Tesla has finally begun deliveries of its new Cybertruck pickup for a select few employees during a handoff event on Thursday. CEO Elon Musk also revealed a handful of specs for the stainless steel-bodied truck, including straight-line speed. To prove its capabilites, Tesla released a video of a Cybertruck beating a Porsche 911 in a drag race… while towing another 911.
The distance of the race isn’t clear, and it’s unknown what sort of trim the Cybertruck in the video is set up with. While we can’t tell exactly which type of 911 was used for the race, it’s clear that it was a 992-generation car without side intakes. That means Tesla used a Carrera, a Carrera S, a Carrera T, or a Carrera GTS, rather than a trim known for its straight-line speed, like the 911 Turbo. Based on the color, the wheels, and the grey mirror caps, we’d guess it’s a 379-hp Carrera T, the least powerful of the lineup.
Shortly after the video was shown, a graphic stating a claimed quarter-mile time of under 11 seconds and a 0-60 time of 2.6 seconds appeared on the screen. Those numbers match up with the most expensive “Cyberbeast” trim on Tesla’s website.
Display boards erected by Tesla at the event mention a “Beast Mode” for the Cybertruck that, according to the board, allow the tri-motor drivetrain to make a maximum 845 horsepower. With a claimed curb weight of 6850 pounds, it sounds plausible a Cybertruck towing a vehicle could trounce a 911 in a straight line — at least for a short while.
While we certainly believe the Cybertruck is quick, there’s only so much a selectively filmed, carefully edited video of a head-to-head drag race published by Tesla will show us. It’s entirely possible the company could’ve used a Carrera T with a manual gearbox — the slowest combination — to get the result it wanted. We’ll have to wait until we get our hands on a Cybertruck ourselves to test out its abilities in the real world.