Lifestyle
Tesla Model 3 Performance outruns Dodge Challenger SRT Demon in drag race
The Dodge Challenger SRT Demon is a muscle car created specifically for the drag strip. When Dodge was promoting the vehicle, the company’s execs were quick to point out that the monster muscle car was quicker than a Tesla Model S P100D. During testing, the Dodge Demon hit 60 mph in 2.1 seconds (including rollout), while the electric car reached 60 mph in 2.28 seconds.
In more ways than one, the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon is a car that pushes the boundaries of the internal combustion engine. Stepping on the accelerator allows the vehicle to hit 30 mph in just one second, and with the right setup, the car can finish the quarter mile in 9.65 seconds. Equipped with a 6.2-liter Supercharged V8 engine that produces 808 hp, the RWD, 8-speed Demon is one of the most formidable rivals of Tesla’s quickest electric beast.
The Tesla Model 3 Performance is a quick vehicle, but it is a car that is designed to be competitive on the track. It’s still formidable on the drag strip, but in terms of straight-line acceleration and 0-60 mph times, it still falls behind the Model S P100D or the Model X P100D with its 0-60 time of 3.5 seconds. With this in mind, the Dodge Demon, which is designed to compete and beat the Model S P100D, should have no problems outrunning the Model 3 Performance in a drag race.
A recent set of races between the two vehicles has revealed that beating the Model 3 Performance might not be too easy for the Dodge Demon.
A Tesla Model 3 Performance recently made an appearance at a RaceLegal.com-organized 1/8-mile drag racing meet at the SDCCU Stadium in San Diego, CA. The Model 3 Performance’s driver, Hunter Kupka, noted in an email to Teslarati that it was his first time on the drag strip, and that his electric car was only four-days-old when he went to the event. The Model 3 only had 70% of charge, and it had an extra 100 pounds of cargo in the trunk. The stock tires of the vehicle were also inflated with 43-44 PSI, a setting that is more optimized for range than maximum performance.
The Tesla Model 3 Performance and the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon engaged in battle three times, and in each round, the electric sedan managed to actually beat the monster muscle car to the 1/8-mile mark. In the first race, the Model 3 Performance crossed the 1/8-mile marker in 7.7 seconds while the Demon finished the race in 7.89 seconds. The second race was better for the electric car, as it crossed the finish line in 7.69 seconds while the Dodge completed the race in 7.7 seconds. In the third race, the reaction time of the Demon’s driver resulted in another win for the Model 3 Performance, which finished the race in 7.73 seconds.
The results of the Model 3 Performance and the Dodge Demon’s 1/8-mile drag races. [Credit: Hunter Kupka]
It should be noted that had the race gone longer, the Dodge Demon would have most definitely caught up to the Model 3 Performance. In each of the races, the fossil fuel-powered muscle car crossed the finish line traveling 9-10 mph faster than the electric sedan. That said, it remains undeniable that the Model 3 Performance displayed an amazing amount of consistency during the races, regardless of its state of charge or the PSI of its wheels.
Watch the Model 3 Performance battle the Dodge Demon in the video below.
Lifestyle
Tesla Semi hauls fresh Cybercab batch as Robotaxi era takes hold
A Tesla Semi was filmed hauling Cybercab units out of Giga Texas for the first time.
A Tesla Semi loaded with Cybercab units was recently filmed leaving Gigafactory Texas, marking what appears to be the first documented delivery run of Tesla’s autonomous two-seater. The footage shows multiple Cybercabs secured on a flatbed trailer being hauled by a production Tesla Semi, a truck rated for a gross combination weight of 82,000 lbs. The location is consistent with Giga Texas in Austin, where Cybercab production has been ramping since February 2026.
The sighting follows a wave of Cybercab activity at the Austin facility. In late April, drone operator Joe Tegtmeyer spotted approximately 60 Cybercabs parked in two organized groups in the factory’s outbound lot, the largest concentration observed to date. Units being staged in an outbound lot is a standard pre-delivery step, and the Semi footage is the logical next frame in that sequence.
En route with @tesla_semi pic.twitter.com/ZfuOjaeLH1
— Tesla Robotaxi (@robotaxi) May 7, 2026
This is not the first time Tesla has used its own Semi to move Tesla products. When the Semi was unveiled in 2017, Musk noted it would be used for Tesla’s own operations, and over the years Semi prototypes were spotted carrying cargo ranging from concrete weights to Tesla vehicles being delivered to consumers. In 2023, a Semi was photographed transporting a Cybertruck on a trailer ahead of that vehicle’s delivery launch.
The Cybercab itself was first revealed publicly at Tesla’s “We, Robot” event on October 10, 2024, at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, where 20 pre-production units gave attendees rides around the studio lot. Musk stated at the event that Tesla intends to produce the Cybercab before 2027. The first production unit rolled off the Giga Texas line on February 17, 2026, with Musk posting on X: “Congratulations to the Tesla team on making the first production Cybercab.”
