Tesla owners are paying as much as $50,000 to Unplugged Performance, a tuning shop near Tesla headquarters in Hawthorne, California, to ‘hot-rod’ their electric vehicles. “Our modifications will shave seconds off your personal best lap times,” guarantees the turning shop.
According to Bloomberg, most of the upgrades and modifications involve making the car lighter or more aerodynamic and do not include adjusting the power settings on the car’s motor.
The Model 3 package that Unplugged Performance debuted at the Special Equipment Manufacturers Association (SEMA) meeting in Las Vegas in November runs about $35,000, whereas the full treatment on a Model S can go up to $50,000.
“It’s not about increasing the performance of the electric motor—it’s more about amplifying the experience,” said Kevin Lee, whose 2018 Tesla Model S P100 underwent four months of tuning.
“For Lee, Unplugged Performance added a wide-body kit of 19 separate carbon fiber panels, lightweight forged wheels, Michelin Pilot sport tires with titanium lug nuts, carbon ceramic brakes, high-performance shocks and air suspension, an interior upgrade of royal blue leather and dark grey Alcantara, satin-white exterior wrap, and a ceramic clear coat on the outside of the car for additional protection against rock chips.”
Unplugged Performance tuned 1,000 Teslas in 2019, double the figure for the previous year, out of which nearly 70% were Model 3 cars, 20% were Model S, and the rest were Model X.
