Tesla has canceled the more powerful of the two variants of the Tesla Model S Plaid, the Plaid Plus

Tesla CEO Elon Musk made the announcement on Twitter In an official statement (via Electrek), Musk explained that the range of the standard Model S Plaid was the main factor, arguing that it already offers enough range for most people

Even though the Model S Plaid is superior, the Plaid Plus was always marketed as a more powerful option, with Tesla positioning the car as having more horsepower (1,100 hp), faster acceleration (0-60 in under 199 seconds), and longer range (520 miles)

The standard Model S Plaid, on the other hand, has 1,020 horsepower and a range of 390 miles, and can do 0-60 in just 199 seconds

While the standard model's stats are still impressive, the range of the Plaid Plus is what makes it special, and it was set to outperform even the 500-mile Tesla Cybertruck in this aspect Tesla also claimed that the car's 0-60 and quarter-mile acceleration were the fastest of any production car to date

However, in an official statement, Musk claimed that the Plus' extended range was unnecessary for most people

"What we're seeing is that once you have a range of 400 miles or more, it really doesn't matter what more range you have If you don't need to stop for a restroom, a meal, a cup of coffee, etc, then the range over 400 miles is essentially zero"

That's probably true for most people, and the fastest charging cars out there don't necessarily need more than 10-15 minutes to extend their range beyond 100 miles anyway The standard Model S Plaid is supposed to recover 200 miles, or almost 50% of its range, in that time

Still, the range is good, especially if you are driving a route with few compatible chargers, and you may want to go as far as possible without a charging break

It is also not clear why Tesla would cancel this car after so much hype It doesn't matter how good the Model S Plaid will be; the Plaid Plus was always expected to be better

While still showing up on the Tesla Model S sales page, the Plaid Plus option has been grayed out since Tesla announced that the standard Plaid model would arrive in June instead of August/September

At the time, it was believed that Tesla was shifting its focus to the standard Model S Plaid ahead of an early launch, rather than pushing a variant that was not scheduled until the middle of next year Now, however, it appears that Tesla had other plans

One might speculate that the Tesla Roadster had something to do with this decision as well It has a top speed of over 250 mph, 0-60 in 19 seconds, and a range of 620 miles on a single charge These statistics, especially the range, blow away the $144,490 Plaid Plus

Whatever the reason for the decision, the Plaid Plus is no more Rest in peace, Tesla Model S Plaid people