If you didn't already watch the video, you're probably asking yourself if you read the title correctly. Did a MINI Cooper SE actually beat a Tesla Model 3 Performance in a drag race? Can't be, right? Well, yes it did happen, the MINI Cooper SE did win, but there was a 'slight' handicap; we had the Model 3 in chill driving mode. 

Welcome back to a new episode from our InsideEVs YouTube channel. We're thrilled to have over 2,200 subscribers and we hope that the content we bring you on a weekly basis is something fresh and new to look forward to. If you haven't yet subscribed, you can do so here.

After completing a race with the Model 3 in normal driving mode, and with it beating the MINI by a margin too wide to even estimate, we decided to try to level the field and give the Tesla a penalty that would hopefully make the second race closer.

We were talking about possibly giving the MINI a 300-400 foot head start, or having Kyle wait 4 seconds in the Model 3 after I took off in the MINI. But then Kyle said we should try it in chill mode, which honestly, should have been the first thing we thought of. 

Tesla Model 3 vs MINI Cooper SE drag race

Still, we both believed the Model 3 would win. I figured it would be tight off the line, but once we got up to 50 to 60 mph the Model 3 would pull away.

Kyle even got the jump on me in off the line, but the MINI immediately began pulling and continued to be slightly faster the entire way down the strip, widening the gap between the cars until the very end.

Kyle had the camera set up to record from his car, with it angled facing behind him because that's where he expected the MINI to be, but that's not how the race turned out. Accordingly, he didn't capture the MINI running down the strip because I was out in front of him once we got about 100 feet off the line.  

Tesla Model 3 vs MINI Cooper SE drag race

While we were just doing this for fun, we actually find learn something about just how much the Model 3 restricts the power when it's driving in chill mode. In the first race when Kyle passed the finish line, I couldn't even tell it was a Model 3 that I was racing because it was so far ahead of me. But in chill mode, the race was nearly perfectly even, with the MINI ever so slightly faster.

Check out the video and we hope you enjoyed the races. Please let us know what you think in the comment section below.   

Got a tip for us? Email: tips@insideevs.com