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Tesla Model S P100D Gets Called Out by 900 HP Hellcat, Shows Up for the Race

The thing with running a YouTube channel that shows your Model S drag race activity is that you are going to attract a lot of attention. And while some of that might come from people interested in finding out more about the EV, others will inevitably want to race you.
P100D drag racing 5 photos
Photo: YouTube screenshot
Tesla Model S P100D drag racingTesla Model S P100D drag racingTesla Model S P100D drag racingTesla Model S P100D drag racing
Since the videos show all sorts of sports cars coming up second against the electric sedan, you won't get called out by the owners of regular, stock vehicles who know very well they don't stand a chance. Nope, you will get some really stiff competition.

A standard Charger Hellcat does 717 hp, which, I think we can all agree, is absolutely crazy for a rear-wheel-drive muscle car that is almost as practical as the Model S. The Charger Hellcat that wanted a piece of Tesla Racing Channel's P100D, however, came with 900 wheel horsepower and, probably, a very big roar.

The two were supposed to meet at the Wilkesboro Dragstrip and settle the matter, but while the P100D was waiting for the Hellcat to show up, it thought it wouldn't hurt to warm up a little. Luckily, a modified Chevrolet Corvette with nitrous was there to provide the perfect opportunity.

To get an idea of how the majority of people feel about a Tesla at a drag strip, you only need to watch that guy filming with his phone just before the race. He respected the car's performance, but was somewhat disappointed. A clip with a family sedan that makes no noise isn't particularly spectacular. The moment the Corvette revved its engine, he turned away instantly and forgot about the EV.

But that didn't phase the Model S driver one bit. What this guy is doing for Tesla in particular, but also for EVs in general, is simply huge. Elon Musk should get in touch with him and offer him some kind of a deal. I don't know, free tires for life or something.

He is exposing the phenomenal performance of the EV to a lot of people - the kind of people who are into racing, so they are most likely die-hard fans of the suck-squeeze-bang-blow engines. Well, after getting their behinds handed to them by a road-legal family car, they might think twice before dissing electric power in the future.

Oh, and by the way, the Hellcat never showed up. Don't worry, though, the Corvette race and the one against the Dodge Ram 50 with an engine swap also running a shot of nitrous are thrilling enough on their own.

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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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