Red Tesla Model S Plaid vs. Crimson Raven Comparison Shows the Widening Gap

After the well-known host showed that it’s easy to give the Plaid a cammed Hellcat engine sound and the Tesla could make its advertised 1.99s time to 60 mph (96 kph) on the street, he’s a bit tamer... for the time being. So, he asked a fellow Tesla owner to bring his Model S Raven for a quick side-by-side review. Coincidence or not, his friend’s EV is also just as crimson and the two look almost identical, at least from the back.

So, the first order of business was to highlight some of the design differences between the Plaid and Raven. As it turns out, the former is now much lower, comes with extended fender flares, a slightly different front fascia and a modified diffuser, as well as wider tires. The rear ones are 295s, while the front ones are now just as wide as the rear ones on the Raven.

But that’s not all, because the biggest surprise comes during the weighing session. First up the scales from the 3:20 mark is the Tesla Model S Raven and with the bets firmly set, it almost hits the 5,000-pound mark (2,268 kg). Quite a lot of weight, as expected. On the other hand, the newer Plaid is significantly lighter, at just 4,833 pounds (2,192 kg). Yes, it’s not McLaren light, but for a much more powerful EV, it’s still an achievement.

Just to put things into a moving perspective, the Teslas also embark on a series of rolling races (and just one quick drag) from the 6:33 mark. We seriously don’t recommend mimicking this kind of behavior as they played with the Raven and Plaid on public streets and with traffic in the background. Still, it’s a real-life setting that goes to prove how large the gap is between two Model S examples that are separated by just months of production time...