Taking a luxury electric SUV with over 1,000 horsepower into mud and rocks isn’t exactly what engineers designed it for. Yet, a Tesla Model X Plaid owner did just that, swapping pavement for the heart of the mountains, onto an off-road course where genuine 4x4s are typically seen.
His plan: push this big electric SUV to its limits, chaining together five obstacles of increasing severity. Very steep grades, mud, spectacular cross-axle sections, a terrifying overhang, a rock-strewn descent—nothing was spared for this off-road Tesla Model X. And as the challenge unfolded, the 1,020-horsepower model proved far more at ease than its on-road luxury-SUV image would suggest.
Tesla Model X Plaid: A Road SUV Thrown Into the Deep End of Off-Roading
On the first incline, the stage is set. The climb is brutally steep, the ground is slick, and the Model X’s long wheelbase raises fears of scraping the belly on the crest. The owner, who goes by Tesla Camper, engages the SUV’s guided air suspension. He raises it to the max to gain ground clearance—up to about 211 mm with this setup—and charges up the hill. The big electric SUV climbs to the top without stalling, where many would have already given up.
The second obstacle complicates the matter even more. The slope grows steeper, the wheels quickly pick up mud, traction drops and the Model X starts to slip. The driver then activates the Tesla’s “Slip Start” feature, a help that lets the wheels spin a bit more to recover traction in these precarious conditions. The SUV manages to keep climbing, despite the absence of a dedicated off-road mode in the menus. Seeing a 1,020-hp Plaid crawl a muddy path, rather than rocket along the highway, makes for a striking contrast.
Overhang, a Blowout, and an Extreme Descent: The Tesla Model X Surprises Again Off Road
The third challenge this time is all about tripping up the chassis. The Model X must cross a massive hollow along the trail, to the point of lifting one wheel off the ground in a cross-axle. It’s exactly the type of passage you’d reserve for a true 4×4, with big suspension travel. Yet the electric SUV presses on to the end, aided by traction-control electronics and both axles engaged. A little farther, the adventure takes an unexpected turn with a flat tire. Tesla Camper had anticipated this too: two spare wheels and a tire-repair kit awaited inside the vehicle, enough to get going again without killing the challenge in the mountains.
The rest comes down to a hair’s breadth. The fourth obstacle is a massive lateral decline, which naturally raises fears of a rollover. The Model X ends up considerably tilted, but it benefits here from its battery sitting beneath the floor. That heavy pack keeps the center of gravity very low, stabilizing the SUV even when the bodywork looks ready to tip. The final act is an incredibly steep and rocky descent, where you have to wedge rocks under the front to keep the nose from kissing the ground. From the cockpit, the maneuver looks nerve-wracking, yet the SUV makes it to the bottom of the trail. The driver even recalls being told that his Model X was the first SUV to master this precise descent. Despite a long wheelbase, road tires, and the absence of a true off-road mode, this challenge demonstrates that a Tesla Model X off-road, even improvised, has clearly more resource than expected.
