Tesla Model S P100D Racing a Nitrous Pickup Truck Is Future Versus Past

Given how easy it finds it to accelerate off the mark, unless it meets some very serious competition, the P100D will hit 60 miles per hour before any other car out there, and o short track, that's what counts the most. Its all-wheel-drive and that software making sure the power gets to the wheels with mostly zero amounts of spin, have made the P100D a pretty successful drag racer.

Against all the odds, we might add, since we are talking about a lardy family sedan that also comes with electric propulsion. That last bit at the end would have been enough to raise hysterical laughter among these amateur racers a few years back, but things have changed now.

The sight of a Tesla on the lane next to you is under no circumstances a cause for joy. The EV has quickly built a name for itself and now gets all the respect it deserves. The driver? Well, not so much, considering all they have to do is react quickly to the start signal, and then hold the car in a straight line.

The others have to manage grip, traction, and some of them might even have to deal with changing gears. Why don't they buy a Tesla Model S P100D then? Well, because they enjoy what they're doing, even if it means losing to the fancy EV every now and then.

But this wasn't one of those cases. The P100D entered a drag race competition where each of the 14 participants had to chip in with $200 for a $2,800 prize that would only go to the winner. Given the surface was far from clean - generating tons of wheel spin - the Tesla felt pretty confident, but it wasn't to be. Its first and last direct competitor was a Chevrolet LUV pickup truck with enough modifications to give it more than just a fighting chance.

So, yeah, this was a future versus past - or rather present - kind of race, and goes to show the gasoline engine isn't ready to give up just yet. It may need some serious tuning and a bit of help from its goold old friend, the NOX, but in the right circumstances, it can whoop electric tushie all day long. We're just sorry we don't get to know whether the Chevy Luv went on to win the prize.