Utah man who put a Tesla Model 3 motor in his 1980s Toyota truck shares how fast it can do 0-60
Published on Jan 17, 2026 at 11:44 PM (UTC+4)
by Henry Kelsall
Last updated on Jan 14, 2026 at 9:49 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Emma Matthews
A Utah man who put a Tesla Model 3 motor into his 1980s Toyota truck found out just how fast it now went with its EV power.
YouTuber Electric Supercar documented the progress of this truck on his channel, with what started as an innovative EV build becoming something so much more than that.
The new motor gave the Toyota Hilux pickup truck an unbelievable amount of power, and it was transformed into something very special.
When it left the Toyota factory in 1987, the workers probably didn’t envision it becoming a full-size science experiment!
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Why put a Tesla motor into an old Toyota Hilux?
You might wonder why the YouTuber wanted to put an electric motor into the old ’80s truck.
Well, the simple answer was to see what it could do and how it would perform!
Over a few months, the Hilux was stripped of all its internal-combustion power components.
Gone was the inline-four engine, and in came a new Tesla Model 3 motor.
The drive unit was paired with new custom battery packs as well as EV electronics.
Electric Supercar also gave the Hilux electric power steering, a custom cooling system, and an onboard charger.
What he and his team were most curious about, though, was how the Toyota truck would perform.
How the Model 3 motor transformed the Toyota truck
After some slower speed tests and testing its recharging, the YouTuber decided to put the truck through its paces.
This involved 0-60mph testing to see how fast it accelerated.
A comparison was done with the gasoline engine, where it took 13.23 seconds to go from 0-60mph.
But this figure was slashed with the Model 3 motor under the hood.
It took just over two seconds to hit 30mph
But the 0-60mph time was hugely impressive, the Hilux reaching it in just 5.66 seconds.
That is a huge jump in performance for the old Toyota.
Outwardly and from the inside, it looks like the same truck that left the Toyota factory in 1987.
But under the hood, it now performs like a sports car and not a pickup truck.
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Henry is a content writer with nearly ten years experience, having written for various publications since 2017. Qualifying with a Sports Journalism degree from Staffordshire University, Henry loves all things automotive but has a particular soft spot for classic Japanese cars and anything Lancia. He also has a curious passion for steam locomotives.
