No Holy Water Required: Tesla Model S Plaid Electroshocks Dodge Demon at the Drag Strip

After our ancestors extended their understanding (and subsequent taming) of electricity - nearly three centuries ago - they found that electroshock therapy to cure various human brain malfunctions. By the third millennium, the extraordinary form of energy powers high-speed cars, among countless other utilizations.

Sadly for some, it turns out that lightning is faster than wildfire, and EVs look over their shoulders in a 440-yard disgraceful revolution of the automobile. Therapy or not, it gets folks to change their minds about things.

Another episode of this world-divisive duality of powering motion occurred earlier this month at Bradenton Motorsports Park in Florida. Courtesy of the good folks at the Tesla Plaid Channel on YouTube, we get to see the events as they unfolded.

In a premiere attempt, the Tesla S Plaid that regularly runs at the dragstrip made this particular run even more attractive by going at the fight with a 32% battery level. Drag Strip Mode (that’s Elon Musk’s verbatim for ‘launch control’) is available when the battery in the Tesla shows a higher state of charge, so this race is missing the bullet-like start.

All the more because it’s not a regular drag race but a 30-mph (48-kph) rolling start contest in the heat of the Floridian sun. The detail is essential because the fiery one-year-only SRT Demon actually needs cold air to play it cool (pun intended). But fate favors the brave – or so they say, but the boundary between bravery and lack of knowledge is often invisible – and the mighty Demon goes for it.

Needless to say, the Plaid mauls it badly. The cocky Challenger scores a meager 9.689 seconds in the head-on race. That’s only infinitesimally close to the manufacturer-claimed time of 9.65 (NHRA-sanctioned, as Dodge bragged in 2018, at 140 mph/225 kph). In the real-world conditions at the drag strip in Florida, on a roll race, the SRT Demon hit 131.37 mph (211.37 kph).

Defending loyalists might aim their iron sights at me and counter with the ‘heat’ argument. Still, there was a second run – at night, this time- against a C8 Corvette. Not that the adversary would make much difference, but the Demon – despite its complimentary wheelie – again failed to impress, crossing the line after 10.09 seconds at 131.3 mph (211.3 kph).

Then again, the chances of actually coming on par with the manufacturer’s PR-boosting specs are slim to none, usually. It can happen – when the right stars align (see the second video for a quick dose of Demon factory-beating performance).