Tesla Might Be Tanking, But Its Cars Are Still Fast
This drag racing video from Las Vegas reminds us that you don't need Plaid speed to win.
Tesla has been in the news cycle a lot lately, and not for the best reasons. Yes, sales are down. Profits are way down. And Elon Musk is stirring the political pot faster than a Model S Plaid gets to 60 mph. But let's forget all that for a moment and remember one thing Teslas are really good at: Going fast.
To help, we turn to Wheels Plus on YouTube. This short video captures a trio of Model 3s and a single Model Y enjoying some speed runs on the drag strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Among the challengers are two C8 Corvettes, a Mustang Shelby GT500 and a hilariously large Ford pickup truck. We don't have any details regarding the gas burners, nor do we know specific trim levels on the Teslas. We can tell you everything here is pretty darned quick. Two of the Tesla dip into the 11-second range.
The action begins with a Model 3 facing a black C8 Chevrolet Corvette, and this one doesn't end well for Team Tesla. Despite a healthy starting line advantage, the 'Vette charges past to take the win. Still, the Tesla goes 13.84—that's not slow by any definition.
Vengeance comes with race number two. Another C8 Stingray lines up, only this time the competition in a Model Y. It's a pretty close race, too, with the drivers separated by just a tenth of a second. However, when you're turning a low-12-second quarter-mile, a tenth may as well be a mile. Chalk a win for the Model Y.
The third race sees a big ol' Ford at the starting line, off-road tires and all. The driver still does a burnout, and to be honest, it sounds pretty good. Clearly there's a V-8 under the hood, and we reckon it has quite a few modifications because it goes 13.62 in the quarter, lifted suspension and all. But its competitor, another Model 3, goes much, much faster.
That brings us to the final race, and it's the quickest run of the video. We have another Model 3, this time facing down a Mustang Shelby GT500 on drag tires. Both cars turn an 11-second quarter-mile, but only one wins.
We'll leave that mystery for the video to solve.
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