Whether we love its unique mix of practicality and performance or we just hate it or feel threatened by it, everyone's imagination has definitely been captured by Tesla's Model S Plaid ever since the EV was launched just a few months ago.
For some people, though, experiencing its acceleration just wasn't enough. They wanted to do something a little different with the EV, something to set them apart. Enter "Uncle Chet," the guy you may have already seen (or heard about) in his spectacular but ultimately failed attempt at driving the Plaid underwater.
He could have done it with any other Model S, new or old, but you don't get the same attention as with a Plaid. So that's what Chet did. Despite adding a hefty amount of weight, the Tesla simply refused to sink. It floated for most of the time, but that doesn't mean its internals didn't also get wet.
The good news was the car was still able to drive after the stunt. The bad news was there were about a dozen messages on the display warning Chet about all the sub-systems that weren't working. Most people would have taken the car to a Tesla Service Center to have it checked - and had he not driven it through a pool and posted the whole thing on YouTube, maybe Chet would have done it too - but given the situation, that was not an option.
A large part of those messages was referring to the vehicle's driving aid systems (nannies, as they call them), which meant that things such as traction control or ESP were not functioning. That left the Model S completely defenseless in front of any attempt to hoon the car. Unsurprisingly, that's exactly what Uncle Chet - with help from pro-driver Kai Goddarn from TrackRekord - decided to do. Well, at least tried because the Model S had one last line of defense standing.
The yoke, man, the yoke - the more we see of that thing, the more obvious it becomes it's just terrible. Watching a professional driver struggle to keep things under control simply because there are just two holding points, instead of the virtual infinity provided by a circle, is almost infuriating. To make matters worse, faffling about chaotically with the yoke will also switch the windshield wipers on, honk the horn, or turn on the blinkers.
Even so, Kai manages to send the Model S sideways a few good times, which is not a lot of people can brag about.
"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie) Full profile
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