Elon Musk and the Tesla Porsche Taycan ‘Turbo’ debate

As competitors such as Porsche enter into the electric car arena, Tesla comparisons are inevitable. But it’s not who’s right on social media that matters.

If you have even the slightest interest in electric cars, you will know of Tesla. And also probably the Porsche Taycan, which is currently being labelled the ‘Tesla Killer‘ by various motoring outlets.

This, of course, is a great way for websites to get clicks from angry internet readers. It could also be accurate, given that Tesla is relatively new to the motoring game. Porsche, on the other hand, is a tried and tested sportscar maker.

And so that brings me to the spat between both companies. It all started with Elon Musk tweeting about Porsche’s use of the word Turbo for the turbo-less Taycan. Turbo being short for turbocharger, a method of forced induction for a combustion engine.

It was jarring for vacuum manufacturers to use the term ‘turbo’ back in the 1980s for electric dust-suckers and it’s even more odd it’s being used by a company that knows mechanical engineering better than most. Yet here we are.

Adding fuel to the fire, US automotive website Jalopnik then waded in with its own witty response. “Um Elon Musk, this word Autopilot does not mean what you think it does.”

 

Except that if you look up autopilot in the dictionary and know anything about airplanes, you will know this is incorrect. No wonder Musk responded by calling Jalopnik, “not the sharpest tool in the shed,” and a link to a relevant Wikipedia page.

Autopilot has been rife with criticism since its inception, it must be said, owing to the fact that owners and journalists seem to have confused assisted driving with complete self-driving. Rival manufacturers even labelled it dangerous before going on to create their own sometimes inferior alternative systems. Hypocrisy for the win.

There is, of course, an argument to be made for how Tesla over-played the capability of Autopilot, although I used it for 60-plus miles of M5 motorway without having to do anything so it’s potentially the issue of user error more than the infallibility of lane-keeping assist. Driving with your feet on the dashboard or while swapping fluids is never going to end well.

Other critics of Elon Musk have made the same joke about superchargers, the method of charging a Tesla faster than a conventional electric charger. Except this also makes no sense as that, while also a method of forced induction, it’s an amalgamation of the word super and charger. So no grammatical harm done to the English language.

The ‘handbags at dawn’ attitude of Musk is said to highlight that Tesla is afraid of Porsche. That it’s going to be beaten at its own game. Yet this idea ignores the fact it was part-Tesla, part-increased eco-mindedness and part-emission regulation that caused all other manufacturers to make all-electric and hybrid cars.

Quite simply, even if Teslas dies and Musk goes bankrupt he has shown that electric cars are desirable. He has sparked a monumental shift in the motoring industry, not just in the vehicles but also how they are sold. You need only look at the vast numbers of diesels gathering dust for proof.

The fact a Model S and Model 3 drive better than a lot of vehicles (on a track and off it) from substantially older competitors is testament to Tesla’s ambition and expertise. Laziness and a refusal to acknowledge global warming has resulted in the likes of Volkswagen being on the back foot.

It is the likes of Porsche who are therefore responding to a serious threat, one that will see the combustion engine inevitably take a backseat. Then be fondly remembered by the dying breed that is the petrolhead.

While anyone who has driven a Tesla will attest they are satisfying and feel like the future, perhaps a dose of Porsche motoring flair will give the Californian company something to worry about (although a look at the substantially higher recommended retail price suggests it won’t). Maybe it will convert a few more people to the electric cause.

That could be bad news for Tesla sales. But then remember that Musk opened up all of Tesla’s patents to make electric car technologies accessible to all, suggesting that he’s smart enough to realise greater competition, consumer acceptance and long-term legacy trump short-term profits.

Slinging insults and pointing out who is wrong is a great way to get publicity. What really matters though is that we should be applauding the fact both parties are heading towards a cleaner future. One where we treat Mother Nature with greater respect.