AEM Electronics has Tesla-swapped a 2007 Ford Mustang GT in an effort to showcase one of their newly developed inverter control boards meant for Tesla drivetrains. They sourced the vehicle from a Craigslist ad and found that someone had already swapped the Mustang guts for that of a Tesla Sport large drive unit (LDU). If AEM Electronics sounds familiar to you, its because they were the masterminds behind the all-electric Ford Mustang Cobra Jet 1400 prototype; an 8-second prepped eMuscle machine that hopes to demonstrate a proof of concept for electric drag racing in the future.
With this S197 Ford Mustang, AEM swapped out all of its propulsion hardware for motors found in a base 2013-2015 Tesla Model S. Of course, some modifications had to be made to the Mustang GT to make everything sync nicely including the addition of QA-1 coil overs in the rear to support the drivetrain. The team also had fabrication work done to allow for the use of a complete Model S subframe.
Utilizing AEM’s new VCU200, the “Tes-Stang,” as nicknamed in the explainer video, can produce over 402 horsepower at 340 lb-ft of torque which makes the Frankenstein EV Mustang capable of hitting 11.78 quarter-mile times at 117 mph, which is very good relative to the power output. It’s not going to blow the doors off of the Mustang Cobra Jet 1400 project that AEM worked on with Ford Performance, but that time is quicker than the Mustang Mach-E GT Performance trim which is capable of running in the mid to low 12-second range.
The purpose of the Tesla-swapped Ford Mustang is to highlight AEM’s development of its technology that aims to make the EV conversion process a little easier, per their website. Tuning functionality is their main source of pride as with the VCU200 and accompanying AEM parts like battery management system, and digital dash, you can enable the vehicle to be driven as harshly as you want without having to manipulate or hack your stock Tesla.
