of flux capacitors?

The flux capacitor from the Back to the Future DeLorean at the Hollywood Museum.
The flux capacitor from the “Back To The Future” DeLorean | Michael Tullberg via Getty Images

The Tesla Model S Plaid was already going to be an incredible car. It’s still debuting June 10th, and is going to cost $119,000. The Model S Plaid Plus was supposed to cost nearly $150,000 after a $10,000 price increase. 

What do you get for over a hundred grand? 1,020 hp and a 0-60 time of two seconds. Merging onto the highway should be no problem, so long as you can keep control of your car. The Model S Plaid Plus was supposed to reach 60 mph in less than 2 seconds. This is super handy if you’re planning on turning your Tesla into a time machine à la Back to the Future. 

So maybe the reason behind the Tesla Plaid Plus is a lack of flux capacitors. The new steering wheel on the Tesla Model S Plaid is a Y-shaped Yoke steering wheel, much like the Y-shaped flux capacitor in the Back to the Future capacitor. With Elon Musk moving the reveal date from June 3 to June 10, isn’t it possible that Doc Brown just hadn’t made it back in time?

In addition to being unbelievably fast, the Tesla Model S Plaid will have a range of 390 miles. This is pretty good, but the Model S Plaid Plus was supposed to have a range of nearly 520 miles. That’s a pretty big deal to electric car enthusiasts who are anxious about running out of battery miles from a Supercharger. 

The Tesla Model S has been around and gaining Tesla loyalists since 2012. On the other hand, the DeLorean is circa 1982. 

Did anyone see this coming?

The Y-shaped steering wheel of the Tesla Model S.
2021 Tesla Model S yoke steering wheel | Tesla

It’s no surprise that the entire automotive industry is having a sort of weird year. There’s a chip shortage, which is causing all sorts of production problems and delays. There are supply chain issues, meaning planned vehicles are getting modified or even canceled. So maybe this sudden turn of events surrounding the Plaid Plus shouldn’t be a surprise. 

If you’ve been paying attention to Tesla – and the Tesla fan club is large and committed – you already know that the Plaid Plus option wasn’t available as of late May. This tipped people off to the possibility of Model S Plaid Plus problems, even if there was no confirmation of issues. 

Now that the Tesla Plaid Plus is indeed canceled, those who had placed orders are being asked to accept delivery for the plain old Plaids. Guess you’ll need a flux capacitor to reach those Plaid Plus speeds.

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