Tesla to debut world’s fastest production cars – Model S and Model X Plaid – in China

A couple of weeks ago, news surfaced that the first of the new 2022 Tesla Model S EVs had been spotted in a market outside of the US – it just happened to be the world’s biggest EV market, China. 

Now, Tesla has officially announced the debut of the world’s fastest production car, the 2022 Tesla Model S Plaid as well as the world’s fastest SUV, the Tesla Model X Plaid into the Chinese market.

Tesla will unveil the Tesla Model S Plaid and the Model X Plaid models iat the 5th China International Import Expo (CIIE). This year it happens to also be on November 5, and will be held in Shanghai where Tesla’s largest EV export hub is also based.

It’s also where every Tesla that has arrived in Australia since the beginning of 2021 has been made.

Tesla released the news via its official social media account in China which also included a 39-second video teasing the Plaid models and the record-breaking performance they offer.

Both models will feature 100 kWh battery packs and will also feature the carbon-sleeve tri-motor propulsion system that will get the Mosel S from 0-100 km/h in just 2.1 seconds. 

For comparison, the current fastest accelerating Tesla model that Australian customers can buy is the Tesla Model 3 Performance which sprints to 100 km/h in 3.3 seconds.

The Model S Plaid which will start at $222,000 AUD in China (after subsidies) has been able to break many records including one recently against an $8 million+ Bugatti Divo.

New customers are unable to order a Tesla Model S or Model X Plaid here or in China at the moment but as supply from Fremont, California increases, the orders will open back up again.

The Driven’s view: It’s great to see Tesla finally debuting these models outside of the US and allowing many more customers to experience the ground-breaking engineering that’s gone into making these EVs come to life.

Here in Australia though, the delivery and wait time on the new Model S is expected to be over 12 months at the very least. Expected first deliveries are likely to be closer to the end of 2023.

Riz Akhtar

Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.