Tesla Executives Tease a High-Performance Model 3 Plaid
Austin, Monday, 25 May 2026.
Tesla executives are exploring a 745-kilowatt Model 3 Plaid. This high-margin passion project signals the automaker’s strategy to maintain dominance in the competitive premium electric vehicle market.
Engineering a Passion Project
On 24 May 2026, during an appearance on the “Ride the Lightning” podcast, Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) Vice President of Vehicle Engineering Lars Moravy acknowledged that a tri-motor Model 3 is a concept he contemplates “all the time” [1][2][5]. Characterizing the potential vehicle as a “work for reward” initiative, Moravy indicated that while it remains a passion project for the engineering team, it currently sits lower on the automaker’s immediate priority list [1][2].