Tesla Model 3 owner walks away from 60mph crash

Company chief Elon Musk outlines plans to improve vehicle safety after a driver shares his experience online

Tesla Model 3
(Image credit: Tesla)

A Tesla Model 3 owner and his passenger have survived a major collision relatively unscathed after their electric car collided with a stationary vehicle at 60mph.

The driver shared his experience of the crash and posted images of the crumpled electric car in the Tesla Motors chat group on Reddit under the username Model_3_Crash_Dummy.

He told the chat forum: “Everyone from the paramedics to the tow truck driver said that people don’t usually walk away from this”.

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“Had this been a regular ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicle I would be dead or in a lot worse condition,” he said.

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The owner said he would provide more details after settling his insurance claim, but revealed that the passenger’s arm hit the car’s large touchscreen and “shattered it” during the crash.

This prevented him from opening the car’s glovebox, which contained details of his ownership and insurance. The passenger also sustained a “pretty big cut on her arm” from the cracked screen.

The crash prompted a response on Twitter from Tesla’s chief executive, Elon Musk, who said the company would add a software feature that automatically opens the glovebox after a crash.

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Musk also said that Tesla would consider adding a “thin plastic sheet to the front or back of the screen” to prevent it from shattering.

According to Teslarati, the driver has “already put in another reservation for the electric car”.

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