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America's Finest Destroyed by a Tesla Model S in a 1/8 Mile Drag Competition

It's like stealing candy from a baby, the Tesla Model S driver must have been thinking to himself. It's like these people don't know that the shorter the distance, the less likely it is for any car to beat a P85D Model S with Ludicrous mode.
Tesla Model S vs. American muscle 5 photos
Photo: Screenshot from YouTube
Tesla Model S vs. American muscleTesla Model S vs. American muscleTesla Model S vs. American muscleTesla Model S vs. American muscle
Recent tests have shown that the car can accelerate to 60 mph in just 2.65 seconds, which is faster than any hypercar out there. Sure, the vehicles that turn up at drag racing events are anything but stock, and yet it's hard to believe that sheer power can offset the carefully tuned software that allows the Model S to put all its grunt on the asphalt so efficiently.

But that doesn't mean the EV doesn't get plenty of challengers. In a way, the Model S is actually ruining events such as these. Here is a guy who paid a certain amount of money for a car and, without touching one bolt on his vehicle, is able to thrash these people who have invested a lot of time into tuning their racers. Well, some fo them, at least. And trying to squeeze that last bit of performance out of your vehicle is what these races are supposed to be about - besides the skill and reactions of the driver, of course.

But the Tesla could have just as well landed on the drag strip straight from the dealership. You know, if Tesla actually had dealerships. Is this the wind of change? Are the muscle cars finally being shown they are outdated, and they should move out of the way? Well, kind of. Bear in mind this is a 1/8 mile race, and most of the races are pretty close. Had they been quarter-miles - not to mention half-miles -, then the Tesla would have probably lost some of them. On such a short distance, though, that monumental traction off the line is enough to leave everybody else in the dust.

But the real treat is the noise - or, rather, the lack of it. The way the engine growl disappears as the Model S pulls away from the Mustang is surreal. It's like the car isn't even giving its all. It feels otherworldly, as if coming from the future. Which it kind of is.

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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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