Can a Tesla Model S Plaid go faster than its official top speed of 175 mph (281km/h)?
A man called Guillaume André found the answer to this question as he hacked a Tesla Model S Plaid and removed its software limitations. What happened afterwards is unbelievable, as the vehicle has reached a top speed of 216 mph.
Tesla Model S Plaid Reaches a Record-Breaking Speed
According to Mashable, André sat behind the wheel of a white Tesla Model S Plaid at the Trois-Rivières airport in Québec, Canada. He then stepped on the accelerator pedal, and kept on stepping until the Tesla reached a top speed of 216 mph.
André is the CEO of Ingenext. Its a Quebec-based company that sells car parts, kits, and modules, according to Interesting Engineering. The company helped unlock software-locked features in Tesla vehicles.
André therefore has a knowledge at hacking the vehicle to remove its speed limitations. Based on the result, it seems that without the speed limitations, the car can outdone its speed limits.
The experiment took place at Trois-Rivières airport, which had a 3 km (1.8-mile) long runway. André and his team shut down the airport for the experiment.
The car was slightly modified in addition to the removal of the speed limitation. According to Interesting Engineering, "Ingenext's Model S Plaid consisted of a stock production vehicle equipped with bigger brakes from Mountainpass Performance and higher performance tires (Michelin Pilot Super Sport)."
The modifications were done mostly for safety reasons. Accordingly, a regular car might burn up its tires and might be unable to perform a halt if it reached such high speeds.
To achieve a top speed of 216 mph, André had to reach about 1.2 miles (2 km). Meanwhile, to come to a complete stop even with the bigger breaks installed, the Ingenext CEO took the full length of the runway.
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André's Experiment Confirmed that Tesla is Not Lying About its Speed
Tesla promised a top speed of 200 mph for the Model S Plaid. But when it was first made available last year, it only had a top speed of 163 mph.
A new 'Track Mode' was released earlier this year for the vehicle. The new Track Mode pushed the top speed to 175 mph.
To date, this has been the fastest top speed a Tesla Model S Plaid or any Tesla vehicle has recorded. There is no clear reason why Tesla is not delivering the promised 200 mph top speed.
The brakes could be one of the reasons, although Tesla is now offering to upgrade with a carbon ceramic kit for $20,000. Another possible reason is the three motors or battery pack.
André's experiment confirmed that Tesla is, in fact, being true to its words that the vehicle is capable of reaching 200 mph. But a few alterations are necessary.
According to Electrek, it is as if jet was taking off right during the test. The vehicle made the loudest sound as its cooling system tries to cool down the three motors and battery pack.
It was during André's experiment that a Tesla vehicle has achieved a top speed of 216 mph. Electrek noted that while the "Model S Plaid has hypercar-like performance, it is still a 4-door family sedan, which also makes it quite impressive."
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