Tesla has delayed new Model S Plaid Plus reservations to “mid-2022” in an update to its online configurator.
Last night, Tesla updated its online configurator to change pricing on several models, including a $10,000 price increase on the Model S Plaid Plus.
A few hours later, Tesla updated the Model S online configurator again to change the delivery timeline.
When unveiling the new refreshed Model S in January, Tesla said that the new version of the vehicle would come in just a few weeks, except for the Model S Plaid Plus, which was slated for late 2021.
Now the automaker has updated the delivery estimate to mid-2022 on the online configurator:
While the delivery estimates are generally for new orders, Tesla is not actually taking orders for the Model S Plaid Plus.
The automaker is only taking reservations with refundable deposits, and estimates for reservations have historically been for when deliveries start.
Therefore, it could mean that Tesla is delaying Model S Plaid Plus deliveries, but it’s unclear at this point.
Unlike the other versions of the refresh Model S, the Plaid Plus version is going to be equipped with Tesla’s new 4680 battery cell and structural battery pack architecture.
Tesla is claiming some impressive specs, including the fastest quarter-mile of any production car ever, but it’s a completely new way to produce vehicles, and it could take a while to bring it to production.
Electrek’s Take
If I know Tesla, and I like to think I do, I think they’re just trying to sell Model S Plaid vehicles.
The automaker might have been seeing more reservations for Model S Plaid Plus than orders for Model S Plaid, which is coming a lot sooner than the former.
Increasing the price of the Plaid Plus and delaying deliveries would help that.
Tesla has a strong base of wealthy fans that always buy the latest and best vehicles from the automaker.
I know a lot of them went from Model S P85 to Model S P90D to Model S P100D and so on.
With this latest update, Tesla put a decision in front of them: get a new Model S Plaid or wait for the Model S Plaid Plus.
I think Tesla is now trying to make more people go for the Model S Plaid for now.
What do you think? Let us know in the comment section below.
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