BMW M5 and Mercedes-AMG E63 drift through Tesla car park, 17 million views and counting

Electric-car fans are up in arms over two videos showing BMW M5 and Mercedes-AMG E63 V8-powered sports sedans doing daring drifting manoeuvres in a Tesla showroom car park.

The videos had clocked up more than 17 million views combined in their first few days of appearing on social media platform Instagram.

It appears both videos – filmed at a Tesla showroom in China – were staged.

The car park is empty and showroom staff depicted in the footage don't appear to be alarmed.

And each vehicle was in the hands of a highly skilled race driver.

At last count, when this article was published, the Mercedes-AMG video had clocked up more than 17.6 million views while the BMW M5 video – which has not been up for as long – had 185,000 views so far.

While V8 fans expressed their awe over the daring move, Tesla enthusiasts fought back in the comments section.

"All that ... to get destroyed by a (Tesla Model S) Plaid or even a Model 3 Performance," wrote one commenter.

Another noted: "Meanwhile, any of those Tesla will run circles around that Mercedes."

"Joke (is) on Mercedes, they've got four-cylinder AMGs with a battery pack now," wrote another commenter, presumably making a reference to the new-generation plug-in hybrid four-cylinder turbo Mercedes-AMG C63.

"Should have been a Mustang, then watch it crash into the showroom," a reference to widespread footage online of Ford Mustangs crashing after performing a burnout when leaving 'cars and coffee' meets in the US.

Among the rock-throwing from both sides of the argument, there was at least one sane voice.

"I'm an engineer and I own and work for Tesla but I respect the 100-plus years of engineering and legacy that Mercedes-Benz brings. Mad respect for MB (Mercedes-Benz). Engineering unleashed."

Watch the video and let us know your thoughts in our comments section below.