Michael Leiters says Porsche wants to focus on technological innovation rather than flashy presentations.
Coincidentally, Porsche and Tesla unveiled their respective halo cars on October 15. While Elon Musk’s company put on a spectacular show featuring a Roadster performing an airborne flip, Porsche took a more traditional approach with its Mission S concept. Now, the man calling the shots in Zuffenhausen has made it clear which side of the fence he’s on.
Speaking at a conference in Berlin this week, Michael Leiters took a subtle jab at Tesla’s presentation, saying Porsche wants to “completely steer clear from any kind of effects and shows.” Instead, the company wants to demonstrate tangible technological innovation. According to Bloomberg, the executive also pointed out that the two cars target different customers, suggesting Porsche isn’t particularly interested in competing with Tesla on spectacle.
The contrast was hard to miss. Tesla finally pulled the wraps off its next-generation Roadster almost nine years after showing the prototype in 2017. The October presentation featured a car driving up a curved ramp before launching into the air, performing a midair rotation, and landing on its wheels. The stunt relied on compressed-air thrusters developed with help from SpaceX engineers.
2028 Tesla Roadster stunt at debut event
It was certainly an attention-grabbing way to introduce a new sports car, but Tesla still has plenty to prove. The company has outlined several versions, including a Performance model with suction fans and a Thrust variant featuring rear-mounted cold-gas thrusters. Tesla claims the latter can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph (96 km/h) in less than 0.9 seconds. There’s also a single-seat Rocket version with thrusters all around, although that configuration won’t be road-legal.
Interestingly, Tesla hasn’t announced pricing or a firm production schedule. Elon Musk has mentioned 2028 as the target, but that’s hardly reassuring considering how long the project has been in development. After all, the second-generation Roadster was supposed to arrive when my now eight-year-old daughter wasn’t even born yet.
While Tesla is selling the dream of a rocket-assisted electric hypercar, Porsche has something rather different in mind. The Mission S is a mid-engined sports car positioned above the 911, with a considerably higher price tag expected if it gets the green light for production. Its engine hasn’t been revealed yet, but all signs point to an eight-cylinder powertrain, be it a V8 or a flat-eight.
2026 Porsche Mission S concept
2026 Porsche Mission S concept
Leiters says the response from potential customers has been “overwhelming,” making the concept an important part of his strategy to move Porsche further upmarket. The car is being developed to accommodate either a hybrid or a conventional combustion engine, so Porsche isn’t necessarily abandoning gasoline power at the top of its range. It may even get a manual gearbox, provided demand is high enough to make the numbers work.
A production Mission S would also mark Porsche’s return to the supercar segment for the first time since the 918 Spyder bowed out in 2015. That puts Ferrari squarely in the crosshairs, although Porsche’s bigger objective is to increase exclusivity and average selling prices to improve profitability.
That’s particularly important given the company’s current financial challenges and declining sales in China. Rather than chasing volume, Porsche wants to sell fewer cars at higher prices, banking on customers being willing to pay extra for something more special.
Not everyone in the industry shares Leiters’ reservations about Tesla’s presentation. Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna previously gave the Roadster unveiling a perfect 10 out of 10, showing that Musk’s theatrical approach has its admirers in the established sports car world, too.
Ultimately, Porsche and Tesla are pursuing very different ideas of what a flagship sports car should represent. One is betting on rocket technology and spectacular demonstrations, while the other wants to win customers over with engineering and exclusivity. Whether either approach translates into successful production cars remains to be seen.
One thing is certain: after nearly a decade of waiting, Tesla needs to do more than make its Roadster fly for a few seconds. It needs to build the damn thing.
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