Tesla plans to ship Mannequin S Plaid in June after months of delays

Elon Musk said in a tweet Thursday that Tesla will hold a “delivery event” on June 3 at the company’s facility in Fremont, California for the long-delayed Model S plaid.

In particular, he wrote, “Tesla Model S Plaid delivery event June 3rd at our California facility. Fastest production car ever 0 to 60 mph in less than 2 seconds.”

The Model S Plaid is an updated version of the company’s flagship battery sedan that has been in production since 2012.

Musk and Tesla first advertised and promised plaid versions of the Model S, Model X SUV and Tesla Roadster in September 2019. At this point, the CEO told his tens of millions of Twitter followers that a plaid powertrain was about a year away from production.

Tesla has been criticized when it revealed the interior of the Model S plaid in a results update back in January this year. The design includes a steering yoke option instead of a round steering wheel. Steering yokes are better suited to the racetrack than everyday vehicle use, partly due to the steering ratio and because average drivers often have to reposition their hands on the steering wheel.

During that quarterly earnings call, Musk’s said the Model S plaid was already in production. In February, on an episode of Joe Rogan’s popular podcast (Joe Rogan Experience), he said the Model S plaid would be shipping in February, talking about its wider wheelbase, acceleration, and calling the car “uncomfortably fast.”

Following those promises, Tesla announced in its first quarter vehicle production and deliveries report that it had not produced a single Model S or Model X in the first three months of the year.

The delays have frustrated longtime Tesla loyalists, but not all of them.

Barry Stuppler, a longtime Tesla owner who ordered his first Model S in 2014, spoke to CNBC about his long wait for the new version of the Model S.

He ordered a Model S plaid in January 2021 with a plan to give his older Model S to his son. Tesla’s sales and delivery teams initially told him to expect delivery by the end of March.

The month was getting closer and without warning, Tesla updated its expected delivery date several times, telling it to expect the Model S plaid to arrive in July. His son has now rented a vehicle.

Stuppler said he loved his old Tesla Model S and never used gas. At the same time, he admits that Tesla is fortunate to have extremely patient customers.

With Stuppler & Co., Stuppler operates a wholesale business for rare coins and precious metals and as such has developed an appreciation for a good price-performance ratio, but also a strong customer service. If the battery-electric Mercedes-Benz EQS were available, he would have ordered one instead.

Tesla faces increasing competition as other automakers move into the battery-only segment. The competition for the S Plaid model today includes the Porsche Taycan and the Audi E-tron as well as the upcoming Lucid Air and the Mercedes EQS.

Tesla has not yet said when shipments of the plaid version of its SUV Model X or the reinvented Tesla Roadster will begin. Musk previously said these vehicles, but not the Model 3 and Y, would have the Plaid powertrain.