Just about every other automaker is involved in racing – except Tesla. Automakers race their vehicles to push their equipment under the most demanding conditions and to promote the brand. Tesla, however, has elected to remain largely on the sidelines until 2018, when the modified version of the Tesla Model S P100D. will be used in the Electric GT , a zero-emission international auto racing championship.
One has to wonder why they don’t at least participate in Formula E? Formula E, officially the FIA Formula E Championship, is a class of auto racing that uses only electric-powered cars.
A number of factors have to be considered in wrestling with whether or not Tesla should get involved in racing, especially in light of the fact Tesla is struggling mightily toproduce electric vehicles in much higher volumes. It could be that Tesla is busy building real vehicles for every day drivers and feels no need to divert resources away from that core mission. Perhaps Elon Musk feels that racing would be a distraction from getting the Model 3 out of production hell? On the other hand, racing would provide a great testing ground to push electric motors, batteries and chassis designs to their limits on a variety of racing circuits and conditions.
Time will tell if we will see an official Tesla racing team but in the meantime, at least we can enjoy the upcoming 2018 season of the electric GT.
Patent Wall Image Source – By Steve Jurvetson – Flickr: The Tesla Patent Wall at HQ, now set free, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33372027