Gordon Hayward Owns a Tesla but Don’t Try to Race Him

A proud Tesla owner. Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

Gordon Hayward re-signed with the Utah Jazz this summer after the team matched his 4-year, $63-million offer sheet from the Charlotte Hornets. This was Hayward’s first big contract in the NBA, so he splurged and bought himself a new car. It was a sensible purchase as he explained to SLC Dunk:

"I got a Tesla. P85 Model S Tesla.  It’s the most fun thing I’ve ever driven. … It was difficult [to purchase it].  It’s a practical thing.  It’s the number one rated car on consumer reports ever.  … You can pay less money if you charge it at 4 am and 5 am."

Although Hayward spent around $80-thousand on a car, this is no ordinary car.  As a Tesla is fully electric, it is a zero emission vehicle. Charging does costs money but it is not near as expensive as gas and there are workarounds as Hayward figured out by charging it early in the morning.

Earlier this month, Hayward talked about his new car on his blog:

"I bought a Tesla this summer. It’s a really nice car, and pretty fast, too. We were on the interstate when we heard a car pull alongside us, revving its engine like the driver wanted to race. We looked over.It was a Toyota Camry.We were like, “A Camry? A Camry is trying to race us?”The driver of the car stared at us, and then started laughing and waving before we got separated in traffic.Two minutes later, I got a tweet from the guy."

Before you get on Hayward for turning down a race, let’s remember that he has better things to concentrate on. Like helping to save the planet in his zero emissions electric vehicle.