A Tesla Model S P90 D has gone head-to-head with a Qantas 737-800 at Avalon Airport in Melbourne and marketing was the winner.

TESLA HAS JOINED forces with Qantas and to celebrate it pitted its fastest car, the Tesla Model S P90 D against a Qantas 737-800 in a race at Avalon Airport in Melbourne. According to Qantas, “it was a duel that pitted two examples of engineering achievement against one another”.

More than that, though, the race/stunt was designed to draw attention to the fact that Tesla Model S owners will now get Qantas club membership, there will be High Power Wall Connectors at Qantas valet facilities in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Brisbane. Qantas will also involve Tesla in exclusive events.

Qantas’ Head of Environment and Fuel, Alan Milne, said the collaboration was a meeting of minds.

“Both our companies are passionate about continuing to push the boundaries of customer service, innovation and sustainability in the transport industry.

“We’re huge admirers of the way Tesla has transformed the electric car sector as a premium brand and we look forward to sharing our understanding and advance the work we started in 2012 on biofuels as an alternative to jet fuel.

“What better way to celebrate working together than having a unique race – car versus plane.”

While we continue to work on long-term sustainable transport solutions, all carbon emissions from this race were offset, under Qantas’ Future Planet Program.

So, the race. Avalon Airport’s three-kilometre long runway has been home to performance car tests in the past, but this was probably the most ambitious. The Qantas 737-800 is capable of generating 50,000 pounds of thrust and has a cruising speed of 850km/h. Flat out in the air, it can approach the speed of sound, Qantas said. The Tesla Model S, on the other hand, can hit 100km/h in just 3.0 seconds (with Ludicrous Mode).

The Model S, in the hands of V8 Supercar driver Tony D’Alberto, took the lead and the 737 only managed to narrow the gap towards the end of its run, and then managed to eclipse the Tesla when it reached take-off speed (140 knots, or 259km/h) and then it pulled ahead when it, er, took off.

Question: Cool, or not? See you in the comments.