Is Rivian Faster Than Tesla? Acceleration & Top Speed (Compared)

Rivian and Tesla are electric vehicles with some similarities. They include long-range capabilities, fast acceleration, unique designs, and off-road capabilities, among others.

However, one of these automakers offers more performance than the other, making its car’s speed more aggressive than rivals.

Join us as we explore whether Rivian is faster than Tesla, the differences in their speed, acceleration, top speed, and others.

Here Is Whether Rivian Is Faster Than Tesla:

From research, Rivian isn’t faster than Tesla. Instead, Tesla has proven to have more speed than Rivian.

One such instance is the video where the Rivian R1T Quad Motor and Tesla Model 3 Performance raced and the latter won, owing to its size, power-to-weight ratio, and software optimization.

Do Rivian or Tesla Go 0-60 Mph Faster?

Some Tesla models can reach 0-60 mph faster than Rivian models and vice versa. It all depends on which model of the brands are involved. 

Note that the R1T and the R1S are the fastest Rivian electric vehicle models and the quickest pickup truck. These EVs reach 0-60 in 3.0 seconds and thus, comparing one of them with Tesla models achieves the same result.

We compared the 2023 Rivian R1T with all the Tesla models below.

Some car experts have recorded the 2023 Tesla Model 3 Performance has a 0-60 mph of 3.1 seconds, while the 2023 Rivian R1T Quad Motor has a 0-60 mph of 3.0 seconds.

This makes the Quad Motors just a second faster than the Model 3 to reach 0-60 mph.

However, the 2023 Tesla Model S reaches 0-60 mph in 1.99 seconds, which is a lot faster than the Rivian R1T Quad Motor, with a difference of over 1.0 seconds.

Comparing the 2023 Model Y Performance with the 2023 Rivian R1T Quad Motors setup proves the R1T reaches 0-60 faster.

The Model Y Performance offers the fastest mph of the Y models with 3.5 seconds from 0 to 60 mph, compared to the Rivian Dual Motor’s 3.0 seconds.

There is also the Model X Plaid, which boasts three motors and claims a 0-60 mph of 2.5 seconds or even faster at 2.3 seconds, according to some car critics. This is quite faster than the Rivian R1T Quad Motor’s 3.1 seconds mph.

However, being a dual-motor electric vehicle, we compared the R1T to the dual-motor version of the Model X, which reaches 0-60 in 3.8 seconds. Though not so much difference, the R1T is faster than the Tesla Model S in 0.8 seconds.

Tesla Model S Plaid has the fastest mph of the Tesla models and is highly competitive among other fast electric cars. It reaches o-60 in 2.0 seconds, according to Tesla.

However, some car critics have reported even lower, at 1.98 seconds, and some higher at 2.3 seconds.

Despite the slight differences, all reports proved the Tesla Model S Plaid is faster than the Rivian R1T Quad Motors.

The regular Model S, however, reaches 0-60 in 3.1 seconds, making the R1T reach 0-60 faster in 0.1 seconds.

So far we are talking about how fast Tesla is. Would you like to know more about how fast Teslas are with the top speed and acceleration from a different point of view?

We should mention there is another Tesla Model, the second-generation Roadster, which Tesla has reported will be the fastest car in the world. According to Tesla, this EV will have a record-breaking acceleration of 0-60 in 1.9 seconds.

However, note that the 2023 Tesla Roadster is not available yet, but buyers are making their reservations already. You can also explore which is cheaper between Rivian and Tesla.

Do Rivian or Tesla Cars Have Higher Top Speed?

All 2023 Tesla Model years have proven higher top speed than the Rivian R1T, which offers the most top Speed of the Rivian models.

To verify which is faster, we compared each Tesla model’s top speed to the Rivian R1 T’s top speed.

The Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus has a top speed of 140 mph. The Long Range AWD has a top speed of 145 mph and the Performance Model offers the highest at 162 mph.

Compared to the Rivian R1T’s top speed of 115 mph, all the Model 3 trim levels offer more top speed.

