0–60 MPH IN 1.98 SECONDS*!

“No production car has ever done 0–60 mph in under 2.0 seconds.”
—Elon Musk

After an exclusive MotorTrend first test of the new 1,020-hp Tesla Model S Plaid, a car with a promised 1.99-second 0–60-mph time, we can confirm the 2.0-second 0–60 barrier remains unbroken. Unless, that is, you write your own rules.

Tesla granted us access to be the first independent source to test the Model S Plaid. It’s the latest and greatest version of an EV we chose as our 2013 Car of the Year and declared our Ultimate Car of the Year in 2019.

We usually test at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. Our figure-eight and skidpad testing happens in Lot 1. (You can see our tire marks on Google Maps.) Our acceleration and braking tests occur on Auto Club’s dragstrip. But we run the strip backward to better simulate the type of asphalt and corresponding grip level found on countless streets around the world. Running the track in the “correct” direction means launching on a prepped surface coated with super-sticky VHT, a thick, black, grippy resin that allows cars to accelerate quicker than is possible on normal roads. Because testing on VHT isn’t representative of the conditions real-world drivers typically encounter, we’ve done so only twice in MotorTrend’s 72-year history: in 1969 and 2002, both times in heavily modified, drag-race-prepped Corvettes.

Tesla requested we not use our normal facility. After much back and forth, we offered to secure use of an automotive proving ground