Tesla Model 3 Gets Down with the Bad Boys, Street Races Pontiac G8 GT

According to Tesla, the long-range single-motor Model 3 - the only one available right now - needs about five seconds to hit the 60 mph (97 km/h) mark, which isn't exactly hot, but it's not cold either. To put it into perspective, it's the same as Tesla's Semi electric truck (yikes), but also 0.8 seconds quicker than the old Renault Megane RS Trophy - one of the finest recent hot hatches.

According to DragTimes, the Model 3 can do even better than the advertised five seconds, dropping well into the fours. A measured test performed by them revealed a 4.66 time, a figure that could probably drop even further with a change of tires and some proper warming.

The Model 3 you'll see below is wearing the Aero wheels, which were designed for maximum efficiency. We doubt the owners bothered to change the stock tires as well, plus we can see there were two of them in the car. Since there was nothing at stake - apart from their licenses and who knows what else if the police had shown up - there was no need for any such strictness.

The opponent for the night was a Pontiac G8 GT, a mid-sized sedan powered by a 6.0-liter V8 engine pushing out 370 hp and 391 lb-ft (530 Nm). It's not exactly the fiercest defender of V8 pride, but it's what they had. Plus, it's not like the Model 3's specs are any more impressive.

It looks like the electric sedan drew first blood in its battle with the ICE vehicles that will surely be documented through the countless videos that will follow, particularly once the dual-motor performance version comes out which should make things interesting for a whole different range of cars, not just old naturally-aspirated V8s the size of a barn.