How about knowing about the 9 electric pickups with high range aside from Rivian R1T and Teslas?

The Model Y offers a top speed of 135 mph for the Long Range and 155 mph for the Performance model, which both prove higher than the Rivian’s R1T top speed of 115 mph.

There is also the Model X which includes four trims, namely the Long Range, the Long Range AWD, the Plaid, and Plaid+ with the top speed of 155 mph, 155 mph, 149 mph, and 155 mph respectively.

Compared to the Rivian R1T’s 115 mph, it is quite obvious the Tesla Model X trim levels all offer higher top speeds.

The Tesla Model X comes in two trim levels, the Base and Plaid. The base has a top speed of 155 mph, while the Plaid has a top speed of  149 mph, compared to the R1T’s 115 mph.

Lastly, there is the 2023 Model S, with the trim level, Base and Plaid. The Base model offers 155 mph. The Plaid, however, offers the most top speed of all the Tesla models at 200 mph, which is almost twice the R1T’s mph.

The 2023 Tesla Roadster, however, will have a top speed of 250 mph according to Tesla, which the Rivian can’t compete with.

Are Any Electric Cars Faster Than Teslas?

The Tesla Model S Plaid is the fastest of the Tesla models with a top speed of 200 mph while reaching 0-60 in 2.0 seconds according to Tesla, and 1.98 seconds according to some car critics.

Using the fastest Tesla Model on the market as a comparison, the Model S Plaid, some EVs have proven to offer more top speeds and faster 0-60 mph than the S Plaid.

However, note that these EVs are expensive compared to Teslas.

Such cars include the Rímac Nevera, which is worth millions of dollars compared to Tesla’s thousands of dollars prices.

However, car experts have reported it to be the fastest car in the world with 258 mph in 2023, which is even more than what the Tesla Roadster will offer when available.

The Rímac Nevera reaches o-60 mph in less than 1.8 seconds from reports, though some critics have reported it is possible to reach the same in less than 1 second.

Now, this is quite fast, compared to Tesla’s highest 0-60 mph and top speed, even for the model that is yet available on the market.

There is also the Aspark Owl with faster acceleration than the fastest Tesla model, including the Roadster. It reaches 0-60 mph in 1.69 seconds.

For the top speed, the Owl has more compared to the fastest Tesla Model S Plaid on the market with a top speed of 249 mph, compared to the Plaid’s top speed of 200 mph.

Otherwise, the Roadster is slightly faster with a top speed of 250 mph. However, note that the Aspark is also worth millions of dollars, compared to the Tesla’s prices of thousands of dollars.

There is also the Lucid Air Sapphire, which has a closer price range to the Tesla Models. It also has faster acceleration than the Model S Plaid and Tesla Roadster, reaching 0-60 in less than 1.89 seconds.

It offers a top speed of 205 mph, which is slightly higher than the Plaid’s 200 mph. However, the Roadster will offer more at 250 mph.

To know more about cars that offer more speed than Teslas, we have an article comparing Tesla’s speed to 11 sports cars to know which is faster.

Are These Electric Cars and Pickups’ Speed Limited?

So far, all Teslas have a speed limit mode that owners can access through the Tesla app or touchscreen.

Using the mode, owners can limit the maximum acceleration and power of their vehicle to a specific setting.

Speaking of Modes, we should let you know there is an article explaining Tesla’s 38 unique modes/features. 

However, aside from the speed limit mode, the Tesla Model S Plaid included software that limits its top speed from 200 mph to 163 mph. This can, however, increase to 175 mph when drivers activate the track mode.

However, from reports, hackers have been able to reach over 200 mph of the S Plaid’s top speed by disabling the Software. Note we don’t recommend this.

However, for the second-generation Roadster, there are yet reports if it included software for limited top speed, as the vehicle is still in production.

The Rivian R1T, however, does not offer a speed limiter mode, nor is there a report of any speed-limiter software, thus owners can attain the top speed of 115 mph.

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