Issue 189 - Plaid with round steering wheel and stalks

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Issue 189 - Plaid with round steering wheel and stalks

Plaid

Tesla Plaid - 12-volt Lithium Battery 📹
The 12-volt battery has historically been one of the most problematic points for Tesla. In my case, I had to have it replaced under guarantee a year or so after I got delivery of my car. In order to correct this, Tesla is now including a 12-volt lithium battery in the refreshed Model S. Here is a teardown of the battery.

Jay Breaks a world record in a Tesla Plaid 📹
Finally, the video of Jay Leno breaking the world record for the 1/4 mile with an impressive 9.247 seconds, from 9.4 seconds. By the time the video was posted another Tesla owner achieved 8.994 seconds with a modified Model S Plaid. Holy smokes!

2021 Tesla Model S Plaid: InsideEVs 70 MPH range test 📹
According to the tests from InsideEVs, they got exactly 300 miles with the Plaid S and the 21-inch Arachnid wheels.

Refreshed Model S & X

What has two thumbwheels and is fully functional? 📹
Ryan Huber transformed his Plaid Model S with the Yoke into what he calls Plaid Plus Plus using the steering wheel and stalks from the Model 3. In the video, you can see it is fully functional. Wait until the very end 😂

Refreshed Model X LR will be lighter and more powerful than the 2020 model 📷
Some info about the refreshed Model X Long Range, which seems will be lighter and more powerful than the 2020 version:

14% reduction in battery weight
13% increase in battery specific energy
Power increased by more than 30%, equipped AC magnetic motors both front & rear
4% reduction in curve weight

Colors update: Midnight silver is free and black increases its price
Good to see some variety in the free no-color:

White: Free
Midnight Silver: Free
Blue: $1,000
Black: $1,500
Red Multi-Coat: $2,000

FSD Beta

Upgraded cameras for 2017 FSD cars 📷
Elon said recently that cars with AP2 would need their cameras to be replaced in order to access FSD Beta, seems like Tesla has already done that. BTW this, as well as the HW3 processor upgrade, is covered if you have purchased the FSD package.

Tesla releases FSD Beta 10.4 with improved vulnerable road user detection and more 📷
There is a long list of improvements, although I have to say that multiple testers have reported regressions in 10.4. Be careful out there.

Software

2021.40 comes with Supercharging tips 📷
I assume this will only be shown once, or maybe more, but Tesla's now show Supercharging tips for new owners to learn the ropes.

Giveaway Alert: Win a code to download Stats for Tesla App for free
This week we're partnering with Stats for Tesla App, one of the most popular and complete apps for Tesla owners out there. We've been fans for a long time, and if you're not familiar with this popular app for Tesla owners, it gives you a bunch of cool stats about your car such as battery status and range estimates, driving efficiency, phantom drain, safety score, and much much more.

We're giving away 3 free licenses. Head out to Twitter to participate in the giveaway!

💡 Tip of the week

Scheduled Departure: To precondition your car around your schedule, set your next departure time using the 'Scheduled Departure' feature on your touchscreen. Tap the Climate Controls settings screen > turn on Preconditioning in settings > select ‘Schedule’ to set a daily time when you want to be ready to drive.

🤓 What the acronym

As a Tesla fan, I find myself sometimes having to remember what are all those acronyms, here is a list of the ones you can find in this issue.

AC - Alternating Current
HW3 - Autopilot Hardware version 3. Manufactured in/after February 2019 for Model S / Model X, and in/after April 2019 for Model 3.
LR - Long Range
FSD - Full Self-Driving