Aging Tesla Model S Plaid faces brand new Chevy Corvette ZR1, look away now gas car fans

A ‘middle-aged’ Tesla Model S Plaid took on a Chevy Corvette ZR1 in a drag race and still won.

The Corvette ZR1 is the fastest production Chevrolet ever built, boasting a record top speed of 233mph and a twin-turbo V8 that puts out more than 1000hp.

The Model S is older, and it has done more miles, but instant torque never fails.

There’s a silver lining, though.

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Why even an aging Tesla Model S Plaid is faster than the fastest Corvette

The Drag Times YouTube channel raced a 1,020-horsepower Tesla Model S Plaid against a 1,064-horsepower Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 and the Tesla won quite easily.

The Model S Plaid is one of the fastest-accelerating cars in the world.

We’ve already seen it beat a variety of different cars in a drag race, including the previous generation of Chevy Corvette ZR1.

There are exceptions, of course.

For example, not long ago, a Lamborghini Revuelto managed to beat the Model S Plaid thanks to its superior launch control.

However, generally speaking, nothing accelerates faster off the line than an electric car, and that’s because of instant torque.

Gas cars use a lot of software these days, but they still rely on mechanical components that physically need to move inside the engine.

By contrast, an electric car is like a switch.

When it’s on, it’s on.

The silver lining

There’s a silver lining, though.

Actually, two.

First, even though electric cars are indeed faster off the line, they’re sometimes slower than ‘regular’ supercars when it comes to their top speed.

More to the point, the market is clearly telling us there’s a still a place for gas cars, whether they’re slower or not.

For example, EV interest in the USA is at its lowest point since 2019.

A lot of people clearly want electric cars, the fact that Tesla Model Y was the world’s best-selling car in 2024 proves it, but even more people still like an engine with pistons and cylinders in it.