Save for rarefied hypercars like the Rimac Nevera, the Model S Plaid is the second most expensive all-electric vehicle for the regular Joe and Jane after the Porsche Taycan Turbo S. And for that bundle of money, Joe and Jane would expect few to no quality issues whatsoever, isn't that right?
The Model S dates back to 2012 when the first production model rolled off the line, but alas, Tesla still hasn’t mastered quality control in these nine years. Chicago Auto Pros had the opportunity of detailing a brand-new Plaid in their shop, and upon the first look, the car’s imperfections beggar belief.
Detailing general manager Will Zumstein starts out by identifying a small chip in the driver's door trim, which may have been produced by the corner of the dashboard. He also points out the atrocious interior panel gaps on the inside of the C-pillars, minor scratches and swirls on the hood, a dust nib, visible orange peel on the front bumper, and a gap under the passenger headlight.
Will then switches over to the multiple clusters of scratches on the glass roof, the orange peel on the fenders, a little marring on the gloss-black trim of the liftback trunk lid, hazy and scratched taillights, a scratched aerodynamic diffuser that features glue on the upper side, scratches around the wheel wells, a chip on one wheel well, and a few scratches in the window trim.
“Yikes” doesn’t even cut it, and Tesla should take notice already. They’re the leaders in the EV segment in terms of performance, driving range, technology, and sales figures, which is why such woeful quality control is unacceptable on a car that starts at $129,990 before options.
Understandably, the owner of this brand-new Model S Plaid tasked Chicago Auto Pros with fixing most of the aesthetic issues. The detailing work further includes an expensive ceramic coating, a similary expensive PPF wrap, and window tint for good measure.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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