When Tesla confirmed the Cybertruck beating a Porsche 911 down a drag strip whereas towing one other Porsche 911, everybody who knew something about automobiles was a bit, effectively, skeptical. As extra data got here out and YouTubers did deep dives on whether or not or not the outcomes proven by Tesla had been really attainable, it turned out that it most likely wasn’t. Now although, we’ve bought much more proof that Tesla’s video (whereas an excellent piece of selling) was certainly a bit (learn: fully) fugazi.
The parents over at MotorTrend determined to place CEO Elon Musk’s and Tesla’s claims to the check by recreating the drag race. They bought two of the slowest Porsche 911s you might purchase – 911 Carrera Ts, a borrowed an 845 horsepower Cybertruck Cyberbeast from the Out of Spec Evaluations YouTube channel and even bought the very same Futura Membership Sport aluminum trailer utilized in Tesla’s stunt. What they came upon is effectively, the Cybertruck towing a 911 T simply isn’t as quick down a dragstrip as a daily 911 T with a guide transmission. The truth is, it’s not even significantly shut.
Right here’s what MotorTrend discovered after six quarter-mile drag races:
Within the first warmth, the Porsche ran 12.5 seconds at 115.6 mph, whereas the Tesla adopted in 12.7 seconds at 105.2 mph. Over the following few runs, because the Porsche driver honed his launch, the 911 trimmed 0.3 second off the time. The Cybertruck solely posted one faster run, which amounted to a trivial 0.02-second enchancment. If we cherry-pick the quickest Cybertruck run and the slowest 911 run—the absolute best state of affairs for Tesla—the Beast nonetheless crosses the end line 0.229 second behind the Porsche. (All outcomes from our drag race have 1-foot rollout eliminated per drag-racing conference, however within the spirit of working an sincere head-to-head race, we now have not utilized any climate correction.) The chart under reveals the quarter-mile occasions for all six runs, and if that’s not proof sufficient for you, examine the picture gallery for the receipts—the official timeslips from Famoso Dragstrip.
A couple of weeks after Musk made the unique quarter-mile declare, [Jason] Fenske posted a video on his Engineering Defined YouTube channel revealing Tesla had solely proven an eighth-mile race. Cybertruck lead engineer Wes Morrill responded by confirming that Tesla by no means really ran the quarter-mile race, however he nonetheless backed up the unique assertion. “The quickest 1/8mi CT hit whereas towing on the day was 7.808s at 88 mph and the trailer tires had been solely rated to 80 mph so we opted to name it a day earlier than somebody bought harm,” he posted on X, previously Twitter. “Our simulations confirmed the total 1/4 mi race could be shut however with the identical internet outcome, so no have to danger it.”
[Cybertruck lead engineer Sam] Morrill additionally claimed Tesla’s video didn’t present the Cybertruck’s quickest run. We’re unsure if that’s true, however we are able to say confidently that Tesla didn’t present the Porsche 911 Carrera T’s quickest attainable run. In 4 out of six MotorTrend drag races, the Porsche 911 Carrera T beat the Cybertruck to the eighth-mile mark. Pitting one of the best runs towards one another, the Porsche 911 Carrera T crosses the eighth mile in 7.9 seconds at 91.4 mph. The Cybertruck does it in 8.1 seconds at 86.7 mph.
OK, to be truthful to the Cybertruck, it apparently was sooner off the road. That is sensible. Launching an EV may be very simple, and launching a guide transmission sports activities automobile – even on one of the best floor – is fairly exhausting. Nonetheless, the Cybertruck solely holds its benefit for seven ft. After that, the 911 Carrera T takes off and doesn’t look again.
MotorTrend and Fenske even went by way of the difficulty of meticulously weighing each the drivers (and their helmets), all three automobiles and the trailer so as to ensure the outcomes had been as truthful as attainable. In addition they fitted the automobiles with VBox information loggers, and people confirmed the 911 T was sooner than the Cybertruck regardless of the way you sliced the info. Now, in fact, an unaided Cybertruck will kick absolutely the shit out of a base 911 T, however that wasn’t Elon’s declare, so it doesn’t actually matter, does it?
