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Turns Out the Tesla Model 3 Is a Factory Drift Machine

The fact that the Tesla Model 3 is one of the most fun to drive electric cars currently available is no secret, and since it can be had with rear-wheel drive, there’s one extra thing it should also be good at.
Tesla Model 3 burnout 4 photos
Photo: Drifts N' Lifts/YouTube
Tesla Model 3 driftingTesla Model 3 driftingTesla Model 3 drifting
Yes, you’ve guessed it (or you just read the title) we are referring to drifting. Now Tesla doesn’t really want you to drift the Model 3, even though it has the key ingredient that makes for a good sideways machine: oodles of instant torque that can immediately make the rear wheels break traction.

You can’t fully disable the traction and stability control systems, but there are ways in which you can force the car to give you all the power but without any of the aids. Most owners just pull the corresponding fuse, although you can also disconnect the speed sensor located behind the right front wheel.

Be warned, though, that driving a Model 3 with the systems off is a completely different experience to driving it with them on. With all the nannies disabled, the car squirms under hard acceleration and while you can do a burnout, don’t push the right pedal all the way to the floor - the rear wheels will spin up to the car’s top speed and you run the risk of quickly disintegrating the tires.

That being said, if you are careful and know what you’re doing, you can have a lot of sideways fun in a Model 3 with no electronic aids. The car is very quick to swing its tail out and keeping it under control is no harder than it is in other rear-wheel drive cars.

In fact, it’s probably even easier, since the instant power delivery is predictable and because there are no gears to shift, it’s constant and seamless too. This would all be better (and safer) if Tesla offered some sort of track mode that owners could enable without resorting to hacks...

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