During the Tesla Cybertruck’s first delivery event, Elon Musk showcased a video of the all-electric pickup truck racing and winning against a base Porsche 911 in a drag race — while it was towing another Porsche 911. The video was an incredible demonstration of the Cybertruck’s performance, though avid industry watchers later questioned the EV maker’s demonstration.
Jason Fenske of YouTube’s Engineering Explained channel, for one, argued that Tesla did not run a full 1/4 mile in its demonstration. Instead, the YouTube host noted that Tesla seems to have run a 1/8 mile race against the Porsche 911 in its demonstration video. These comments resulted in Tesla’s Cybertruck demonstration getting quite a bit of flak.
Seemingly as a way to put a lid on the matter, MotorTrend has shared a video of the Tesla Cybetruck’s top-tier variant, the tri-motor Cyberbeast, racing a Porsche 911 while towing another Porsche 911. As per the motoring publication, its test should prove once and for all if the Cybertruck could indeed beat a Porsche 911 in a race while towing another Porsche 911. Needless to say, the results of the publication’s tests were interesting.
Tesla actually got a 7.808s 1/8th mile time when they tested, which would beat the Porsche.. hmmm pic.twitter.com/202VexQ33U
— Greggertruck (@greggertruck) May 16, 2024
As could be seen in MotorTrend’s YouTube video, the Cybertruck and the Porsche 911 took on each other in a series of drag races. Sure enough, the tri-motor Tesla Cyberbeast did beat the Porsche 911 while towing another Porsche 911 to the 1/8th mile mark in the first race. The all-electric pickup truck hit the 1/8th mile mark in 8.137 seconds and the iconic sports car covered the distance in 8.239 seconds.
In the next two races, the Porsche 911 came out ahead of the all-electric pickup truck at the 1/8th mile mark. The same was true for all three quarter-mile races. Through the bouts, the Porsche 911 remained ahead of the Tesla Cyberbeast across the quarter-mile. The closest the Cybertruck came to the 911 was in the first race when it hit the quarter mile in 12.749 seconds versus the 911’s 12.5 seconds.
Love the detailed breakdown @jasonfenske13 – well done! One underlying assumption, which is what any reasonable engineer would assume: the video showed was the best run. It was not. But it was the most dramatic finish.
— Wes (@wmorrill3) January 13, 2024
So "why didn't we do a full 1/4mi?"
The fastest 1/8mi CT… https://t.co/uppWJzPcks
It should be noted that Tesla Cybertruck Lead Engineer Wes Morrill has noted on X that the Cybertruck was recorded to have achieved a 7.808-second 1/8-mile run during tests. Such a result would make the Cybertruck faster than the Porsche 911’s three 1/8 mile runs during MotorTrend’s tests. The Tesla Lead Cybertruck Engineer also noted that simulations run by the electric vehicle maker showed that “the full 1/4 mile race would be close but with the same net result.”
Watch MotorTrend’s Tesla Cybertruck vs Porsche 911 race in the video below.
Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.
