Tesla’s upcoming power increase through software update is going to add 50 horsepower to the Model S’ peak output, according to CEO Elon Musk who says that the Model S Raven will now beat the Porsche Taycan Turbo S on the quarter-mile.

Earlier this week, we reported on one of the first real-world comparison tests between the Tesla Model S and the Porsche Taycan.

We noted that the report from Top Gear appeared to be “mostly fair” and gave a good look at the two vehicles, however, we also noted that something weird was going on with the drag race results:

We have been expecting the Taycan Turbo S to beat the Model S on the quarter-mile, partly thanks to the two-gear gearbox, but the 0 to 60 mph acceleration is more surprising. Tesla officially advertises Model S Performance with a 2.4-sec 0 to 60 mph acceleration and people have been able to replicate it in real-world conditions. Unlike in the German magazine’s review, the pavement appears dry in Top Gear’s review so it’s not clear what the issue is here. However, they did show the use of launch control in the Taycan, but they didn’t for the Model S Performance, which requires launch control to get the full power output. The fact that they didn’t show it doesn’t mean that they didn’t use it, but it could explain the difference.

Now Brooks from DragTimes, a YouTube channel specializing in drag races, also analyzed the footage and came to a similar conclusion and even alleged that Top Gear used older test results:

Now Tesla CEO Elon Musk commented on the analysis saying that they are correct and he added that an upcoming software update should also assure that Model S would win a quarter-mile race against the Taycan Turbo S:

“DragTimes analysis is correct. Also, there’s a software upgrade for Model S coming out that increases peak power by 50HP, so Model S should beat Porsche Taycan Turbo S by a wider margin in 0 to 60 & 1/4 mile races.”

The CEO first announced the power increase, which was apparently achieved through motor control optimizations, during Tesla’s earnings result last week.

We reported that they started pushing the update to some vehicles earlier this week.

Electrek’s Take

Don’t you like the competition?

To be fair, Tesla was always pushing to improve its vehicles even before there was any serious competition.

That said, Elon has referenced the Porsche Taycan on several occasions when it comes to Model S performance and improvements.

It sounds like he is really aiming to make sure the Model S stays in the lead and if he can do it through a software update, that’s even better.

What do you think? Let us know in the comment section below.

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