By Simon Alvarez

Posted on July 30, 2021

Very, very few cars can make the Porsche Taycan Turbo S look like it’s standing still in a quarter-mile race, but here we are. While the Taycan Turbo S is already unnervingly fast, all it apparently takes for Porsche’s flagship all-electric performance car to look like a slow car in the drag strip is a Tesla Model S Plaid, even one without a full battery or an experienced driver. 

Drag racing veteran and DragTimes host Brooks Weisblat recently took delivery of his Tesla Model S Plaid, and so far, he has been testing the vehicle’s performance both on the drag strip and on the streets. In a recent YouTube video, Weisblat put his new Model S Plaid against the Taycan Turbo S, a vehicle that was able to beat the “Raven” Model S Performance in a heads-up race. 

The two high-performance EVs faced each other in three quarter-mile races, and each time, the Tesla Model S Plaid soundly beat the German electric sports car. So dominating was the Model S Plaid that in the first race, it completely left behind the Taycan Turbo S despite its driver having issues with his launch and the vehicle not being fully charged. Speaking after the first race, the Model S Plaid driver noted that he had not been able to engage Drag Strip Mode at all. 

But despite this, the Model S Plaid dominated the race, hitting the quarter-mile mark 0.8 seconds faster than its German-made competitor. The next two races were equally one-sided, with the Tesla simply blitzing away from the Taycan all the way to the quarter-mile mark. In later comments, Weisblat and a colleague who drove the Model S Plaid remarked that Tesla’s latest flagship vehicle is nothing short of a monster — one that makes the automotive world’s future very exciting. 

After all, with the Tesla Model S Plaid beating down the Porsche Taycan Turbo S completely, there is a good chance that the German automaker would respond in kind. And when that happens, Tesla may have the next-generation Roadster ready, or perhaps even the Model S Plaid+, which might be equipped with the company’s new 4680 cells. Needless to say, the Model S Plaid seems to be the ultimate performance electric car in production today, and its successors would likely be nothing but amazing. 

Credit must be given to Tesla, however, for making such an insanely powerful car for $130,000. At that price, nothing, electric or otherwise, comes close. This point was so evident in DragTimes‘ latest video that after the first bout of the two high-performance EVs, the Porsche Taycan Turbo S owner promptly got his phone out and headed to Tesla’s official website, where he configured and ordered his own Model S Plaid. 

Watch the Tesla Model S Plaid battle the Porsche Taycan Turbo S in the video below. 

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to [email protected] to give us a heads up. 

Tesla Model S Plaid takes its place as production EV king with Porsche Taycan Turbo S beatdown

By Simon Alvarez

Posted on July 26, 2021

Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) is scheduled to post its second-quarter financial results later today after markets close. A live Q&A session would be held by Tesla’s management at 2:30 p.m. PT (5:30 p.m. ET), which would allow the company to discuss several key developments in its projects, as well as potential headwinds that investors could expect for the coming quarters. 

Despite an ongoing chip shortage that has negatively affected the automotive industry, Tesla’s second-quarter vehicle deliveries and production were impressive. With this in mind, here is a brief outline of what TSLA investors could expect for Tesla’s Q2 2021 earnings results. 

Analyst Ratings to Date

Wall Street currently has a consensus $686.94 12-month price target on TSLA stock, based on 38 analysts covering the company. As per The Deep Dive, eight of these analysts maintain a “Strong Buy” rating, six analysts have a “Buy” rating, 15 have a “Hold” rating, five have a “Sell” rating, and four have a “Strong Sell” rating on Tesla. 

Price targets for Tesla shares vary among the analysts covering the company, though the Street high as of writing comes from Elazar Advisors, which maintain a price target of $1,471 per share. The lowest price target for TSLA stock stands at $67 from GLJ Research, though this figure seems more like a statement than a serious estimate considering Gordon Johnson’s record with Tesla. 

Revenue Estimates

So far, 22 analysts have posted revenue estimates for Tesla’s Q2 2021 results. The mean revenue estimate among the 22 analysts is $11.299 billion, a numbest that’s been flat as of late. The highest estimates from the Street predict that Tesla would post revenue of $12.827 billion, while the lowest estimate points to the company posting $9.5 billion of revenue. 

EBITDA Estimates

There are currently 11 analysts who have posted their second-quarter EBITDA estimates for Tesla. So far, the mean EBITDA estimate among these 11 analysts stands at $2 billion. Street high estimates currently sit at $2.5 billion in EBITDA, while the lowest estimate sits at $1.5 billion. 

Earnings per Share

Analysts currently estimate that Tesla’s second-quarter earnings per share would be at $0.98 per share. So far, the Street high estimate for Tesla’s Q2 2021 EPS stands at $1.34 per share, while the lowest estimate stands at $0.62 per share. 

Other Topics to Expect

Tesla is currently in the middle of its largest ramp to date, despite the challenging landscape in the automotive market today due to the chip shortage and other supply chain difficulties. With this in mind, Tesla executives may cover a number of pertinent topics for its near-term growth, such as the launch of Giga Berlin and Gigafactory Texas, the expansion of Gigafactory Shanghai, and the ramp of its 4680 battery cell production. 

The progress of vehicles like the Tesla Semi and the Cybertruck would likely be discussed as well. Tesla may also discuss its progress with its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving suite, which recently switched to a vision-only approach that no longer uses radar data. Tesla’s Energy division is also moving forward despite a battery cell shortage, with the company recently launching a Virtual Power Plant project in California. 

Disclaimer: I am long TSLA.

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to [email protected] to give us a heads up. 

Tesla Q2 2021 earnings results: What to expect