Guy who bought the 'cheapest Tesla Model S Plaid in the US' with $100k discount and says it's faster than his Bugatti Veyron
- The battle between gas and electric rumbles on
- This time a Tesla Model S Plaid went up against a Bugatti Veyron
- Is the $47,000 or $1.7 million car faster?
Published on Feb 03, 2025 at 4:23 PM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Last updated on Feb 05, 2025 at 9:54 AM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
In the latest battle between gas and electric, a Tesla Model S Plaid has gone up against none other than a Bugatti Veyron in a Kansas drag race.
The Tesla Model S Plaid was bought for a mere $47,000.
That’s almost $100,000 off its original manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of $140,000 due to extreme electric car depreciation.
But how will it perform in a drag race against the $1.7 million Bugatti Veyron 16.4?
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The Tesla Model S Plaid
Tyler Hoover, aka Hoovie, of Hoovies Garage hated the Tesla when he first drove one four years ago.
However, you can’t argue with the EV’s impressive stats: 1,000HP tri-motor platform, and 0-60mph in just two seconds making it the quickest accelerating car in the world at the time.
It’s certainly faster off the mark than most.
However, according to Hoover, its ’10-year-old luxury sedan platformance’ means it’s ‘dead behind the eyes’.
“Other than death and taxes, the only other certainty in this world is massive massive electric car depreciation,” Hoover said.
He bought this for a song with 58,000 miles on the odometer for $47,000 before driving it 600 miles home in the middle of winter ‘when battery performance is at its worst’.
The Bugatti Veyron
The roughly $1.7 million Bugatti Veyron 16.4 model was produced between 2005 and 2011.
Similarly to the Plaid, it packs 1,000 horsepower, 16 cylinders, and four turbos and can accelerate from 0-60mph in 2.5 seconds, meaning the Tesla is faster off the line.
“I think I know how this is going to go though, unfortunately,” Hoover said.
“I’m rooting for the Bugatti because it’s a lot more expensive.”
Which is faster?
We’ve seen this story play out before in an EV versus gas drag race with remarkably close results.
The Plaid is quicker off the line in the drag race due to instant electric torque and AWD traction.
However, the Veyron’s faster top speed of 253mph compared to the Plaid at 200mph means the supercar would likely win in a longer race.
Ultimately, at a mere fraction of the cost of its competitor, the Plaid holds its own but falls short due to the wet track.
All Supercar Blondie contributors undergo editorial review and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and authority in automotive journalism. After gaining her BA Hons in French and English at the University of Nottingham, Amelia embarked on a vocational diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). This led to numerous opportunities, from interning at Vogue to being on the small team that launched Women’s Health magazine in the UK, which was named the PPA Consumer magazine of the year for three years running. As Health, Beauty and Fitness editor, Amelia personally received a Johnson & Johnson Award and was shortlisted for both PPA and BSME titles. Since then, Amelia has created content for numerous titles and brands, including the Telegraph, 111 Skin, Waitrose, Red magazine, Stylist, and Elle, as well as being Head of Content at Vitality and Editor in Chief at INLondon magazine. “My superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a relatable story you’ll want to share with your friends after you’ve read it.” After joining the SB Media family as a senior journalist in September of 2023, Amelia’s role has evolved to see her heading up the SEO output of the editorial team. From researching the most ‘Google-able’ key terms to producing evergreen content - it’s been a time of hard work, growth, and success for the editorial team and the Supercar Blondie website. “I like to think of myself as a ‘method journalist’. In other words: I live and breathe whatever I am writing about. When writing about fitness, I trained as a personal trainer, and as a beauty editor, I completed an ‘expert’ in scent diploma with the Fragrance Foundation. “During my tenure at Supercar Blondie, however, I did something I never thought possible: I passed my driving test at the age of 36. One day I’d love to train as a mechanic to better understand what happens under the hood, too. “My sweet spot is providing readers with a ‘takeaway’ (read: something new they didn’t know before) after reading every one of my stories. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the automotive world, I know the experts and bodies in the field to rely on to provide our readers with an informative and thought-provoking story every time they visit the site.”
