Comedian and car enthusiast Jay Leno appeared on a recent episode of the YouTube show Cars and Culture with Jason Stein and talked about his experience with the Tesla Model S Plaid, among other things (via @SawyerMerritt).
Jay Leno on his Model S Plaid: "I’m stunned how good it is. I love that it’s built in America, American labor, American tech; I’m talking to the Tesla guys about their new carbon rotors, & I felt like my Mother when she‘d come in the garage & guys are talking about cam timing." pic.twitter.com/QqFlJBD38d
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) February 5, 2022
Leno talked about setting a world record last year for the fastest 1/4 mile time in his Model S Plaid, with 9.247 seconds at 152.09 mph. In November, the Model S Plaid casually cruised into 8-second quarter-mile time territory.
“I mean, it is the fastest accelerating vehicle you can buy now,” said Leno. The career comic and TV host said he knew about the Rimac Nevera, which has broken the Model S Plaid’s 0-60 mph acceleration and 1/4 mile time records, but dismissed it due to its ludicrous $2.4 million USD sticker price and a limited production run of just 150 units.
“I’m stunned at how good it is. I mean, I love that it’s built in America, American labor, American technology,” said Leno.
The former Tonight Show host also went on to commend Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s vision for the company’s Supercharging network, which to this day remains a massive competitive edge over other electric carmakers. Leno is a longstanding admirer of Musk’s work and what Tesla has achieved under his leadership.
Leno also revealed he talked to engineers at Tesla about the company’s new carbon rotors, in a conversation he felt was foreign to him despite his love affair with everything on four wheels.
The Model S Plaid is equipped with carbon-sleeved rotors as an upgrade over the base Model S, and they might also end up in Tesla’s rumored ‘Performance V2’ trims of the Model 3 and Model Y.
Watch Leno’s full interview below:
