Xiaomi beats Tesla Model S Plaid 0-60 mph acceleration with new SU7 Ultra launch at much lower price

Xiaomi's inaugural performance EV - the SU7 Ultra - was already crowned the fastest four-door car when it beat the Nürburgring lap record of the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT, so the only mystery remained its price at launch.

The SU7 Ultra was released yesterday at a starting price that is the whopping 35% lower than its October tag when Xiaomi put the car up for preorder.

The Xiaomi SU7 Ultra launch price is now set at the equivalent of $72,930, making it nearly forty grand cheaper than the Tesla Model S Plaid in China.

Adding insult to injury, the SU7 Ultra is faster than the Model S Plaid, with its 1.89s 0-60 mph acceleration against the Tesla's 2.1 seconds run.

The top speed is set at 350 kilometers (217 miles) per hour, and the slingshot acceleration comes from its three electric motors capable of 1,548 horsepower of combined output.

The performance Ultra sedan of Xiaomi is larger than its inaugural SU7 electric car, and comes with a big 94 kWh battery that can be charged to 80% in 11 minutes, and is rated for 630 km (391 miles) of range on a charge.

That is on the Chinese CLTC cycle, of course, which is about a third more generous than the EPA estimate test, so at least when it comes to range the Tesla Model S Plaid beats the SU7 Ultra with its 672 km CLTC rating.

Xiaomi is mostly known for its phones like the 14T Pro, and only recently got into electric cars with the SU7 that it now just can't make enough of and there is a 7-month waiting list. In China, its CEO Lei Jun enjoys a cult entrepreneur status similar to Elon Musk in the US, and he said that the goal of the SU7 Ultra is to deliver Porsche-level performance plus Tesla-style technologies, and be as premium as a Mercedes inside.

About 15 minutes after the unveiling, Xiaomi posted that it has racked up 6,900 orders for the SU7 Ultra already, indicating that it may easily hit Lei Jun's stated goal of 10,000 units delivered.