Tesla may be understating performance of 60-kWh Model S

Under the "sign us up for that job" heading, the crew at Drag Times took it upon themselves to perform some straight-line road tests with a 60-kWh Tesla Model S. And the publication found that the automaker may have been a bit too modest about the performance levels of that particular all-electric sedan, something that perhaps BMW is already aware of.

Specifically, the 60-kWh car, in repeated dashes, went from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 5.1 seconds, a full 0.8 seconds faster than what Tesla estimates. And for the quarter-mile, the tested 13.7-second time was a half-second quicker than the automaker's number.

The publication – which earlier calculated that each drag run in an 85-kWh Model S costs around a nickel's worth of energy – surmised that Tesla's understatement may have something to do with the car's horsepower, which Tesla estimates at 302 but which, according to the dash reading during those happy track runs, was closer to 320 horsepower. We'd be more than happy to test Drag Times' theory if given the opportunity.