With the introduction of the much more affordable 2020 Porsche Taycan 4S on Monday, we now have a model that overlaps with the Tesla Model S Performance on price. 

Those who have billed the Taycan a Tesla-fighter are tempted to compare the Porsche Taycan and the Tesla Model S. But we would argue that anyone seriously comparing the two models hasn’t fully understood the point behind the Taycan: to take Porsche’s many decades of sports-car expertise and heritage, and make a fully electric car building on that.

Porsche wants its sports-car owners (and those of typical German luxury and heritage sports-car brands, perhaps) to stay in the fold and not buy Teslas. Tesla owners on the other hand won’t go out and buy a Taycan. 

Or will they? There’s a question worth asking here, and it’s all about pricing, now that a version of the Taycan, the 4S, is priced essentially in the same range as the Model S performance. 

2019 Tesla Model S

2019 Tesla Model S

In July, Tesla started wrapping the Ludicrous Mode performance option (formerly $20,000 extra) into the package of included Model S Performance upgrades. Loading up a Tesla Model S Performance with the most expensive colors, wheels, and interior, and adding the Full Self-Driving Capability option, the Model S comes to a grand total of $116,190 today. 

Skipping all of the appearance frills, the Model S Performance adds up to $101,190.

2020 Porsche Taycan 4S

2020 Porsche Taycan 4S

The Taycan 4S, on the other hand, starts at $105,150 with the Performance Battery, or $111,730 with the Performance Battery Plus option. Since Porsche is still eligible for the full $7,500 federal EV tax credit amount, that lowers the price of the Porsche to $97,650 or $104,230, respectively.

Considering this very close pricing, and without diving into a feature-by feature comparison here, we wanted to ask you: Which one of these high-performance electric cars is the better way to spend $100,000? 

The third option, the pair of Tesla Model 3 sedans, we decided to throw in as a thought: For the same price, you could land a Model 3 Performance and a Model 3 Standard Range Plus. 

It’s likely that’s not going to sway would be Porsche buyers. Or would it? Vote on the poll, and please leave us your thoughts below.