You don’t see this everyday. Tesla CEO Elon Musk shared a video Tuesday of a Tesla Model X P100D pulling a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner at Melbourne Airport in Australia. The feat, accomplished by Qantas, set the world record for heaviest tow by electric production passenger vehicle.
As probably expected, the plane far exceeds the Model X’s recommended tow limit of around 5,000 pounds. In fact, the weight of the unloaded 787 with a minimal amount of fuel came closer to around 300,000 pounds. The airline pulled the Dreamliner around 1,000 feet down the tarmac. The stunt was part of a wider campaign around Qantas’ new work with Tesla, which involves offering high-powered chargers at its Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide facilities as well as offsetting miles for Tesla drivers that are also frequent flyer members. Musk shared the below tweet with his 21.8 million followers:
It’s not the first time the Model X has demonstrated its incredible power. A video shared by Musk in March shows the Model X winning a race against an Alfa Romeo 4C Spider while towing another Spider on the back. In January, the vehicle was captured on film towing a semi truck uphill in North Carolina through lows of 10 degrees Fahrenheit and up to six inches of snow, with a typical Class 8 tractor-trailer combination weighing around 35,000 pounds.
Musk has also used the vehicle for similar feats. In March, he shared footage from tunnel-digging venture The Boring Company, which is currently constructing a test track near the SpaceX headquarters in Los Angeles. The video shows the vehicle pulling a staggering 250,000 pounds of muck rail cars out of a tunnel.
Tesla is set to put its weight-pulling powers to the limit with the launch of the Tesla Semi truck next year. Offering up to 500 miles of range, the Semi will launch as part of a new “megacharger” infrastructure in the United States, with chargers placed every 400 miles to charge the vehicle in half an hour.
Tesla may be pulling planes in planned stunts, but it could be about to revolutionize heavy industry.
