Watch a Tesla Model X tow a passenger airplane down a runway
Monday was an exciting day for electric vehicles everywhere.
At Melbourne airport Monday morning, a Tesla Model X P100D towed a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner down a taxiway. Slowly but surely, the vehicle pulled the plane, from Australian airline Qantas, almost 300 meters.
This was, according to Qantas, the first time in history an electric passenger vehicle has towed a passenger plane (though electric vehicles do commonly tow other aircrafts). The car actually received a Guinness World Record for heaviest tow by an electric production passenger vehicle.
The Tesla is the electric passenger vehicle with the highest towing capacity currently on the market, so it's not surprising that it was able to tow such a heavy load -- but it's still impressive, as publicity stunts go.
In the long-term, widespread use of electric vehicles could help airlines cut down on their emissions on the runway.
Topics Electric Vehicles Tesla Innovations
Monica wrote for Mashable's Tech section with a focus on retail, internet of things, and the intersections of technology and social justice. She holds a degree in creative writing from Brown University, and has previously written for Dow Jones Media, the New York Post, Yahoo Finance, and others. In her free time, she can be found attempting to cook Asian food, buying board games, and looking for new hobbies.
