Shed a tear. Tesla Roadster crashed in San Francisco
Filed under: Etc., EV/Plug-in, Tesla Motors, USA
Well, we have good news and bad news. The bad news is that a Tesla Roadster, number six it seems, has been crashed in San Francisco. The good news is that the machine is likely not totaled and its battery pack is undamaged. So, the owner of the car hopefully won't need to go too long without his black beauty. According to eye-witnesses at the scene, the Roadster went rather unnoticed due to its silent operation, which may (or may not, who knows?) have contributed to the accident. This is the first customer car to be involved in an accident, though you may recall that Founders Series car number two, which was to be handed over to Martin Eberhard, was damaged in transit to its new owner. Fortunately, that car was also repaired and has now been delivered.
Though the airbags did not deploy, the unfortunate Roadster was wedged underneath a Mercedes-Benz in front after being rear-ended by a Toyota Camry. The police report has yet to be seen, so we have no idea who was at fault. Thanks to all who sent this in!
[Source: Hey.com - photo: Alex Volkov]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
7-29-2008 @ 3:31PM
BillySharps said...
So who owned this one?
Reply
7-29-2008 @ 4:00PM
PeterG said...
Yeah, because I always listen for cars in front of me so I don't run into them.
How the heck are they trying to pin silent operation on this one.
The silent operation crap is an excuse people try to use when they screw up. Next we will have some drunk run a red and nail some electric/hybrid and claim it was too quiet.
Wise up. I walk to work. You don't hear cars coming toward you from the engine noise, you hear tire/wind noise first.
Reply
7-29-2008 @ 6:05PM
Joe said...
+1
I'm getting really tired of people saying hybrid/electric cars are too quiet to hear so it's not my/my son's fault if I walk out it front of it. It's stupid.
Use your freakin' eyes.
7-29-2008 @ 4:20PM
Chris M said...
For a 3 car chain collision like this, you can be 99% certain that the driver in the end car is at fault. As for the other 1%, it could be a sudden unexpected brake failure, or the other two cars backing up at the same time!
I once had a similar accident near an intersection. The light was green but I had to stop due to backed up traffic. The guy behind me stopped, but the guy behind him didn't, collided and sent the other car into my rear bumper. The guy at fault didn't understand why we had to stop at a green light!
Reply
7-29-2008 @ 4:20PM
Noz said...
I have a feeling the owner was probably driving like a douchebag where he shouldn't have been...if it was a low speed crash, it wouldn't have gone under the front car like that.
Tough...SLOW DOWN.
Reply
7-29-2008 @ 6:21PM
Rojo said...
Speed does not factor into the equation.
~3300 lb. Camry -> 2,700 lb. Tesla -> 3200 lb. Mercedes
Camry rear-ends Tesla because they're NOT PAYING ATTENTION regardless of speed, and easily pushes the low-riding, light-weight Tesla under the relatively high-bumpered Mercedes. The front-end of the Tesla acts like a ramp.
Inattentive, distracted, impaired and unskilled drivers are the cause of 99% of 'speed-related' crashes. If people would *drive* instead of talking, eating, applying makeup, reading newspapers, messing with their radios, shaving, turning around to mouth at children and generally just spacing out while driving, we wouldn't have to worry about speed limits because people would be able to anticipate potentially hazardous situations by actually paying attention to their surroundings and god forbid, using proper discretion.
7-29-2008 @ 4:22PM
Tony Belding said...
The small size is, I'm sure, more of an issue than the silence. Many Lotus Elise owners have told stories of banging helplessly on their puny clown-car horn (beep, beep!) while a SUV backs up over their "invisible" car.
If you're getting one, I say go for Very Orange.
Reply
8-04-2008 @ 12:48PM
sam said...
exactly...the size...or lack thereof..makes all the difference. i own an old austin-healey sprite. talk about "lost in traffic", i finally removed its muffler so it runs open exhaust. i have had many instances of "not seen" but the blaring exhaust helps. i also have a kawasaki kz1000 with a baffle-less kerker, that is where i got the idea for removing the muffler from the sprite.
7-29-2008 @ 4:26PM
Randy C. said...
OUCH! I think I will go and cry.
Reply
7-29-2008 @ 4:59PM
Luke said...
Yet another accident caused by the irresponsible use of a Toyota Camry. When will the carnage stop?
Reply
7-29-2008 @ 5:11PM
Nicholas said...
I was thinking the same thing PeterG mentioned. How the hell can you blaim the silence?? Why not blaim all the Priuses all around the world as well. I feel sorry for the driver though I really do, I hope no one got injured
Reply
7-29-2008 @ 5:20PM
Chris said...
Noz... are you saying that the Tesla drove under the 1st car? If you read the article it sounds more like it was pushed (by the Camry).
Reply
7-29-2008 @ 6:10PM
stevefazek said...
silent operation my ass. electric cars are just as quiet as a modern 4banger unless you got a exhaust leak or a v8.
under average acceleration all you hear are tires and some gear noise.
I hope the tesla driver wasnt doing some hot runs in traffic where you speed up and slow down. I know i would of been doing that in a car like that. It annoyed me when people in grocery getters think their cars can stop as fast as a sports car.
I remember some idiot in a SUV tried to brake check me in my M3. all i did was out brake them and then passed them
Reply
7-29-2008 @ 7:03PM
kook43 said...
OMG! An electric car in an accident and no thermal runaway!
At least their isn't anti-freeze all over the road.
Reply
7-29-2008 @ 7:15PM
Rick said...
What does the silence have to do with anything?
I'd be concerned about the airbag issue if I plopped down that coinage.
Reply
7-29-2008 @ 7:37PM
wave54 said...
The Wired story reports eyewitnesses as indicating that the Tesla was trying to get between the two cars at the time of the accident. Looking at their pictures, it does look like someone trying to squeeze into another lane and then the first car stops.
http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/07/worlds-first-fo.html
Supposedly the car had just been delivered hours before. Ouch!
Reply
7-30-2008 @ 9:54AM
Serge said...
From additional pictures posted on wired, it does look like the owner of Roadster tried to squeeze between a Mercedes and Toyota from a left lane. At that time Mercedes hits the brakes, Roadster hits the brakes (stops), Toyota hits the brakes, doesn't make it, rears end the Roadster pushing it under Mercedes. If that is the case, unless the driver of Toyota wasn't paying attention, I'd say it's the Roadster driver's fault; drivers merging into your lane at high speed taking up safe breaking distance from the car in front of you are reckless.
7-29-2008 @ 7:50PM
jmk said...
There are just six of these cars on the road. Already two of them have been in a accident. Some lurking bug perhaps??
Reply
7-29-2008 @ 10:26PM
Curt said...
I drove by Tesla's HQ in San Carlos this afternoon.
There were about 6 Teslas being prepared in their back lot.
Blue, Yellow, Black and several Dark Green were the colors.
Reply
7-29-2008 @ 10:29PM
BlackbirdHighway said...
So, I was just driving along to work just like any other morning, when I noticed this lady in the next lane using the rear view mirror to apply makeup while driving. All of the sudden she swerves into my lane, almost hitting me. When I turned the wheel sharply to avoid her, the shaver in my right hand bumped into the donut in my left hand, knocking it to the floor. I was so startled that the phone dropped from my shoulder into the cup of coffee between my legs, splashing scalding liquid onto the twins. That's when I lost control and hit the car in front of me. Stupid women drivers! :D
Reply