The fully redesigned, tri-motor flagship Model S — genuinely extreme performance built on Tesla's most mature production hardware to date, a world away from the early-production concerns covered on this site's earlier Model S page.
This fully redesigned Model S addresses essentially every documented concern found on the earlier pre-2016 generation covered elsewhere on this site — a new interior, new infotainment hardware, and a tri-motor drivetrain genuinely unlike anything in the earlier car.
The extreme performance on offer means a meaningful share of used examples have seen genuinely hard, repeated full-throttle use — worth keeping in mind alongside the otherwise strong documented hardware reputation.
This is about the car itself — for engine-specific failure points, see the dedicated engine page below.
This Model S Plaid uses Tesla's most mature drive unit and battery hardware to date. Full detail on the broader drive unit evolution lives on the dedicated page.
FULL ENGINE BREAKDOWNTesla Drive Unit — Reliable or Not →Ask about usage history specifically, including any launch-control or drag-strip use, given this car's extreme performance category.
Run a battery health check comparing current range to the original EPA rating for this specific configuration.
Beyond usage history, there's genuinely little else specific to flag on this comparatively modern, well-engineered flagship.