Unplugged Performance
- New wheels from the aftermarket company Unplugged Performance, which caters to Tesla owners, are claimed to be indestructible.
- The claim is a bit far-fetched, but the Road Warrior wheels appear to be tough and well-designed.
- Priced between $2795 and $2995, they’re also relatively light and don’t add much to aerodynamic drag.
If you want to market your product to Tesla owners, you’re going to need to make a claim that stands out. Thus, aftermarket outfit Unplugged Performance doesn’t just say that its latest set of forged alloy wheels for the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y are tough—it’s claiming the wheels are literally indestructible.This claim is backed up by the company’s guarantee of free replacement for life if a wheel should be bent or cracked. Think of Darn Tough, the Vermont manufacturer of heavy-duty socks. Those socks, made in the United States, are guaranteed for life, warranted for replacement should they wear out. On one hand, you’re buying a corporate promise, but they really are decent socks. These wheels also look to be a solid product.Phillip Awad|Car and Driver2026 Tesla Model Y Juniper with 20-inch Road Warrior wheels.At $2795 for a set of 19-inch wheels and $2995 for 20s, the Road Warrior wheels are reasonably priced for forged aluminum. Load rated at over 2000 pounds per wheel, they’re theoretically stronger than many wheels used in actual rally racing, and those cars are expected to survive jumps, not just potholes. Also, at a claimed 23.5 pounds per wheel for the 19-inch application and 26.0 pounds for the 20s, they aren’t adding a bunch of unsprung weight.Perhaps more important for an EV application, the increased aerodynamic drag is claimed to be minimal, with Unplugged Performance claiming that the coefficient of drag with its wheels is within roughly 4 percent of the most slippery 18-inch factory wheels. The Road Warrior wheels also fit Tesla’s factory tire sizes and come with a built-in, replaceable curb protector.Unplugged PerformanceTesla Model 3 with Road Warrior wheels.The marketing release for the Road Warrior wheels comes with a bunch of copy about how these “indestructible” wheels will be ideal for ride-share drivers and owners of fleets of robotaxis, with wheels that will never have to be replaced. While it all sounds pretty hyperbolic, the company has designed these wheels based on learnings from the beatings its wheels have taken on municipal Tesla police fleets.These wheels do look tough, well-designed, reasonably priced, and light enough to be a decent upgrade for a privately owned Tesla. The built-in curb rash protectors are a lot less garish than the plastic aftermarket offerings more commonly available, although at $80 for a replacement set of two, you’re going to want to pay some attention while parking. Which you should be doing anyway.Making bold claims and not following up on them is, unfortunately, a winning corporate strategy in 2025. Slightly exaggerating but putting out a solid product? By comparison, entirely forgivable.
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Brendan McAleerContributing EditorBrendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels.
Source: caranddriver.com
