A seven-seater Tesla Model S could be making a comeback — at least according to the one person who's in a position to know. Tesla CEO Elon Musk teased the upcoming model on Twitter.
Often one for tweeting with casual abandon, Musk said that the new “Plaid Model S” — basically a refreshed version of the current Model S — would come with “four doors and seven seats.” That’s something the Model S sedan used to have but the option was discontinued.
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"The new Plaid S is our best car ever. Will be first production car to achieve 0-60mph in under 2 secs & it has four doors & seats up to 7 people,” Musk tweeted.
So we can be fairly confident that a seven-seater Model S will be coming soon. That’s not to say it will have the capacity to seat seven people in luxury, rather that there will be an option for two jumper seats in the car’s back.
The new Plaid S is our best car ever. Will be first production car to achieve 0-60mph in under 2 secs & it has four doors & seats up to 7 people.March 23, 2021
These jump seats are good for children or for fitting seven people in a car for a quick trip. The extra two seats aren’t likely to be ideal for keeping people comfortable for extended drives. Having said that Musk noted he made a trip across “most of the U.S.” with two adults and five kids in a Model S, so it’s arguably doable.
The only thing that’s odd here is the refreshed Tesla Model S — available in Long Range, Plaid and Plaid Plus options — was released in January and currently can’t be configured with a seven-seat option. So it’s unclear whether this seven-seater will become an option at some point.
Given Musk references the Plaid Tesla S, we could expect the seven-seater version to be an option under that sub-model. And it’s worth noting that the refreshed Model S hasn't been delivered yet, so the seven-seater option could eventually be added to the Model S configurator. A seven-seat also could appear as a form of aftermarket add-on.
Given the 1,020 horsepower the Model S has, the car should offer more than enough under the hood to easily carry seven people around at speed. So having the option to fit two more people than usual isn't likely to be something that’ll compromise the potent electrical performance of the Model S.
For now, though we’ll just have to wait and see if the Plaid Model S does indeed end up with the option to fit an extra two passengers.
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