Tesla’s annual production goal is 2 million Cybercabs per year once multiple factories reach full design capacity, with the company targeting a price under $30,000 per unit. Tesla has confirmed plans to expand its robotaxi service to seven cities in the first half of 2026, including Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Las Vegas, building on the unsupervised service already running in Austin. Musk has said he expects robotaxis to cover between a quarter and half of the United States by end of year.
Tesla has taken home the “Overall Loyalty to Make” award from S&P Global Mobility for the fourth consecutive year, reinforcing Tesla owners’ willingness to come back. The 2025 awards are based on S&P Global Mobility’s analysis of 13.6 million new retail vehicle registrations in the U.S. from October 2024 through September 2025. The complete list of 2025 winners includes General Motors for Overall Loyalty to Manufacturer, Tesla for Overall Loyalty to Make, Chevrolet Equinox for Overall Loyalty to Model, Mini for Most Improved Make Loyalty, Subaru for Overall Loyalty to Dealer, and Tesla again for both Ethnic Market Loyalty to Make and Highest Conquest Percentage.
Tesla’s streak in this category started in 2022, and the brand has now won the Highest Conquest Percentage award for six straight years, meaning it keeps pulling buyers away from other brands at a rate no competitor has matched. Tesla’s retention among Asian households reached 63.6% and among Hispanic households 61.9%, rates that significantly outpace national averages for those groups. That breadth of appeal across demographics adds a layer of significance to a win that some might dismiss as routine.
The timing matters too. After several consecutive quarters of decline, Tesla’s share of U.S. EV sales jumped to 59% in Q4 2025. That rebound, arriving just as competitors were flooding the market with new models and incentives, suggests Tesla’s loyalty numbers are not simply the result of limited alternatives. Buyers are still choosing it when they have plenty of other options.
What keeps Tesla owners coming back has a lot to do with the and convenience of charging. The Supercharger network is the most straightforward example. With over 65,000 Superchargers globally, it remains the largest and most reliable fast-charging network in the world, and owners who have built their routines around it face a real practical cost when considering a switch. Competitors have made progress, but the consistency, speed, and availability of Tesla’s network is still the benchmark the rest of the industry is chasing. Then there is the software side. Tesla has built a model where the car you own today is functionally different from the car you bought two years ago, through over-the-air updates that add continuous game-changing improvements such as Full Self-Driving that has moved from a driver-assist feature to an increasingly capable autonomous system. For many Tesla owners, leaving the brand means starting over with a car that will not get meaningfully better over time, and that is a trade-off fewer and fewer are willing to make.
Cybertruck
Tesla Cybercab just rolled through Miami inside a glass box
Tesla paraded a Cybercab in a glass display at Miami’s F1 Grand Prix event this week.
Tesla set up an “Autonomy Pop-Up” at Lummus Park in Miami Beach from April 29 through May 3, 2026, embedded within the official F1 Miami Grand Prix Fan Fest. The centerpiece was a Cybertruck towing the Cybercab inside a glass display case marked “Future is Autonomous,” rolling through the beachfront crowd.
Miami is on Tesla’s confirmed list of cities for robotaxi expansion in the first half of 2026, making the promotion a strategic promotion that lays groundwork in a target market.
This was not Tesla’s first time using Miami as a showcase city. In December 2025, Tesla hosted “The Future of Autonomy Visualized” at its Miami Design District showroom, coinciding with Art Basel Miami Beach. That event featured the Cybercab prototype and Optimus robots interacting with attendees. The F1 pop-up this week marks Tesla’s return to Miami and follows a pattern Tesla has been running since early 2026. Just two weeks before Miami, Tesla stationed Optimus at the Tesla Boston Boylston Street showroom on April 19 and 20, directly on the final stretch of the Boston Marathon, letting tens of thousands of runners and spectators meet the robot for free, generating massive earned media at zero advertising cost.
Tesla is sending its humanoid Optimus robot to the Boston Marathon
Tesla has confirmed plans to expand its robotaxi service to seven cities in the first half of 2026, including Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Las Vegas, building on the unsupervised service already running in Austin. Musk has said he expects robotaxis to cover between a quarter and half of the United States by end of year. On the production side, Musk told shareholders that the Cybercab manufacturing process could eventually produce up to 5 million vehicles per year, targeting a cycle time of one unit every ten seconds. Scaling robotaxis to 10 million operational units over the next ten years is a key condition of his compensation package, alongside selling 20 million passenger vehicles.
As for the Cybercab’s price, Musk has said buyers will be able to purchase one for under $30,000, with an average operating cost around $0.20 per mile. Whether those numbers hold through full production remains to be seen.
Cybercab at F1 Fan Fest in Miami
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