Tesla reclaims Laguna Seca record with a Model 3 Performance driven by an amateur

The Laguna Seca lap record for a production electric vehicle has changed hands a few times in the past few weeks. Most recently, Jaguar grabbed it with an I-Pace driven by a pro-driver.

Now Tesla reclaims it with a Model 3 Performance driven by an amateur driver.

In July, a Tesla Model S P100D broke the record with a 1:47.62 time, but it went sort of under the radar because Lucid Motors was driving the vehicle as part of the development program for its own vehicle.

A few weeks later, Jaguar put professional race car driver Randy Pobst in a Photon Red 2019 Jaguar I-PACE HSE First Edition with “no modifications whatsoever” and he completed a record lap in 1:48.18.

With that time, Jaguar actually claimed the production EV record – saying that Lucid actually modified the Model S P100D.

But now Cameron Rogers, an amateur driver and new Model 3 Performance owner, reclaimed the record for Tesla with an impressive 1:46.8 time.

Here’s the video of Rogers’ record lap in the Model 3:

Rogers beat his own previous Model 3 time of 1:48.667, but that time was achieved in a RWD Model 3 with a few modifications to the vehicle.

Aside from their run with the Model S P100D, Lucid Motors would also like a claim at the record with a 1:41.67 time in the Lucid Air, but the vehicle is a prototype and not in production yet.

As a side note, Rodgers told Electrek that Tesla themselves were doing some development testing at the track with a Model S P100D Ludicrous.

We don’t know for a fact that the car was stock, but if it was, it actually takes the production EV record with a 1:43 time.

For the meantime, the Model 3 Performance officially takes the record for the “production EV”.

Electrek’s Take

That’s an impressive time, but what’s crazier is that there’s also still room for improvement.

We can imagine an even better time with a pro-driver and I mean no disrespect to Rogers who clearly did an impressive job as an amateur.

Then there’s also the possibility of an even better time with the ‘Track Mode’, which Tesla has yet to release.

I just said a few weeks ago that the record would likely be broken soon. Sure enough, it was and now I believe it will be broken again as the limits of EVs being pushed further.