Elon Musk tweeted about Porsche’s Taycan Turbo-electric sports car appearing to poke fun at the ‘turbo’ in the name. Twitter users pointed out that the Tesla CEO has his own history of using loose definitions.
Yesterday we wrote of how four years after Porsche showed us the original Mission E concept, the 2020 Taycan is finally here showing that there is an alternative to the Tesla Model S that has ruled the large luxury electric sedan roost. Of course, we knew that Tesla’s CEO wouldn’t take long to respond – and we were right.
Elon Musk started with trolling Porsche on Twitter for using “Turbo” in the name of a car that obviously has no turbocharger. As for Porsche, they simply decided that Turbo will now mean “fast” in the new electric world, hoping that will soon forget the hoops they had to jump through in order to extract more power out of combustion engines in the first century of the automobile age. Oh well.
Um @Porsche, this word Turbo does not mean what you think it does
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 5, 2019
It seems that Musk isn’t too concerned about an automotive giant like Porsche finally launching a fully electric vehicle. The thing is, plenty Tesla users (and buyers) will probably find the Taycan appealing since for some their cars are seen as status symbols. However even they have to consider the fact that they can get a Model S for almost half the price of the cheapest Taycan available today.
Tesla Beats Taycan In Most Categories
The great Taycan is definitely not faster than the Model S nor has it a longer range. To be clear, Taycan can get about 280 miles of range on a charge with the S and about 260 miles on the other. It can charge up to 80 percent full in 22.5 minutes with its 800-volt battery.
Starting from $150,900 ($185,000 for the Turbo S version) for reserved cars, the price will be even higher when it finally becomes available. Tesla, on the other hand, prices its Model S at $79,990 and its performance version at $99,990. Also, let’s not forget that Tesla includes more range: up to 370 miles.
Both cars take around the same time to charge. Still, Tesla has greater battery capacity and – a Supercharger network.
However, Porsche shouldn’t be offended by Musk’s trolling. He actually did y the same thing with Audi when they launched their E-Tron.
“Stop sending me this étron” – Audi https://t.co/maschsi6HB
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 25, 2019
Tesla (TSLA) stock has been performing really good and, at the time of writing it went up 4.03% to $229.58. Porsche (PAH3) went up by 0.67% to $60.52
Although we all love to see what Musk has to tweet, it’s also interesting to check out what the other part is saying.
Some went vice versa on him:
https://twitter.com/drgitlin/status/1169698085242621952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1169698085242621952&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessinsider.com%2Felon-musk-roasted-after-trying-to-diss-porsche-taycan-turbo-2019-9
While some went on to remind him of the “funding secured” tweets that landed Tesla in hot water with federal regulators last year:
https://twitter.com/ClarkDennisM/status/1169697311103975424?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1169697311103975424&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessinsider.com%2Felon-musk-roasted-after-trying-to-diss-porsche-taycan-turbo-2019-9
Or, speaking of profits:
https://twitter.com/mydoghasagun/status/1169697164861300741?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1169697164861300741&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessinsider.com%2Felon-musk-roasted-after-trying-to-diss-porsche-taycan-turbo-2019-9
… starships:
https://twitter.com/Atrios/status/1169696730213965830?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1169696730213965830&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessinsider.com%2Felon-musk-roasted-after-trying-to-diss-porsche-taycan-turbo-2019-9
… autopilot:
They should have used supercharger or maybe autopilot. https://t.co/3yv2ak3Qg7
— Bozi Tatarevic (@BoziTatarevic) September 5, 2019
Be it as it may, there is a simple fact that many people who bought Teslas did so because of Tesla’s considerable status. It seems even ours grandmothers know everything about Tesla and associations that comes with it, being high tech, eco-friendly having certain boldness – all of that are things people like to be associated with.
People who bought Tesla did so because previously, if you wanted a stylish EV with comfort, performance, and a certain level of status, Tesla was really the only option.
The Porsche Taycan, on the other hand, brought all that that Tesla has – and more. It is smooth, modern, tech-savvy, has great performances, a brand name, and status as well.
People who considered buying Tesla before could be looking at Taycans as well – to be their third or second vehicle in the fleet.
next