With the official retirement of the Model S and Model X, Tesla currently lacks a flagship “Plaid” vehicle in its lineup. While the refreshed Model 3 Performance offers incredible performance, it’s noticeably slower than the Model S Plaid’s 2-second 0-60 mph time.
During a special episode of the Ride the Lightning podcast (watch below), host Ryan McCaffrey directly asked Tesla’s Vice President of Engineering, Lars Moravy, if a third motor could find its way into the Model 3.
I think about it all the time
Rather than shooting down the idea, Moravy admitted that it is an engineering challenge he actively ponders.
Dreaming of Carbon Sleeves
“I think about it all the time,” Moravy confirmed.
He specifically noted that he thinks about taking the carbon-sleeved electric motors, the revolutionary hardware that originally gave the Model S Plaid its relentless high-speed acceleration, and adapting them for the Model 3 platform.
The Model 3 Performance currently has one motor in the front and another in the rear. Fitting a third motor into the rear subframe of the Model 3 would be an incredibly tight engineering squeeze, but Moravy’s enthusiasm suggests that Tesla’s engineering leadership is at least mentally exploring the technical constraints.
A Work for Reward Scenario
While Moravy dreams of a Tri-Motor Model 3, he also injected a dose of manufacturing reality into the conversation. He described the potential project as a “work for reward” situation.
Currently, the immense engineering work required to package three motors into the Model 3 does not align with the company’s immediate goals. Moravy noted that the engineering team is currently pouring all of its pure performance focus into the upcoming next-generation Roadster.
Because the Roadster will utilize Tesla’s absolute best and newest motor technology, the company is prioritizing that flagship over a niche Model 3 variant. However, once the Roadster reaches production, the door remains open for those high-performance motors to potentially trickle down to the rest of the fleet in the future.
You can watch the full episode below, with the Model 3 Plaid specifically being talked about at the 51:45 mark.
Segment begins at the 51:40 mark of the video.
