Tesla’s Model S Plaid Promises 520-Mile Range And 200 MPH Top Speed

Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, announced during the company’s Battery Day meeting there will be a new 200 mph version of the Model S sedan with a range of 520 miles per charge. There are also plans for the automaker to build a $25,000 autonomous car within three years.

Battery Day was held in a parking lot at Tesla’s Fremont, CA factory, and focused on Tesla’s next-generation battery technology. The improved battery uses larger cells with a simplified design and lower cost materials that can be manufactured faster and 56% cheaper than the current technology.

The Model S Plaid will cost $139,990 and have three electric motors producing a combined 1,100 HP. The car will be capable of reaching 60 mph in less than two seconds and running a quarter-mile in under nine seconds. The top speed will reportedly be 200 mph.

A prototype of the Plaid sedan has already run a lap of California’s 2.2-mile Laguna Seca racetrack in 1:30.3 seconds however, Musk said they are aiming to reduce that time by three seconds. This would give it the record for production vehicles which is currently held by the McLaren Senna at 1:27.62.