I've done my homework in the EV field, and I stand by my Tesla statement 100%. Don't believe me? Sandy Munro, who I'm sure you know, says the same thing:
Innovating at the speed of thought
As for
your analogy, here's the Model S (a 4-door sedan), with it's big fat ass, lumbering around Laguna Seca in record time.
You are failing to get the point. And it was your analogy that you’re now abandoning because it no longer serves the purpose you intended.
The point is that a 5000 pound car is at a great disadvantage on track compared to a 3200 pound car, all other things being equal. Even adding that weight in the center and very low cannot compensate for the weight difference.
The guy who posted that video showed an unverified, unofficial lap time of 1:30 by an unverified car with 1100 hp (purportedly a Tesla model s plaid) with unknown equipment in it. And he compared that to a 991 911 GT2 RS, with only 691 hp, and a lap time of 1:28.
Build the GT2 RS up to 1100 hp, which might add 50 pounds or so, and then compare lap times between the 3250 pound Porsche and the ~5000 pound Tesla. The lap times in the now fair competition, which will be comparing handling of the two different weight cars, will be much farther apart.
Look, this isn’t even a debatable thing. When was the last time you saw a race car designer beg to add weight to the chassis? In order to keep an F1 race fair, the teams have to meet a
minimum weight for the driver and his gear, and they have add ballast to the car when the, usually tiny, drivers don’t weigh enough. Because being too light, even by a few pounds, is too much of an advantage.
Ask any F1 engineer if they would rather make the race car lighter or heavier, giving them the option to put the added weight anywhere they wish. And 100 out of 100 engineers will laugh at the stupidity of the question.
As to the hyperbolic absolute about Tesla innovating faster than anyone else, it’s utterly impossible thing to know or prove. One would have to know what innovations are quietly taking place at all the various automotive manufacturers and even then the phrase “innovating faster than anyone else“ is too subjective a thing to prove.
You have to substantially narrow the scope of the statement, and then precisely define the term “innovating” before you could get close to reasonableness.
If you want to say Tesla is doing awesome work on electric vehicles and battery tech, then I’d agree 100%. One wonders if they aren’t doing an even better job marketing than innovating, not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Beware absolutes.