--- title: "Tesla Video Showing Cybertruck Beating Porsche 911 While Towing Porsche 911 Was a Lie, Independent Test Demonstrates" description: "MotorTrend finally settled the debate, proving once and for all that Tesla's Cybertruck stunt involving towing a Porsche 911 was rigged." date: "2024-05-17" modified: "2024-05-17" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/video-cybertruck-porsche-911-tests" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Tesla" tags: - "cybertruck" - "elon musk" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # Tesla Video Showing Cybertruck Beating Porsche 911 While Towing Porsche 911 Was a Lie, Independent Test Demonstrates ![MotorTrend finally settled the debate, proving once and for all that Tesla's Cybertruck stunt involving towing a Porsche 911 was rigged.]() *\Image: Tesla\* ## Rigged Race In December, Tesla [released a promotional video]() showing a Cybertruck beating a Porsche 911 in a quarter-mile race — while towing a different Porsche 911. And while [we've already had our doubts]() about the validity of the unusual matchup, [*MotorTrend* finally settled the debate](), showing once and for all that the stunt was rigged. *MotorTrends* took the "slowest new 911 you can buy" and a top-trim Cyberbeast variant of Tesla's pickup to a dragstrip. The team even invited Jason Fenske from the YouTube channel Engineering Explained, who did a [thorough takedown of Tesla's promo video]() back in January. And the results speak for themselves. The towing Cybertruck was inched out by the Porsche 911 in most of the runs after just an eighth of a mile. By the quarter-mile finish line, the 911's lead widens substantially to just over half a second — which is a considerable margin on the dragstrip. "No matter how you slice it, present it, or asterisk the claim, Tesla and Elon Musk’s big brag doesn’t hold up," *MotorTrends*' Eric Tingwall concluded. "There’s no scenario where the Tesla Cybertruck Beast pulls a fully functional Porsche 911 Carrera T across the quarter mile before the Porsche 911 Carrera T gets to the finish line." https://youtu.be/HRYS5VWXZts ## Cyberfooled To be clear, as *MotorTrends* was quick to point out, the Cybertruck is still screaming fast, accelerating from 0 to 60 mph in a dizzying 2.5 seconds. Without a trailer, the Cybertruck would "absolutely decimate" the sports car, as Tingwall noted. However, Tesla's misleading advertising went way beyond that claim — a pattern that's increasingly well-established for the braggadocious Musk. Worse yet, Tesla quickly walked back its assertions made in the original promo video, with Cybertruck lead engineer Wes Morrill [coming up with an unusual excuse]() shortly after Fenske shared his video in January: the team only ran the eighth of a mile race and assumed the result would be close at the full quarter mile race. They didn't even bother completing the full quarter mile because "we opted to call it a day before someone got hurt." It's not just the 911 video. Tesla also released a video of a Cybertruck pulling an F-150 uphill back in 2019. In a [recent rematch involving a diesel Silverado pickup](), set up by YouTube channel Cyber Hooligan, the Cybertruck simply gave up right out of the gate, allowing itself to be dragged helplessly. **More on the Cybertruck:** *[Maine Man Alarmed When Everybody Mocks His Cybertruck, Flips Him Off]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()