I did not plan to do this material, but once again Elon Musk has surpassed himself by presenting, perhaps, the most amazing car in the world. Well, at least never before after the announcement I have never wanted to be behind the wheel or just sit in the cabin. Because in the new Tesla Model S Plaid, the passengers are probably even more fun than the driver. Musk himself described the new Tesla with the words: "This car rips.
However, the introduction of the new Tesla was simply vital. Tesla is somewhat similar to Apple in the sense that the company is able to sell the same design for years, causing admiration. For example, the original Tesla Model S has been on the scene for nearly 10 years. And if back then, like the iPhone, the Tesla was something unique, then today it generally remains so, but competitors in the form of Porsche, BMW, Mercedes and even Lucid Air are about to reach the finish line.
You can't help but pay tribute to Musk. He appeared on stage not as the CEO of a high-tech company, but as a rock star.
Apple and Tesla's presentations should be studied in marketing courses at universities, because both companies subtly feel the mood of the masses and know which figures and angles to show to keep the audience enthralled.
The fastest production car
When introducing the car, Elon Musk first of all declared that this is the fastest production car in the world: "No production car has ever accelerated to a hundred in less than two seconds. And people will remember that. Though, of course, you can pick on it, because what can be considered a production car? But it is necessary to remember who the target audience of the product is. Certainly, there are also avid car enthusiasts, but most of them are ecofrenched hipsters with money.
And Tesla doesn't fail here. 1.99 seconds to 60 is very fast. 9.23 seconds to 250 km per hour (here Musk added that this is the fastest production car to do a quarter mile in less than 10 seconds). 322 km/h is the top speed.
Crazy figures, especially considering that we are not talking about a hypercar or even a sports coupe. This is a full-fledged four-door sedan, which has 1020 horsepower in its battery. Almost impossible figure for cars on internal combustion engines. Certainly, there are internal combustion engines cars with such power, but usually they are on tracks or at car shows. It is not possible to meet it on a normal road.
Not a steering wheel, but a steering wheel!
The Tesla Model S Plaid does not have a steering wheel, but rather a steering wheel. You can see similar things in airplanes or Formula 1 cars. Here, of course, there is a question. So, in Formula 1, the angle of the wheels is limited, so drivers don't have the need to twist the steering wheel - 3/4 to one side and to the other. Obviously, in a civilian car such a thing would be uncomfortable.
I wouldn't be surprised if the steering wheel was installed not because of convenience, but because of the shape. It's just that no one else does it that way. Accordingly, the owner of the Tesla Model S Plaid a little, but will feel special. And, of course, such a steering wheel will create an unusual first impression in the buyer. After sitting in a Porsche, a BMW, a Mercedes, you sit in a Tesla, and everything in it is different, even the steering wheel is square.
A huge screen and graphics more powerful than the PlayStation 5
The Tesla has a huge 17-inch screen with a resolution of 2200 by 1300 dots.
Built-in graphics are capable of producing 10 teraflops (the PS 5 has 10.28 teraflops). Tesla supports wireless controllers and all modern games. It is possible to install Cyberpunk 2077 and play at maximum performance. At the same time, the gaming experience is likely to be much cooler than at home, as the car has 22 speakers with a total power of 960 watts. Apparently, this is what you ideally mean when you talk about sound around here.
Safer than Volvo
Safer than a Volvo - that's another quote from Elon Musk. Thanks to the shifted center of gravity due to the batteries, the car has a low risk of tipping over. The car is also additionally reinforced to survive a head-on collision.
12 ultrasonic sensors and cameras around the perimeter. The Tesla can steer, brake, re-balance, keep lane, and most importantly, constantly improve, as new firmware will still come through the air for free.
Firmware updates are an important thing, by the way. For some reason, BMW suggests buying a subscription. And there are testimonials on forums from disgruntled Volvo owners telling them that they were offered a $1,500 upgrade at the service.
The selling point is that the Tesla can:
Get from point A to point B without driver assistance, and the car won't get lost at interchanges;
If you're afraid to lane, the Tesla will do it for you;
You can call the car to come out of the store or ask it to pull out of the garage;
Any kind of parking.
The presence of these features once again shows the target audience that the car is designed for in the first place. Parallel parking with the help of a computer and a bunch of cameras is kind of cool, but it is obvious that it is designed for those who do not have driving skills and do not feel the dimensions of the car.
Conclusion
The price of the Tesla Model S Plaid was $129,990, which is $10,000 more than the amount Musk had previously bragged about. Is it expensive or not?
Considering all the "super-flagship" benefits in the form of the "most-so", the price is quite justified.
However, speaking of electric cars, I'm more comfortable with Tesla's future from the point of view that the company is actively building batteries and building its own factories. And at some point, batteries will become a bottleneck, so the company will make good money servicing competitors.
All the excitement aside, the Tesla Model S Plaid is a wow car that's designed more for marketing and maintaining attention. And most worryingly, Tesla has never managed to become the dominant manufacturer. Thus, according to the latest Credit Suisse report, Tesla's global share has fallen from 29% to 11%. In China, Europe, and the U.S., the company is losing share due to competitor activity. Tesla has been buried before, but in fact only now the main battle for the market has begun, and it is unknown how it will end.
You must be logged in to post a comment.