The Tesla Model S Plaid is unquestionably one of the fastest production vehicles in the world. Nevertheless, in the past there have been some concerns about its braking system. Even with an updated set of braking components, one YouTuber just found out what it’s like when they fail completely at 170 mph (273 km/h) – though to state the obvious, he did not crash at that speed, with the EV apparently decelerating before smashing into a tire barrier.
Cheyenne Lord is the man behind the YouTube channel Chillin with Chet where he shares all sorts of automotive content. In the past, he’s taken this exact Model S Plaid underwater twice before trying to sort out a number of issues with it. He recently installed a set of Unplugged Performance brakes too.
In a previous video, he details the brake change. Up front, he’s installed new carbon-ceramic rotors with larger calipers and steel-braided brake lines at all four corners. Lord specifically states that he wanted to use the Plaid for track use and that he overheated the stock brakes in the past. That’s why he upgraded but one thing he left the same was the brake fluid itself.
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DOT 3 brake fluid is the stock fluid for the Tesla Model S Plaid and it’s what Lord uses for this build as well. Ultimately, it might be exactly that choice that is at fault for the crash itself. In the pinned comment on the video here’s what he said.
“It literally boils down to the stock tesla dot3 brake fluid. I will explain in depth next video. Tesla also likes to say this is a passenger sedan not meant for track use… it has and was in “Track Mode” if this car has no place on a track and is not to be pushed on a track then why have a track mode? A recall needs to be made now before more people get hurt and eventually killed by this under performing brake system and recall the inferior Dot3 fluid to be more specific.”
So we’ll wait to see what exactly he says in a future video but here’s what we know for now. He has track experience in the Plaid and knows how it feels when the brakes start to underperform. In addition, he specifically says “the brakes are too hot” just before the crash takes place. Thankfully, he escaped with non-life-threatening injuries including a fractured knee and several broken ribs, but things could’ve been much, much worse.
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