Ford CEO On Mustang Mach-E vs. Tesla Model S Plaid Drag Race: “A Good Idea”
Oh, this would be fun and exciting to watch if this happened. Ford’s CEO, Jim Farley, agreed that having a drag race with Tesla is a good idea — the Mustang Mach-E vs the new Tesla Plaid Model S. Having been in the Model S Plaid and experiencing that acceleration — and, well, just looking at the specs — I believe the Tesla would win hands down. It is the quickest production car in history, after all. However, this doesn’t mean the cars shouldn’t have a race. The two cars would be working together to raise awareness about just how great the performance of EVs is on the track. This gets people excited about EVs and this is what we want.
I can confirm the all-electric #MustangMachE 1400 is an absolute machine. Thanks @FordPerformance for letting me test drive it. pic.twitter.com/NOgtk4ZOhO
— Jim Farley (@jimfarley98) June 12, 2021
The idea about a drag race was posed after Farley thanked Ford Performance for letting him test drive the vehicle in the above tweet. When asked if the Mustang Mach-E would be drag racing the Tesla Model S Plaid “for bragging rights,” Farley replied, “good idea.”
Good idea
— Jim Farley (@jimfarley98) June 12, 2021
The Plaid Model S has three electric motors that produce 1,020 horsepower and is larger than the Mach-E. The Mach-E 1400 has no fewer than seven electric motors with three in the front and four in the rear, giving it a total of 1,400 horsepower (hence the unique name). Does this make this Mach-E a worthy competitor? Considering that the Plaid Model S is faster than the Bugatti Chiron and other million-dollar supercars, that’s certainly a tall order. Maybe. Maybe not. However, it would be pretty fun to see two American automakers racing their quickest EVs!
Ford says that its Mach-E GT can go from 0–60 mph in 3.7 seconds. The Plaid Model S is able to go from 0–60 mph in 1.99 seconds — 1.98 seconds was also just recorded by Motor Trend.
I also want to note another comparison that comes partly from riding in the Model S Plaid during the delivery event. I watched the video in Farley’s tweet and noticed that the Mustang Mach-E was louder than the Model S Plaid. It could be that the audio picked up the sound more clearly, or it could be actually louder. The Plaid Model S was much quieter for me — even when I watched the vehicles in action while waiting on my test ride. The motors didn’t have a whine or any sound coming from them beyond whatever soundproofing Tesla had in there — you could only hear the wind rushing as the car sped down the track. Hurricane Delta’s winds were louder than the Model S Plaid.
I think Tesla should take Farley up on that “good idea” and have the race. It would be great to see the two vehicles racing, and no matter who won the race, it would be a win for sustainability and electric vehicles by simply creating buzz about the cars.
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