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Tesla Model S Plaid takes its place as production EV king with Porsche Taycan Turbo S beatdown
Very, very few cars can make the Porsche Taycan Turbo S look like it’s standing still in a quarter-mile race, but here we are. While the Taycan Turbo S is already unnervingly fast, all it apparently takes for Porsche’s flagship all-electric performance car to look like a slow car in the drag strip is a Tesla Model S Plaid, even one without a full battery or an experienced driver.
Drag racing veteran and DragTimes host Brooks Weisblat recently took delivery of his Tesla Model S Plaid, and so far, he has been testing the vehicle’s performance both on the drag strip and on the streets. In a recent YouTube video, Weisblat put his new Model S Plaid against the Taycan Turbo S, a vehicle that was able to beat the “Raven” Model S Performance in a heads-up race.
The two high-performance EVs faced each other in three quarter-mile races, and each time, the Tesla Model S Plaid soundly beat the German electric sports car. So dominating was the Model S Plaid that in the first race, it completely left behind the Taycan Turbo S despite its driver having issues with his launch and the vehicle not being fully charged. Speaking after the first race, the Model S Plaid driver noted that he had not been able to engage Drag Strip Mode at all.
But despite this, the Model S Plaid dominated the race, hitting the quarter-mile mark 0.8 seconds faster than its German-made competitor. The next two races were equally one-sided, with the Tesla simply blitzing away from the Taycan all the way to the quarter-mile mark. In later comments, Weisblat and a colleague who drove the Model S Plaid remarked that Tesla’s latest flagship vehicle is nothing short of a monster — one that makes the automotive world’s future very exciting.
After all, with the Tesla Model S Plaid beating down the Porsche Taycan Turbo S completely, there is a good chance that the German automaker would respond in kind. And when that happens, Tesla may have the next-generation Roadster ready, or perhaps even the Model S Plaid+, which might be equipped with the company’s new 4680 cells. Needless to say, the Model S Plaid seems to be the ultimate performance electric car in production today, and its successors would likely be nothing but amazing.
Credit must be given to Tesla, however, for making such an insanely powerful car for $130,000. At that price, nothing, electric or otherwise, comes close. This point was so evident in DragTimes‘ latest video that after the first bout of the two high-performance EVs, the Porsche Taycan Turbo S owner promptly got his phone out and headed to Tesla’s official website, where he configured and ordered his own Model S Plaid.
Watch the Tesla Model S Plaid battle the Porsche Taycan Turbo S in the video below.
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Tesla Cybercab sightings are broadening far and wide, well outside of downtown Austin, Texas, with autonomy in focus as the company plans to launch the all-electric, two-seater this evening in the Lone Star State.
Tesla is set to launch Cybercab to a small group of people this evening in a dedicated event in Austin, Texas. Public details on the event are relatively slim.
However, Tesla’s focus on Cybercab falls well outside of the downtown Austin area and is expanding well across the United States as things continue to move quickly with the company’s autonomous efforts in 2026. Today, various images of Cybercab fleets in interesting locations have started to circulate.
The most notable is a fleet of at least 20 Cybercabs at Miami International Airport in Florida. Spotted last night, the fleet is expansive and is indicative of a looming release of Cybercabs once regulatory boxes are checked off.
Tesla has already been operating the Robotaxi platform in Miami for several months, but this Cybercab fleet at the airport could be joining the ride-hailing platform as approvals arrive:
20+ Cybercabs spotted near Miami international airport. pic.twitter.com/ORLsw8yFhf
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) September 3, 2026
Another fleet of Cybercabs was spotted at the Devon, PA showroom just outside of Philadelphia. We have seen several Cybercab units testing around the Philadelphia Metro Area, which is interesting considering Tesla does not have any active Robotaxi geofence in Pennsylvania.
Cybercab at the Devon location in PA has multiplied over the weekend. Seeing a few more test vehicles in the lot 👀 pic.twitter.com/DhJT4P1EkU
— Billy (@billykyle) August 22, 2026
Philadelphia would be an ideal location to test ride-hailing due to its dense tourist population, large, sprawling city layout, and to compete with other ride-hailing companies that operate in the city.
