Every gearhead has seen at least one video in which the Tesla Model S Plaid takes on a blue-blooded exotic in a head-to-head battle down the quarter mile. And most of the time, the electric hyper sedan asserts dominance very easily.
Some of those who tend to drive all kinds of fast cars on various racetracks occasionally have said that it's not that nimble and that the yoke steering wheel takes a lot of time to get used to. So, does that mean that it's not that good at performing the moose test?
Coming to answer this question was Km77, which recently subjected an almost-new Tesla Model S Plaid to the challenging maneuver. The all-quiet supercar killer with a roomy interior had Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires wrapped around the wheels, 265/35R21 at the front and 295/30R21 at the rear. Its trio of electric motors generates a combined 1,020 hp, and with that much power on tap, the team behind this test did not really know what to expect.
In the first pass, the driver found that you don't have to take your hands off the wheel to avoid the imaginary object in the middle of the road and then get back in the initial lane as fast as possible. Thus, despite the yoke shape of this part, the car performed flawlessly. The regenerative braking and the rather unintrusive driving aids helped it pass the moose test with flying colors. And since we mentioned the first attempt, we might as well tell you that it did it at 78 kph (48.5 mph).
Mind you, that's one mere kilometer (0.62 miles) over the Spanish YouTube channel's norm, but it was already far better than some big names. Once the driver got the hang of it, he managed to stay away from the cones at an even higher speed, and the best attempt was recorded at 82 kph (51 mph). Compared to the Porsche Taycan's 78 kph (48.5 mph), which is one of the Model S' biggest rivals in the segment, the Tesla turned out to deal with the moose at a higher speed, impressing the driver. And it came just one kph (0.62 miles) behind the Model 3, which did it at a record-breaking 83 kph (51.6 mph).
At the hands of Km77, the Tesla Model S Plaid completed the slalom in 21.8 seconds. This places it on the last step of the podium, behind the Alpine A110 S and the Porsche Taycan GTS, which were two- and three-tenths faster, respectively. But enough talking about it, as you should watch the video to see it in action. And you don't have to speak Spanish for that, as there are subtitles available – unless you're really fluent in the language of cars.
After a series of unfortunate events put an end to Cristian's dream of entering a custom built & tuned old-school Dacia into a rally competition, he moved on to drive press cars and write for a living. He's worked for several automotive online journals and now he's back at autoevolution after his first tour in the mid-2000s. Full profile
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