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Elon Musk feuds with ‘Top Gear’ Over Taycan Vs. Model S Drag Race Results

By Grant Cox

HAWTHORNE CA - OCTOBER 09: Tesla owners take a ride in the new Tesla "D" model after Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, unveiled the dual engine chassis, a faster and all-wheel-drive version of the Model S electric sedan, at the Hawthorne Airport October 09, 2014 in Hawthorne, California. The D will be able to accelerate to 60 miles per hour in just over 3 seconds. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
HAWTHORNE CA - OCTOBER 09: Tesla owners take a ride in the new Tesla "D" model after Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, unveiled the dual engine chassis, a faster and all-wheel-drive version of the Model S electric sedan, at the Hawthorne Airport October 09, 2014 in Hawthorne, California. The D will be able to accelerate to 60 miles per hour in just over 3 seconds. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /
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Elon Musk took to twitter to argue the results of a drag race between a Tesla Model S and Porsche Taycan Turbo S on Top Gear.

Earlier this week the famous car show Top Gear released some numbers from a drag race they ran between a Model S and a Taycan, and here’s what has everyone in a frenzy: the Porsche won. Top Gear’s number had the Taycan edging out the Model S by just .07 seconds in a 0-60 sprint with a time of 2.81 seconds. In the quarter mile the Taycan won again, beating the Tesla by about half a second with a time of 10.69 seconds at 131.6 mph. Well, that’s what Top Gear says anyways. Elon Musk and tons of Tesla enthusiasts say otherwise.

One such Tesla enthusiast, Drag Times, called out Top Gear on account of faking the test results. He published a video dissecting Top Gear’s drag race and pointed out how the times that the Model S got just happened to be the exact same as when Top Gear pitted the Tesla up against a Mercedes AMG C63. The odds of that happening are virtually zero. That fact, coupled with how dozens of Tesla owners have record quarter-mile times nearly a half second quicker than what Top Gear got, makes the possibility of Top Gear lying even more likely.

This story really picks up when Elon gets involved on twitter by siding with Drag Times and calling out Top Gear (again). It seems that he, like many Tesla fans, shares the view that Top Gear had their Model S in range mode during the drag race, instead of performance mode. It goes without saying that for a drag race, the optimal drive mode would performance mode.

Top Gear, for now, is sticking by their times, so it’s up in the air whether or not a Taycan can beat a Model S. But rest assured we will bring any information regarding this next chapter in the Elon Musk v. Top Gear feud.

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