Tesla Model S Plaid can drift, but the yoke wheel makes it a torture

A recent YouTube video follows Track Rekord School of Driving star, professional racing driver Kai Goddard, as he borrows a non-stock Tesla Model S Plaid from a volunteering owner to show what it is capable of on a drift track. He does succeed at drifting, but has a very hard time doing it.

He first did a show-off run on a Chevrolet Corvette Z06 rated at 400 PS (394 hp / 294 kW). Powerful engine, rear-wheel drive and traditional steering wheel enabled him to keep his car in a controlled drift all the time.

He then attempted the same with a Model S Plaid, which rocks three electric motors and 1,020 PS (1,006 hp / 750 kW). You’d expect it to be an impressive car – and Goddard acknowledged as much – but it was actually really challenging to drift due to the fancy yoke-shaped steering wheel.

Interestingly, this particular Tesla developed its drifting capabilities in a rather unusual way. Rather than tuning it, the owner decided to try and cross a specially arranged water reservoir, driving it at the bottom completely submerged. In the end, he never managed to make the EV sink, but water messed up its stability control systems.

The on-board electronics threw several dozen errors and warnings about faulty hardware, but the owner claims he has no intention to get his Model S fixed. Instead, he is just going to replace the uncomfortable yoke wheel with one of a standard design – and drive it as a drift car.