Tesla and Qantas teamed up to complete a Guinness World Record for the heaviest tow by an electric passenger vehicle on Tuesday. The two companies met on a Melbourne Airport taxiway for the challenge. In one corner, Tesla’s Model X P100D. In the opposite corner, a Qantas Boeing 787-9.
The Model X successfully towed the 130 ton Dreamliner, surpassing its rated road tow weight of 2.5 tons. The tow lasted nearly one-thousand feet by the large amount of torque provided by the Tesla’s dual electric motors.
This is not the first time an electric vehicle has moved a Qantas aircraft. The Australian flagship carrier currently uses electric pushback tugs in Sydney and Canberra in an effort to reduce greenhouse emissions.
Full Video:
Watch as a @Qantas Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner is towed by a @Tesla Model X. pic.twitter.com/VvvhF7DEvN
— AirlineGeeks (@AirlineGeeks) May 15, 2018
Qantas and Tesla are also teaming up to better benefit their customers. Tesla owners who are apart of Qantas’ Frequent Flyer program will have their mileage offset in their vehicles as well as their flight miles for the month of June as part of their Future Planet Program.
Qantas is also adding Tesla High Power Wall Connectors at Qantas valet facilities in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Adelaide. In 2016, the airline raced one of its Boeing 737 aircraft with a Tesla Model S in an effort to celebrate innovation and sustainability.
