For those who want their Tesla to pack a little extra punch, the Model S "Plaid" variants might be the answer.
According to the electric car company, the Plaid can go from zero to 60 miles per hour in just 1.99 seconds and reach a top speed of 200 miles per hour.
Although that top speed has been disputed, with Car and Driver magazine putting the 2021 version in the range of 162 miles per hour, it's hard to deny its acceleration off the line.
To demonstrate its capabilities, Jason Cammisa from the YouTube show Ultimate Drag Race Replay put the zero-tailpipe-pollution sedan up against a similar clean-fuel vehicle in the Lucid Air and a BMW E39 M5 from 20 years ago.
In order to exhibit the comparative speeds between the electric vehicles and the older, dirty-fuel-powered BMW, the M5 was given a 70-mile-per-hour rolling start before the Tesla and the Lucid took off to tackle the quarter-mile drag race.
Despite the BMW already up to a significant speed and the Tesla needing to play catch-up, the Plaid not only pulled level with the M5 but also passed it before crossing the quarter-mile marker.
Impressively, the Lucid Air was also close to getting next to the BMW, although it finished just behind its internal-combustion-engine opponent by the finish line.
The Tesla's performance, though, was undeniable. By the time it reached the quarter-mile boundary, the Tesla was doing 35 miles per hour faster than the BMW.
High-performance electric cars, regardless of brand, demonstrate the potential of clean-fuel vehicles and suggest a bright future. The demonstration had many in the comments section on YouTube excited.
"That Plaid was insanely quick!!" said one commenter.
"Just saw a Lucid on the highway the other day (going the opposite direction), and damn it's really eye-catching!" added another.
Others were impressed by the power of the electric cars up against what is considered a speedy classic in the sedan range.
"I can remember back in the early noughties I test drove an E39 BMW M5 and it felt like a Formula 1 racing car compared to my Vauxhall Cavalier GSI 2000 16v," one commenter observed. "[It's] incredible how fast the Lucid and Plaid really are!"
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