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Tesla Cybertruck’s claim to outdrag Porsche 911 while towing one challenged

Credit: Tesla

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Tesla put out a major claim during its Cybertruck unveiling event in late November when it stated that it was able to out-drag race a Porsche 911 while towing the same vehicle.

YouTube channel Engineering Explained has challenged the claim, stating that the Cybertruck is not faster than the Porsche, at least not while towing one.

Tesla does a throwback to the Model X P90D in Cybertruck’s “feat of strength”

CEO Elon Musk said at the event after showing the video of the drag race that “[The Cybertruck] can tow a Porsche 911 across the quarter mile faster than the Porsche 911 can go by itself,” but Jason Fenske of the Engineering Explained YouTube channel thought the claim was probably a little far fetched, so he used math to challenge the idea.

Initially, Fenske stated that Tesla likely used the slowest version of the Porsche 911, which is the 911 Carerra T, which features a manual transmission.

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Additionally, Maps was able to verify that the race Tesla portrayed in the video happened over an eighth of a mile and not a quarter-mile like the company claimed in its video.

MotorTrend also told Fenske that their 1/8th-mile time for the Porsche 911 Carerra T was 8.0 seconds at 93.1 MPH, which is faster than what math would show the time was for the Cybertruck towing the same vehicle, which was roughly 8.25 seconds. In the video, the Porsche completed the 1/8-mile in 8.38 seconds.

The Cybertruck, on its own, can complete the 1/8-mile drag in 6.94 seconds at 99 MPH. While towing the 911 Carerra T, the 1/8-mile was completed in 8.25 seconds, or 1.31 seconds slower than without towing the car.

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Its 11.0-second 1/4-mile time with the additional 1.31 seconds added due to towing the car would put the time at 12.3 seconds, or roughly .8 seconds slower than the Carerra T’s 1/4-mile time of 11.5 seconds.

Fenske’s math shows that the Cybertruck would not be able to beat the Carerra 911 T in the 1/4-mile while towing a Carerra 911 T, like Musk said.

Credit: Engineering Explained | YouTube

Tesla Cybertruck engineer Wes Morril said that Tesla did not continue to do a 1/4-mile race because trailer tires were only rated to 80 MPH, and a longer test would surely go over that speed.

“We opted to call it a day before someone got hurt,” he said.

Simulations that Tesla performed also apparently showed the race would be close but with the “same net result, so no need to risk it,” Morrill added.

Engineering Explained’s full Cybertruck drag test explanation is available below:

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Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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Elon Musk hints at when Tesla can fix this FSD complaint with v14

Tesla has worked on resolving the issue and has worked on it with subsequent rollouts, but it has only improved slightly. The company has mentioned that it is working to fix it completely, but it seems the next big Software Update to actually resolve the issue altogether will likely be 14.2.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla CEO Elon Musk hinted at when the company will resolve a major complaint with the Full Self-Driving suite. This particular issue has been persistent and a common complaint within the v14 suite.

Tesla has had its v14 FSD rollout deployed for over a month, and its earliest iterations featured a vast majority of improvements from the past versions. However, one common complaint has continued to be mentioned: stuttering and hesitancy.

Tesla Full Self-Driving’s biggest improvements from v13 to v14

Most commonly, FSD users have experienced this at intersections when the Tesla is at a complete stop. The vehicle will inch forward, contemplate proceeding, and then stutter pretty significantly before ultimately moving forward.

Tesla has worked on resolving the issue and has worked on it with subsequent rollouts, but it has only improved slightly. The company has mentioned that it is working to fix it completely, but it seems the next big Software Update to actually resolve the issue altogether will likely be 14.2.

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Musk confirmed that on Wednesday:

When will v14.2 rollout? It’s likely a month or more away. Currently, Tesla is rolling out v14.1.7, which is the latest version and features some minor improvements to Hardware 4 vehicles.

These cars are currently on v14.1.4, but are not receiving v14.1.5 or v14.1.6, as both of those seemed to be internal releases to company employees.

