Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 drag races Tesla Model S Plaid four times to see if it can eventually get a result
Published on Nov 09, 2025 at 7:10 PM (UTC+4)
by Alessandro Renesis
Last updated on Nov 07, 2025 at 5:21 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
A Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 took on a Tesla Model S Plaid four times in a drag race, and the result was telling.
The GT500 is the ultimate pony car, and the Model S Plaid is one of the fastest electric cars this side of the Rimac Nevera.
There was one clear winner.
But the result also shows there’s still hope for the loser.
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It was a one-sided show for the Tesla Plaid
A Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 faced a Tesla Model S Plaid in a drag race four times.
As you can see in the video shared by the YouTube channel ‘Drag Racing and Car Stuff‘, the Model S Plaid dominated this face-off.
Until not long ago, the result would’ve been unpredictable.
By now, it’s fair to assume most people know that – pound for pound – an electric car is usually faster than a gas equivalent.
That’s what happened here.
The Tesla was faster, but there’s one thing worth noting that still gives fans of gas-guzzling pony cars hope.
Because the Tesla S Plaid did win, but ‘only’ three times out of four.
It was still pretty one-sided, though.
The Mustang only won one race out of four, and by a small margin.
By contrast, the Plaid won three times out of four, and all three times the gap was significant.
On one occasion, the Tesla beat the Sheby by over half a second, which is an eternity in a drag race.
Why EVs are unbeatable in a drag race
Electric cars accelerate faster than gas cars thanks to something known as instant torque.
Internal combustion engines are complicated, with hundreds of components working in harmony, but that means it takes time for the engine to turn power into motion.
By contrast, electric cars are relatively simple, so it’s like flicking a switch, and you go from no torque to all the available torque immediately.
This is why EVs generally beat gas cars even when they’re so much heavier.
The record-breaking Cybertruck Cyberbeast, for example, can beat a Porsche 911 or a Lamborghini Aventador in a drag race even though it weighs over three tons.
