Porsche's Head of EVs Talks About Fast Charging, Sound Synthesizing, and Why the Mission E is Better than the Tesla Model S

TopSpeed

By Kirby Garlitos

Published Mar 3, 2018

All will be revealed when the Mission E goes on sale next year

Porsche claims that the Mission E is better than the Tesla Model S. That’s hardly a surprise considering that the Mission E is a Porsche model. But Stefan Weckbach, the head of electric vehicles at Porsche, firmly believes that the Mission E stands out compared to the Tesla, so much so that he conducted an in-house interview detailing the guiding principles that make the Mission E of the future standard-bearer of the luxury electric car space when it hits the market in 2019.

Stefan Weckbach wasted little time essentially throwing down the gauntlet on the Tesla Model S. The interview he conducted covered a number of important items about the Mission E, beginning with the decision to develop it as a production model. According to Weckbach, that decision came as soon as Porsche unveiled the Mission E Concept at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show. The German automaker thought that it had an important model in its hands, one that would be capable of reshaping the company’s future. A few years and over 1,000 dedicated employees later, the Porsche Mission E is close to finally becoming a reality.

With the Mission E set to launch in 2019, Porsche is already touting it as a better model than the Tesla Model S. According to Weckbach, the Mission E is better in two important criteria: performance and charging. Talking about performance, Weckbach described Tesla’s 0-to-60-mph times for the Model S Ludicrous, saying that the electric sedan can only achieve its advertised time twice. “The third attempt will fail,” he added. For its part, the Mission E will have “reliable, repeatable performance,” the kind that produces consistent performance that can also be maintained for long periods time.

Another advantage the Mission E has over the Model S is charging. The German automaker makes a good case here because it’s already developing the infrastructure to handle 800-volt charging for the Mission E. With that kind of voltage, the company claims that its electric car can deliver 250 miles of range after just 20 minutes of charging. While it’s admittedly more impressive than the 480-volt capacity of Tesla’s Supercharger stations, the comparisons aren’t as black-and-white as Porsche makes it out to be. Still, the German automaker’s claims are impressive, even though it still has a lot of catching up to do as far as having high-capacity chargers in place.

At the moment, Tesla is miles ahead in that space with thousands of Supercharger stations set up all over the world. Porsche will have a lot of catching up to do, but it is moving in that direction. Porsche Cars North America CEO, Klaus Zellmer, has already confirmed plans to outfit its entire 189-strong dealership network in the U.S. with these 800-volt fast chargers. Likewise, the automaker’s Porsche Experience Center in Atlanta, Georgia already has six of the fast chargers installed.

It is to be expected for Stefan Weckbach to tout the Mission E as a full-fledged Model S conqueror. The car has the foundation, capabilities, and heritage to become a real threat to the Model S. But until that day comes, we’re not going to shrug off everything the Model S has accomplished. The Porsche Mission E may very well be the conquerer Porsche says it is, but we’ll only believe it when we see it.