2021.5 Tesla Model X First Look: Yoke and Plaid Redux

 The focus may be on the Model S, but the Model X gets many of the same changes.

It's classic middle child syndrome. The internets are ablaze with news of the yoke-controlled, ridiculously quick, 520-mile-range Tesla Model S Plaid+. But will anyone notice the Model X is getting many of the same changes?

Tesla's big SUV gets its own version of the new Model S's interior, including the Roadster-inspired yoke, landscape-style center screen, and Model 3-like simplicity. The Model X also gets its own three-motor Plaid version, although performance is somewhat reduced. Tesla claims the tri-motor Model X Plaid will get to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds, top out at 163 mph, and run 340 miles on a charge, numbers that are 0.51 sec, 37 mph, and 50 miles below that of the Model S Plaid. The retail price, however, is the same $121,190.

The bigger news on the Model S side of things is the Plaid+. This is the one that Tesla says will deliver a fuel-tank-busting 520 miles of range, and 0-60 mph and quarter mile times even quicker than those of the Model S Plaid. Unfortunately, if Tesla's Model X configurator is to be believed, there will be no Plaid+ version of the Model X. Well, we suppose that's only fair—it's not as if the Model S is going to be fitted with falcon-wing doors.

The configurator also shows the dual-motor Long Range version, which now has a range of 360 miles (up from 328) and a 0-60 time of 3.8 seconds. It will be priced at $91,990. The prior Long Range Plus model, which offered 371 miles of range, is MIA.