30-Minute Private Window Opens At Nurburgring: Tesla Model S Time?

It seems somehow a 30-minute time spot mysteriously opened up on the track.

Tesla Model S

Eric Loveday

By: Eric Loveday

Sep 11, 2019 at 2:46pm ET

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk just shouted out to Porsche via Twitter in regards to naming the Taycan electric car a Turbo. Let the Tesla versus Porsche war of words begin.

The use of the word Turbo is common across Porsche's product lineup, but those vehicles feature a turbocharged engine. The purely electric Taycan has no such engine, nor does it have a turbo. The electric Taycan makes use of high-performance electric motors.

Tesla Model S Spotted Near Ring

***UPDATE 3: Via Road & Track we've learned that a 30-minute private window has mysteriously opened up on the Nurburgring on September 21st. It's believed this will be for Tesla to take the Model S around the Ring. Per Road & Track:

"A source on the ground has informed R&T that a time could be set next week. Our source told us that the Nurburgring issued a schedule change for September 21st, with a 30 minute private window carved out of a session that already had public laps and Ring taxi laps on the calendar. There is also the possibility of lap timing in a session on the 18th, though it doesn't sound like that session would be private."

***UPDATE: It seems the Model S will attempt to beat the Taycan's time at the Nurburgring next week. Per Musk:

UPDATE 2: Musk compliments Porsche on Taycan and Nurburgring time:

We can see this possibly taking a turn for the worse though as Porsche may fight back with performance claims and Nurburgring lap times for the Taycan. However, we feel that "Turbo" has no place on the Taycan either, so we're siding with Musk on this one.

What do you think?

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No doubt the Taycan will be compared to Teslas, but the fact of the matter is that the Taycan is incredibly expensive and will have limited appeal due to its restrictive interior size, as well as its lofty price tag.

Meanwhile, Tesla has proven it has cars in high demand, especially with the Model 3, a car with a huge sales success record behind it. And lastly, the Tesla Model S P100D can still beat the top-of-the-line Taycan in both range and in the 0-60 MPH blast, so there's that too.