Champ on the Road
“Gopfertami, de Tesla de druckt!”
How Muay Thai world champion Daniel “Dani” Rodriguez swept across Europe with tesly – fast fists and Swiss speed cameras.
tesly · 5 min read
When Dani Rodriguez steps into the ring, there is no hesitation: precision, explosive power and unconditional focus. In the ring he reacts faster than you can blink. In a Tesla, sometimes faster than the speed camera allows. But how does a Rajadamnern champion and world champion prepare for his fights while travelling between training camps, seminars and title defences?
The answer rolls on four wheels – and comes from Zürich.
From Zürich's District 3 to the top of the world
Dani grew up in Zürich. At 14 he walked into Dado Gym on Flüelastrasse for the first time – and stayed. That's where the journey began: discipline, respect, rock-solid technique. Since 2022 he has been a champion at the very top of Muay Thai.
Outside the ring he is calm and grounded. Inside, he switches: focus, power, lightning-fast footwork. That mindset is exactly what connects us.
From Sukhumvit Road to Bangtao
Some Zürich friendships don't begin by the Limmat but 9,000 kilometres further east. At a friend's shop opening on Sukhumvit Road in Bangkok, our paths crossed for the first time – set up by Leo, a fellow Zürich companion from Dado Gym.
Half a year later we bumped into each other again by chance in Phuket, at Bangtao Muay Thai & MMA. A world-class gym by the coast where fighters from all over the world come and go – from hard sparring to kettlebell sessions on the beach. We trained side by side for a week and realised: we're on the same wavelength.
The chance meeting became a real friendship – and the friendship later became the key to our fleet, simple and easy between friends. When Dani came back to Switzerland, one thing was clear: anyone who performs at the highest level in the ring shouldn't have to compromise on the road.
Five Teslas on Dani's road
Dani had never driven a Tesla before. When he's on the road, he needs reliability and a clear head – and he found both with us.
In February he took over Grok for the first time. After his fight in June he got into Pingu, our Model 3 Performance. At the end of July he went all in: with our Model S Pluto he set off on a spontaneous summer road trip across Europe to Spain and back – silent gliding over long distances when the mind needs to switch off after hard rounds. Long distances on electric power, making use of charging stops and arriving rested.
Before his first big title fight as champion in his home country, he briefly drove our two Model X, Tiger and Uno: lots of space, calm before the storm. For the seminar in Leverkusen and for the title fight itself he switched back to the agile Pingu, because regular Zürich customers had booked the big models at short notice.
Lightning fast – in the ring and on the road
In Muay Thai, milliseconds decide victory or defeat. A reflex, a knee, a feint – before the opponent even realises what happened. That same reflex lives in Dani's right foot.
That switching from combustion to electric thrust didn't leave him unmoved, he revealed laughing in Zürich German the first time he floored it: “Gopfertami, de Tesla de druckt!” – roughly “Damn, this Tesla pulls!” A performance Tesla responds without delay: instant torque, zero hesitation. The result arrived with fine regularity by mail from Swiss authorities – neatly stamped speeding fines.
The moral of the story for all our renters: the torque is there instantly, and so are the Swiss speed cameras. In the ring you may be faster than everyone else. On the road, it costs you.
Real sportsmanship instead of stiff sponsoring
At tesly we don't just rent out cars – we support doers and athletes who give everything for their passion. Whether early in the morning before sparring at Dado Gym Zürich or on the way to an international seminar: we're proud to accompany Dani Rodriguez on his journey.
More of Dani
The reel with Dani in the Tesla, his home gym in Zürich and the gym in Thailand where we met again: