USA! USA!
Racing Ahead
A 1996 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport recently challenged a Tesla Cybertruck in a race around the Colorado National Speedway — and while the two vehicles differ dramatically on the spec sheet, you might be surprised by who won.
Footage of the short race shows the Cybertruck effortlessly speeding forward, using its considerable edge in pure torque to gain an early lead. But by diving into the left corner, the Corvette manages to sneak ahead to earn an unexpected win, with the crowd going wild.
After all, the Cybertruck is several tons heavier than the aging Corvette, which may have given it a disadvantage. Sure, if this were a drag race, Tesla’s stainless steel monster would smoke the Corvette, accelerating from 0 to 60 mph in less than three seconds, depending on the trim. The Corvette’s 5.7-liter V8 engine, comparatively, is much more sluggish.
But things get a lot more complicated around a race track, where planning ahead, driving perfect lines, and timing acceleration and braking matter far more.
Eat My Dust
None of this would matter so much if it wasn’t for Tesla’s boisterous marketing — and the Cybertruck quickly becoming an emblem of Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s abrasive brand of cronyism and the “symbol for poor life choices.”
Perhaps as expected, Musk’s fanboys on his social media network immediately called foul.
“A 6800lbs truck shouldn’t be holding it on a lap with a Corvette like that, even leading for a good chunk too!” one account tweeted. “Though it looks like the Corvette left the track to cut the turn inside, which has gotta be against some kind of rule?”
But as far as marketing for the truck is concerned, it was Tesla that broke the rules. During the Cybertruck’s unveiling, the company showed off footage of its truck beating a Porsche 911 on the drag strip while towing another Porsche 911. But as analysis and a rematch by Motortrend have exhaustively demonstrated, Tesla rigged the race.
Even one of its closest competitors, Ford’s F-150 Lightning, has it handily beat as far as US sales go.
More on the Cybertruck: Elon Musk Posts Garbled AI-Generated Image of Cybertruck
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