So Sad… First Tesla Wreck in the Wild
Ouch, that does not look good. Apparantly customer #6 drove his car into the back of a Mercedes while fighting traffic in San Francisco. As expected, folks are already blaming the lack of “noise” generated by the car as being a factor. Huh? This was not a pedestrian getting hit, this was just your classic rear-end collision, almost always caused by aggressive tailgating.
While the damage does not look too bad, as most Lotus owners can tell you, this is not an inexpensive vehicle to repair. Both front and rear “clams” will need to be replaced at a cost of approximately $10,000. In addition, the suspension is very fragile, and often even low speed accidents will require replacement of some suspension pieces. Heaven-forbid if a suspension mount is damaged, because the aluminum chassis is “non-repairable”, and has to be swapped out if bent or damaged in any way.
Ugh, that does not look good. I heard that the body panels on the Tesla and Lotus are pretty flimsy, and expensive. But, I guess if you can afford 100K for the Tesla, you can afford the repair costs.
Ah, that should just buff right out. 🙂
Ouch.. this must have cost him an additional 10k.
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All body panels on the Tesla are Carbon Fiber… so yeah… that may be a bit expensive.
Ouch! How hard did the driver of that thing cry? How ironic is it that the Mercedes was the “cheap” car involved in the accident?
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Haeze, you are right, I did not even think about that. The panels on the Lotus Elise/Exige are a fiber-resin composite, the Tesla’s carbon-fiber panels are probably even more expensive. Thanks for the comment.
Ethan, thanks for commenting, I am sure he was bumming…
Ouch! That is such a shame!
Graham, thanks for stopping by, I agree, it is quite the shame.
Also, thanks for EntreCard, and my recent ad!
Ouch!!! This is really a costly mistake…
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I doubt the lack of sound played any part.
Like most sports car drivers the owner was probably breaking all the rules of driving.
Still, if he can afford a Tesla Roadster then he can afford to have it repaired.
James.
http://the-goodlife.blogspot.com
Ouch, I take offense to that. I think saying that most sports car drivers break all the rules is a little dramatic. I have owned sports cars all my life, and not only do I drive safe, I also have had no accidents or tickets in over 10 years.
I know of many responsible sports car drivers. And, just because you can afford to have a car repaired, doesn’t make it any easier…
But, thanks for stopping by, I appreciate it!
I always read your blog in high spirits. Thanks 🙂