Is This Why Dodge Is Going Electric? Tesla Plaid Demolishes Demon

It isn't even a contest between these two as the Plaid goes past the Demon like it's from a different planet.

Dan Mihalascu

By: Dan Mihalascu

Aug 23, 2021 at 11:46am ET

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The Tesla Model S Plaid continues to damage the reputation of gasoline cars at drag strips countrywide, and its last victim is the fearsome Dodge Challenger SRT Demon.

Yes, we know that we shouldn’t spoil these drag race videos for you by announcing their results, but who can honestly believe the 840-hp Dodge Demon can outrun the 1,020-hp Tesla Plaid on the quarter-mile?

The real question when it comes to races like this one is by how big a margin the Plaid will win. The race brought to us by DragTimes features Brooks Weisblat’s own Model S Plaid taking on a stock Dodge Demon with drag radials, no backseat, and not even a front passenger seat. This is a car built for drag racing, first and foremost.

Will that be enough to upset the Plaid? Obviously not, as the electric car wins each of the three races, even the one in which the Demon driver accelerated too quickly and got a sizable head start. Watching the Plaid recover the lost ground at such an incredible pace is quite a surreal experience.

Of course, if you’re into drama and all that, the Dodge is the car to have (the supercharged 6.2L V8 sounds really mean), but if outright speed is what you’re after (and you should be if you’re at the drag strip), the Model S Plaid is the obvious choice.

What do you think?

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In the second race, the Dodge driver’s reaction time is once again better but still irrelevant to the outcome, while the third race has the most balanced start, offering the best look at the sheer difference of pace between the two cars.

The Model S Plaid simply rockets off the line, building a huge advantage over the first few yards, which grows to a massive difference by the time the EV completes the quarter-mile. At no point during the race does the Demon show signs of recovering any of the lost ground. Maybe “this is why Dodge is going electric,” as the video's title suggests.