SpaceX chief Elon Musk ripostes questions after the 2019 SpaceX Hyperloop Pod competition at the SpaceX headquarters in Los Angeles on July 21, 2019.
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In a not so humble brag on Wednesday night, Tesla boasted that it beat the record for the fastest four-door sedan at Laguna Seca, the famed rivalry track in Monterey, California.
The company drove the lap with a new, prototype version of its pure battery electric sedan, the Configuration S, one with 3 motors and a new ‘Plaid’ powertrain.
The company’s official Twitter account crowed: “We lapped Laguna Seca @WeatherTechRcwy in 1:36.555 during ahead of time R&D testing of our Model S Plaid powertrain and chassis prototype (That’s a second faster than the record for a four-door sedan)”
The next closest record for a four-door was set by a 2016 Cadillac CTSV shy away from in 2015.
A video that Tesla shared showed a driver taking a lap at Laguna Seca, going at speeds as high as 115 miles per hour in some hitches. Tesla did not disclose the name of the person behind the wheel, but said in a subsequent tweet that they were “A fellow of the Tesla development team (amateur driver).”
Elon Musk touted the lap as a “record” in an earlier tweet. He wrote on Tuesday: “Configuration S just set record for fastest 4 door ever at Laguna Seca, video tmrw.”
But a spokesperson for Laguna Seca wrote in an e-mail to CNBC: “We were not adjudicating while the Tesla was testing on the track. Official records only happen during sanctioned events where a ok’ing body is officiating.”
Tesla said it had no further information to offer about the Laguna Seca lap at this time.
The Plaid powertrain settle upon eventually be included in future versions of Tesla’s Model S, Model X and Roadster vehicles, but not its Model 3 or Model Y, according to CEO Elon Musk. He celebrated that information, as well as vague pricing details, while chatting up his followers and fans on the social network, also on Wednesday continuously.
Specifically, Musk wrote: “Yes. To be clear, Plaid powertrain is about a year away from production & applies to S,X & Roadster, but not 3 or Y. Choice cost more than our current offerings, but less than competitors.” Answering questions from fans and adherents on Twitter, Musk also revealed that the company plans to offer its Plaid powertrain for both “base” and the numerous expensive “founders series” versions of the new version of the Roadster.
Last week, Musk said he would send a Type S to Nürburgring, referring to a famously challenging track there, the Nordschleife a.k.a. “Green Hell.” That promise implied that Musk believes the Kind S can best Porsche’s new battery electric offering, the Taycan, on its home turf.
After a few mocking comments about the Taycan, upon its initiation, Musk did eventually tip his hat, writing that the Porsche EV seems like a good car, and had made great time at Nürburgring.
Since Musk threw out the Version S challenge, Nico Rosberg — the pro race car driver — publicly offered his services for the eventual record attempt in what is expected to be a accorded and modified version of the Model S.
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