Man's Tesla Model S Plaid had never been beaten on the track but then he heads to Texas and a Corvette starts embarrassing every car there
Published on Mar 31, 2026 at 8:17 PM (UTC+4)
by Alessandro Renesis
Last updated on Mar 31, 2026 at 4:19 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Emma Matthews
This guy in Texas finally showed the world that even the Tesla Model S Plaid is beatable in a drag race.
If you’ve got a Corvette, that is.
For years, everyone was convinced that the Plaid was impossible to beat in a drag race due to its instant torque.
But what we’re seeing here is definite proof to the contrary in a way that makes the win undeniable.
Finally, the Tesla Model S Plaid lost a drag race
YouTuber Drag Times pitted a Chevy Corvette ZR1X against a Tesla Model S Plaid at the TX2K drag racing event in Texas.
The goal of the test was to see whether the ZR1X’s hybrid AWD system and massive power – 1,250hp – could outperform the Tesla Plaid.
And the answer was yes.
In the race, the Corvette delivered five eight-second quarter-mile passes in a row, beating the Plaid five times out of five.
Correct us if we’re wrong, but that’s probably never happened before.
The Model S Plaid has occasionally lost drag races against gas cars, but never twice in a row.
This is especially impressive because the Plaid is one of the fastest production vehicles ever made.
I’ve never driven the Plaid, but I have driven the P100D, which was the Plaid before the Plaid.
Similar juice, but in a different bottle, and with a lot more horsepower – 700 versus 1,000.
The P100D already felt like the fastest human-made thing ever, so the Plaid – which is faster – must feel like a rocket taking off.
It does 0-60 in under two seconds, which sounds almost impossible.
Is the horsepower battle over for gas cars?
On paper, electric cars can always be faster than equivalent gas cars.
Not long ago, people would say – and they were right – that EVs were great for acceleration but not so great for the top speed.
But even that is no longer true.
The fastest production car in the world – at the time of writing – is the Yangwang U9, with a verified top speed of 308.4mph (496km/h).
But that’s like saying that a fast food meal gives you more calories than a gourmet meal.
True, but not super relevant.
Internal combustion cars can still be fast, realistically faster than anyone needs them to be, because you can’t really drive them as fast as they can go anyway.
More importantly, high-end manufacturers are all singing from the same hymn sheet.
“Our customers aren’t that interested in electric cars,” they’re all saying.
We’re going to have to accept that pure internal combustion is on its way out, but hybrid supercars with V8s, V12s, and V16s will continue to exist for the foreseeable future.
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After beginning his automotive writing career at DriveTribe, Alessandro has been with Supercar Blondie since the launch of the website in 2022. In fact, he penned the very first article published on supercarblondie.com. He’s covered subjects from cars to aircraft, watches, and luxury yachts - and even crypto. He can largely be found heading up the site’s new-supercar and SBX coverage and being the first to bring our readers the news that they’re hungry for.