Expansive fleets of Cybercabs will be popping up in and around major cities throughout the rest of the year, if we were betting on it. Tesla has made it obvious that the Cybercab rollout will be aggressive and fast-paced, but within reason. Tesla is still prioritizing safety, so these testing phases will likely go on for some period of time before more members of the public are able to snag a Cybercab for a personal chariot.
The Tesla Model Y L is arguably the most hyped trim of the all-electric crossover, other than the Performance configuration that comes with white-knuckle speed and sports car-level handling.
However, it is not all perfect. Tesla owners in China who took delivery of the Model Y L, denoted with an L to highlight its longer wheelbase, are experiencing what they are referring to as “collapsing” of the rear wheels, as suspension issues appear to be an issue with some of the builds.
🚨 Model Y L owners in China report rear suspension sag
• Six-seat long-wheelbase Y. Shanghai. On sale since August 2025
• Owners say the rear tire-to-arch gap shrinks after mileage or a full load. Some cases after about 9,000 km loaded. Others near 30,000 km
• Tesla service… pic.twitter.com/Lr6i5Tbi07— Joe Hansen (@joehansen) September 1, 2026
The gap between the wheel arch and tire has narrowed to the point that “not even a single finger” could fit, according to a report from Car News China. The failures are not tied to a specific mileage, as one owner said that after just 9,000 kilometers (5,600 miles), they noticed the suspension issue when their car was fully loaded.
Another one had the issue at 30,000 kilometers (18,640 miles) and noticed that the wheel gap shrank to two fingers, so not as drastic as the person who reported a similar issue at 9,000 km.
Tesla Model Y L is gaining momentum in China’s premium segment
Along with the visual recognition of the issue, others are saying the sagging is causing abnormal wear on the inside of the tires. Extra weight and instant torque already provide additional stress on the tires in electric vehicles during normal operation, so it is no surprise that this is another complaint.
There has been no recall issued by Tesla, and the company has not yet publicly acknowledged the issue.
Some are suggesting that owners use a “finger test” to self-diagnose whether there is an issue with the suspension. There should be four fingers between the tire and the wheel well; anything less than that starts to get dicey.
Tesla is starting to truly tease and hype its groundbreaking Cybercab event, which takes place tomorrow in Austin, Texas. It will be the first time members of the public will be able to ride in a Cybercab, a vehicle without any manual controls, on public roads.
Tesla has been dropping some hype on X over the past several days, but this morning, the excitement has truly started to build up for the event. Although Cybercab has been unveiled before, this is truly Tesla’s announcement that it is ready to start offering autonomous rides for public passengers in its new ride-hailing-geared vehicle for the first time.
The hype has started with a variety of different social media posts that are a true indication that Tesla is preparing for something big. Teasing so much of the potential of Cybercab, including its ability to truly revolutionize how people hail rides for local travel, is what the big idea for the event entails. The time that many Tesla owners, fans, and investors have been waiting for is potentially here:
— Tesla (@Tesla) September 2, 2026
The event has remained slim on details. Even invitees are still awaiting true details about what the event will entail, where they’ll go, and what is in store for the evening. This is pretty typical for an event run by Tesla; they keep things under wraps for the most part until the very last minute.
However, there is no secret about what the real intention of Tesla is for this event: it is going to be a huge reveal party for a vehicle that has no steering wheel and no pedals. It is a truly massive step for the company moving forward.
No steering wheel, no pedals
— Tesla Robotaxi (@robotaxi) September 2, 2026
Speculation persists as to whether this is going to be an event that simply announces that rides will begin with the Cybercab, or it will be something more substantial. Tesla has said in the past that they plan to sell the Cybercab to the general public in what could become a great way to earn passive income by adding it to a more global fleet of Robotaxi-geared vehicles.
Tomorrow, the show begins in Austin, and the Cybercab goes live at some capacity; we just don’t know exactly how quite yet.
Tesla Cybercab sightings broaden well outside of Austin with autonomy in focus
Tesla Model Y L gets suspension complaints in over odd issue China
