Tesla Model X broke a record by unbelievably towing a massive Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner in Australia
Published on Jul 08, 2025 at 8:58 AM (UTC+4)
by Claire Reid
Last updated on Jul 08, 2025 at 1:51 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
A Tesla Model X broke a record after towing a huge Qantas Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner in Australia.
Qantas got a Tesla Model XP100D into the Guinness World Record books for the heaviest tow by an electric production passenger car.
The stunt saw the Model X pulling a Qantas Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner along a taxiway at Melbourne airport.
The record-breaking feat was secured in 2018 and seven years on it’s still yet to be beaten.
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The Tesla Model X broke a record while pushing its towing limits
The Tesla Model X has a maximum towing capacity of 5,000lbs, which is impressive for a car of its size.
We’ve already seen folks putting it to the test, like the owner of this Model X Plaid, who took it out into the Colorado mountains while towing its maximum capacity, or this one that entered into a tug-of-war with a Ford F-150 and won.
However, by far and away the greatest showcase of its towing power is when a Tesla Model X broke a record during a stunt put on by Australian airline Qantas back in 2018.
“Never has a passenger airliner been hitched to an electric passenger vehicle for towing. Well, at least until today,” Qantas said in a press release at the time.
The airline hitched one of its super-sized Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners up to the Tesla Model X P100D and watched on as it pulled it 987 feet along a remote taxiway at Melbourne Airport.
The plane weighed a staggering 143 tons or 287,000lbs.
Although it might seem like an impossible feat, the main factors to get the plane moving were torque and traction; after that, the Model X simply had to maintain the momentum.
The Model X offers 713lb-ft of torque, meaning while impressive, it’s not super surprising that it managed to pull the 787-9 Dreamliner.
The Tesla isn’t the only car to tow a plane
Earlier this year, the Tata Curvv managed to pull a Boeing 737 and earned itself the world record for ‘Passenger Plane Pulled By A Petrol SUV For The Largest Distance’.
The Curvv was hooked up to an Air India Boeing 737 and towed it along a runway at the AIESL Hangar in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
The Curvv comes with three powertrain options: petrol, diesel, and battery electric.
The car used for the record-breaking tow was the 1.2-liter turbocharged petrol model.
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Claire Reid is a journalist who hails from the UK but is now living in New Zealand. She began her career after graduating with a degree in Journalism from Liverpool John Moore’s University and has more than a decade of experience, writing for both local newspapers and national news sites. Claire covers a wide variety of topics, with a special focus on cars, technology, planes, cryptocurrency, and luxury.
