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The Tesla is not a supercar. It's a luxury car. Its competitors are BMW/Mercedes-type luxury cars. Just because a car is $150k does not make it a supercar.

ams6110 11y ago
I somewhat agree -- you're right, $150K is actually too low for a real supercar, those are more like $350K and up. But a Tesla is a supercar in terms of performance. No other BMW/Mercedes/Audi in the price range will touch its acceleration. It rivals a Lamborghini Aventador. But overall you're right. Supercar isn't really the right word for Tesla.
- tclmeelmo 11y ago
  In terms of acceleration they're certainly impressive, but does any Tesla qualify as a supercar when other indices of performance are considered? They're pretty heavy for one, and while they wear it extremely well, a low CoG can only do so much. Maybe Teslas aren't supercars, but they're instead super cars?
- pandaman 11y ago
  There was an episode of Top Gear where the 3 presenters drove 3 supercars to a drag race. They've lost to everything there including a truck. I believe a used Civic and a few hundred/thousand dollars in parts will give you a car, which will also beat any BMW/Mercedess/Audi in acceleration.
qaq 11y ago
Well it's in top trim 0.5 sec faster to 60 then Porsche cayenne Turbo S and just a bit slower then Lambo Aventador. Tesla model S p85d is faster then Aventador and same time to 60 as Lambo Veneo (costs over 4 million USD).
- fsaneq2 11y ago
  To say that it is a "bit slower" than an Aventador is very misleading. In a 0-60 straight line drag race, maybe. But that's not particularly hard to do (that's why Mustangs are cheap), and also not the point of any serious supercar.
  - qaq 11y ago
    Well Shelby GT350 is not particularly cheap at 70K yet can't touch those numbers either :). The point of serious supercar is to demonstrate the status of the owner :). If it was track performance then GTR Nismo is making majority of super cars look very bad and at 1/4 to 1/20 of the cost.
- kuschku 11y ago
  And on the Autobahn it’s slower than most family sedans, actually obstructing traffic.
  - imtringued 11y ago
    Maybe those "most family sedan" drivers should try to obey the speed limits?
    - Matheus28 11y ago
      >Autobahn
    - t0mas88 11y ago
      Big parts of the German autobahn have no speedlimits...
      - CroCroCro 11y ago
        I'm German and that's just a false statement.
        gambiting 11y ago
        What's false about it? I drive through Germany regularly and there are stretches of the autobahn where there's no speed limit, I've driven at 130mph past police cars and it's absolutely fine - are you saying that the "big" part is false?
        wibr 11y ago
        quick fact check via google: 40% of the German Autobahn have speed limits, I guess 60% can count as "big parts"
        kuschku 11y ago
        Less than 10% of Autobahn outside of cities, though.
- rebootthesystem 11y ago
  Big difference: Those cars can maintain that performance until the tank is empty. Tesla's will go into overtemp protection and throttle you down significantly. Get a Tesla on a race track with any decent mid-range car for a 200 mile race and see what happens.
- fffernan 11y ago
  Actually its quite slow: https://forums.teslamotors.com/forum/forums/model-s-laguna-seca-lap-times https://forums.teslamotors.com/forum/forums/model-s-laguna-s...

ams6110 11y ago

I somewhat agree -- you're right, $150K is actually too low for a real supercar, those are more like $350K and up. But a Tesla is a supercar in terms of performance. No other BMW/Mercedes/Audi in the price range will touch its acceleration. It rivals a Lamborghini Aventador. But overall you're right. Supercar isn't really the right word for Tesla.

tclmeelmo 11y ago
In terms of acceleration they're certainly impressive, but does any Tesla qualify as a supercar when other indices of performance are considered? They're pretty heavy for one, and while they wear it extremely well, a low CoG can only do so much. Maybe Teslas aren't supercars, but they're instead super cars?
pandaman 11y ago
There was an episode of Top Gear where the 3 presenters drove 3 supercars to a drag race. They've lost to everything there including a truck. I believe a used Civic and a few hundred/thousand dollars in parts will give you a car, which will also beat any BMW/Mercedess/Audi in acceleration.

qaq 11y ago

Well it's in top trim 0.5 sec faster to 60 then Porsche cayenne Turbo S and just a bit slower then Lambo Aventador. Tesla model S p85d is faster then Aventador and same time to 60 as Lambo Veneo (costs over 4 million USD).

fsaneq2 11y ago
To say that it is a "bit slower" than an Aventador is very misleading. In a 0-60 straight line drag race, maybe. But that's not particularly hard to do (that's why Mustangs are cheap), and also not the point of any serious supercar.
- qaq 11y ago
  Well Shelby GT350 is not particularly cheap at 70K yet can't touch those numbers either :). The point of serious supercar is to demonstrate the status of the owner :). If it was track performance then GTR Nismo is making majority of super cars look very bad and at 1/4 to 1/20 of the cost.
kuschku 11y ago
And on the Autobahn it’s slower than most family sedans, actually obstructing traffic.
- imtringued 11y ago
  Maybe those "most family sedan" drivers should try to obey the speed limits?
  - Matheus28 11y ago
    >Autobahn
  - t0mas88 11y ago
    Big parts of the German autobahn have no speedlimits...
    - CroCroCro 11y ago
      I'm German and that's just a false statement.
      - gambiting 11y ago
        What's false about it? I drive through Germany regularly and there are stretches of the autobahn where there's no speed limit, I've driven at 130mph past police cars and it's absolutely fine - are you saying that the "big" part is false?
        wibr 11y ago
        quick fact check via google: 40% of the German Autobahn have speed limits, I guess 60% can count as "big parts"
        kuschku 11y ago
        Less than 10% of Autobahn outside of cities, though.
rebootthesystem 11y ago
Big difference: Those cars can maintain that performance until the tank is empty. Tesla's will go into overtemp protection and throttle you down significantly. Get a Tesla on a race track with any decent mid-range car for a 200 mile race and see what happens.
fffernan 11y ago
Actually its quite slow: https://forums.teslamotors.com/forum/forums/model-s-laguna-seca-lap-times https://forums.teslamotors.com/forum/forums/model-s-laguna-s...