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The stuttering issue has been a main complaint of many FSD users, and it is something that is being addressed. Musk’s confirmation that the suite is likely to receive a fix for this issue with the next major FSD release is a sign of good things to come, but we’re hopeful it comes sooner rather than later.

Overall, v14 has been an excellent improvement from v13 with the addition of the additional Speed Profiles of Mad Max and Sloth, as well as new Arrival Options that give the driver an opportunity to let the car park in a suitable location upon arriving at the destination.

@teslarati 🚨🚨 Tesla Full Self-Driving and Yap is the best driving experience #tesla #fsd #yapping ♬ I Run – HAVEN.

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Tesla teases new market entrance with confusing and cryptic message

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(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla teased its entrance into a new market with a confusing and what appeared to be cryptic message on the social media platform X.

The company has been teasing its entrance into several markets, including Africa, which would be a first, and South America, where it only operates in Chile.

In September, Tesla started creating active job postings for the Colombian market, hinting it would expand its presence in South America and launch in a new country for the first time in two years.

Tesla job postings seem to show next surprise market entry

The jobs were related to various roles, including Associate Sales Manager, Advisors in Sales and Delivery, and Service Technicians. These are all roles that would indicate Tesla is planning to launch a wide-scale effort to sell, manage, and repair vehicles in the market.

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Last night, Tesla posted its latest hint, a cryptic video that seems to show the outline of Colombia, teasing its closer than ever to market entry:

This would be the next expansion into a continent where it does not have much of a presence for Tesla. Currently, there are only two Supercharger locations on the entire continent, and they’re both in Chile.

Tesla will obviously need to expand upon this crucial part of the ownership experience to enable a more confident consumer base in South America as a whole. However, it is not impossible, as many other EV charging infrastructures are available, and home charging is always a suitable option for those who have access to it.

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Surprisingly, Tesla seems to be more concerned about these middle-market countries as opposed to the larger markets in South America, but that could be by design.

If Tesla were to launch in Brazil initially, it may not be able to handle the uptick in demand, and infrastructure expansion could be more difficult. Brazil may be on its list in the upcoming years, but not as of right now.

@teslarati 🚨🚨 Tesla Full Self-Driving and Yap is the best driving experience #tesla #fsd #yapping ♬ I Run – HAVEN.

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Tesla expands crucial Supercharging feature for easier access

It is a useful tool, especially during hours of congestion. However, it has not been super effective for those who drive non-Tesla EVs, as other OEMs use UI platforms like Google’s Android Auto or Apple’s iOS.

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tesla supercharger
Credit: Tesla

Tesla has expanded a crucial Supercharging feature that helps owners identify stall availability at nearby locations.

Tesla said on Tuesday night that its “Live Availability” feature, which shows EV owners how many stalls are available at a Supercharger station, to Google Maps, a third-party app:

Already offering it in its own vehicles, the Live Availability feature that Teslas have is a helpful feature that helps you choose an appropriate station with plugs that are immediately available.

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A number on an icon where the Supercharger is located lets EV drivers know how many stalls are available.

It is a useful tool, especially during hours of congestion. However, it has not been super effective for those who drive non-Tesla EVs, as other OEMs use UI platforms like Google’s Android Auto or Apple’s iOS.

Essentially, when those drivers needed to charge at a Supercharger that enables non-Tesla EVs to plug in, there was a bit more of a gamble. There was no guarantee that a plug would be available, and with no way to see how many are open, it was a risk.

Tesla adding this feature allows people to have a more convenient and easier-to-use experience if they are in a non-Tesla EV. With the already expansive Supercharger Network being available to so many EV owners, there is more congestion than ever.

This new feature makes the entire experience better for all owners, especially as there is more transparency regarding the availability of plugs at Supercharger stalls.

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It will be interesting to see if Tesla is able to expand on this new move, as Apple Maps compatibility is an obvious goal of the company’s in the future, we could imagine. In fact, this is one of the first times an Android Auto feature is available to those owners before it became an option for iOS users.

Apple owners tend to get priority with new features within the Tesla App itself.

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