Elon Musk’s Ego Pits Tesla Versus Porsche at the Ring

Elon Musk loves a contest. The Tesla CEO has been all worked up over Porsche’s Taycan Turbo, the German automobile manufacturer’s first production electric car.

Um @Porsche, this word Turbo does not mean what you think it does

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 5, 2019

But Elon Musk seems to be taking things a bit too far now. He wants to prove the worth of the Tesla Model S by taking it to the Nürburgring.

Model S on Nürburgring next week

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 5, 2019

Elon Musk’s latest Tesla fantasy

Musk probably believes that he can beat the Porsche Taycan Turbo’s time at the Nürburgring. It is not surprising to see why he is thinking that way.

Both cars can hit a top speed of 161 miles an hour. The Porsche Taycan Turbo S (the more expensive variant) can hit a speed of 60 miles per hour in just 2.6 seconds, while the Tesla Model S can hit that mark in just 2.4 seconds with a “Ludicrous Speed” upgrade.

So Elon Musk is probably right in thinking that he can take on the Taycan and own Porsche in their backyard. If he wins, the Tesla CEO will have the bragging rights over a traditional automobile company that’s trying to go the electric way, apart from the title of the fastest “four-door, all-electric sports cars” that the Porsche Taycan currently holds at the Green Hell.

[embedded content]

But Elon Musk is trying to punch above his weight. He is forgetting that the Porsche Taycan is way out of its league, both in terms of pricing and the German manufacturer’s hypercar lineage. The entry-level Taycan model starts from $150,900, while the more powerful Taycan Turbo S starts $185,000.

This makes it clear that Porsche isn’t interested in competing with Musk, but the Tesla CEO loves to put on a show.

The Taycan’s center of gravity is the lowest among Porsche’s production cars. So it should be able to run rings around Tesla on the handling front given Porsche’s history of making cars that handle impeccably.

[embedded content]

Forgetting a few key details

Musk has gained self-importance by announcing the Tesla versus Porsche face-off, but he has forgotten to book Nürburgring.

Automotive website Road & Track reports that Tesla has not contacted the German track yet to book a time. What’s more, Musk won’t be getting the track for Tesla anytime soon as the track is “fully booked through the season” and the schedule is decided well in advance.

So what will Elon Musk do all this while? Probably focus on the actual problems at Tesla that could accelerate the stock’s decline in the coming months.

Tesla stock has lost its wheels this year. | Source: Yahoo! Finance

InsideEVs reports that Tesla’s Model 3 deliveries in the US for the month of August fell to 13,150 units as compared to 13,450 units in July. Tesla had delivered 21,225 Model 3 units in the US in June (the final month of the second quarter). We are already into the final month of the quarter, and the company needs to clock a sharp increase in Model 3 sales this month to meet its annual targets.

If that doesn’t happen, Tesla stock could further erode investors’ wealth. So Musk should not waste time on racing Porsche and instead focus on meeting the ambitious delivery target he has set for the year.