Tesla Model X Plaid

The Model X Plaid is one of the strangest and most impressive ideas in performance motoring: a large, family-sized SUV with Falcon Wing doors and the acceleration of a hypercar. It shares its Plaid tri-motor powertrain with the Model S Plaid.

The hardware

Three motors, one at the front and two at the rear, drive all four wheels, with torque vectoring to adjust power between the wheels. The rear motors use carbon-sleeved rotors. Tesla quotes 1,020 hp and 0–60 mph in 2.5 seconds, with a top speed of up to 163 mph when fitted with the right wheels. These are US manufacturer figures.

The doors

The Falcon Wing rear doors remain the Model X's signature. They lift upwards to open the second and third rows, turning a practical SUV into something nobody mistakes for anything else.

The UK story

UK buyers have had a complicated relationship with the Model X Plaid. Tesla stopped building right-hand-drive Model S and Model X in 2023, so UK customers could only buy left-hand-drive cars. In 2026, Tesla ended Model S and Model X production altogether, leaving only remaining inventory and the used market.

Why it matters

The Model X Plaid shows how far electric drive can stretch the idea of a performance car. Very few vehicles combine this much space with this much straight-line speed, which makes it a fitting chapter in the story of the Plaid era.