Unplugged Performance is a Tesla-centric brand that sells aftermarket parts. Recently, it hauled one of its Tesla race cars to an event using the Cybertruck. Once there, it used the same Cybertruck to lap the track in Baja mode. Now, it wants you to know about how it “pushed the boundaries of EV capabilities.” How impressive these feats are probably depends on just how much of a Tesla fan one is.
Towing with an EV isn’t exactly a walk in the park and that’s just a fact of life for the time being. The Cybertruck isn’t some towing revelation either. Tesla promised in 2019 that it would have a towing capacity of 14,000 pounds (6,350 kg). In reality, it maxes out at 11,000 pounds (4,990 kg) or, in other words, thousands less than a Ford F-150.
On top of that, all vehicles that tow anything including gas and electric see a drop in total range but when a gas or diesel runs low on fuel it can fill up in about 5 minutes on just about any corner. The Cybertruck takes much longer than that. Despite those truths, Unplugged Performance is quite proud of towing its Model S race car from its headquarters in Hawthorne, California, to Buttonwillow Raceway Park.
Read: Tesla Cybertruck’s ‘Guillotine’ Panels Can Chop Off Carrots, But What About Your Fingers?
We’ll save you the Google Maps search and tell you that those two locations are just 140 miles (225 km) apart. Despite that relatively short distance, they stopped to charge up and meet with other Cybertruck owners in Santa Clarita. UP praised the Cybertruck which didn’t break down during the trip and then took it onto the track where it set a best time of 2:15.
It doesn’t say which of the numerous track layouts available at Buttonwillow was used for that lap but confirmed that the driver used Baja mode. Interestingly, it did the lap on all-terrain tires so in theory there should be quite a lot of time it could make up on proper rubber.
To be clear, there might not be another truck that could actually do both of these feats as well as the Cybertruck appears to have done them. The Rivian R1T boasts similar power and towing capability but independent testing appears to show that the Tesla is much faster in the real world.
Most trucks would have zero issues managing that sort of towing but probably couldn’t keep up on the track. On the other hand, trucks like the Ford F-150 Raptor R and RAM TRX might be capable of smoking the Tesla around a track but just come up short on towing the 9,000-lb (4,082 kg) total of the trailer and Tesla race car that UP brought to Buttonwillow.
