Tesla #6 crash disturbs the sound of silence

The Tesla roadster goes from 0 to 60 in 3.9-seconds (by December anyway) and costs $100,000 if you're lucky enough to get dibs on the 10 or so electric cars delivered so far. Come to find out, it also goes from 30 to 0 in a nausea-filled second when ground to a halt of twisted carbon-fiber beneath a Mercedes. The image above was snapped by Alex Volkov at the scene of a Friday evening accident in San Francisco. Of course, this isn't the first wrecked Tesla we've seen. According to Fortune, ousted co-founder Martin Eberhard suffered further distress when his Tesla rear-ended a truck en route for delivery to Eberhard's home. While the cause of the new accident isn't official, a few eye-witnesses said that Tesla #6 -- driven and owned by an unidentified man -- had gone "unnoticed" as it went "bumper-to-bumper between the cars." Interestingly enough, the Tesla's air-bags never deployed. One thing seems obvious: we expect to see more crashes from the silent, ultra-low-profile Tesla street-racer as it attempts to compete for space on roads dominated by SUVs, Hummers, and Testosterone.

Read -- SF Tesla Crash
Read -- Fortune

[wasabi @ Jul 29th 2008 5:17AM]

wow what a waste.

[Techie @ Jul 29th 2008 5:52AM]

Talk about bad mileage...

[DakStaka @ Jul 29th 2008 7:03AM]

Well, looks like the Tesla driver is a fault here as he's hit someone from behind - that's normally a open shut case of following too closely. Unless he was hit from behind into the Merc then its a different case.

Wonder if Tesla is like Ferrari and drop people down the waiting list for new vehicles if you crash one of their cars?

[iamsoinsane @ Jul 29th 2008 8:15AM]

I love the design of these/lotus cars.
Yet I can just imagine the thousands of AA sized batteries that get launched if this car is in a major wreck, which I doubt would happen because they are in a secure container...

But then again I could be wrong! ;)

[mike k. @ Jul 29th 2008 8:28AM]

As I've heard the report, he was rear-ended into the car in front of him.

[Flashpoint @ Jul 29th 2008 8:30AM]

FORGET TESLA...

I'll stick with my S550 Mercedes Benz.

Look how much damage was done to the Benz wherein the Tesla was totaled.

[anonymouspimp @ Jul 29th 2008 10:29AM]

Yeah, the resale value of that Benz just went to shit, too. I wouldn't buy it if the vehicle history showed that it had to get the whole rear end replaced because of an accident.

Anyways, I drive a Mercedes, and still think the Tesla is bad ass... and I still want a car like this someday! That being said, I'd still wait and let the early adopters work out all the kinks if I were seriously in the market...

[OneLove @ Jul 29th 2008 12:16PM]

The "lighting" is much nicer. Thats my c280 benz. :(

[OneLove @ Jul 29th 2008 12:17PM]

Fyi, its just bumper damage on the benz.

[User @ Jul 29th 2008 12:39PM]

The resale value of the Benz dropped?

Sarcasm: Nothing says "beautiful, reliable used car with a great resale value" like a 90's Mercedes.

[anonymouspimp @ Jul 29th 2008 5:06PM]

yes, the resale value of any car drops after its been in an accident, regardless of who caused the accident. The point is the car has been damaged... and far too often, cars never ride the same after a major repair, unfortunately.

But I was more responding to Flashpoint talking about how barely anything happened to the Mercedes. And being someone who owns a Mercedes, I can assure all of you there there are no such things as "minor" repairs on a Mercedes. lol I got rear ended once... you could barely see any damage on the outside... but when they showed me what had to be replaced and why... ugh... $5k later...

[lostarchitect @ Jul 30th 2008 7:45PM]

@dakstaka
not necessarily. the post says that the cause seemed to be that the tesla "went unnoticed" in traffic. it looks to me like it was rear-ended, pushing it under the merc like a wedge. it would have to be traveling very fast to lift the other car like that, and in that case there would be more front end damage. this was a slow push, and the driver behind the tesla was probably at fault.

[Doug @ Jul 29th 2008 5:21AM]

Yeah, it got pwnt.. They need to put exterior speakers on it to make fake engine noise.. LOL

[ryan @ Jul 29th 2008 2:40PM]

you're an idiot.

[Andy @ Jul 29th 2008 11:29AM]

I can just see the ultimate "customization" coming - Make your car sound like a Ferrari, for just 9.95. Car ringtones, or drivetones?

[Michael Chastain @ Jul 29th 2008 12:33PM]

One of the new electrics actually has that feature, unless I'm hallucinating again.

[WarMouse @ Jul 29th 2008 4:00PM]

They did this on an episode of Pimp My Ride.

[Frankenstein Black @ Jul 30th 2008 3:44PM]

Yea, let them try it. Me and some co-inventor’s attorneys will swoop down on them like a Romulan Bird of Prey. So let’s hope the pay us for the rhymes they stole from us first. Just sayin... Hear that Fisker?

[allislost @ Jul 29th 2008 5:24AM]

Ha this reminds me of the short kids that get elbowed in the face during mosh pits.

[neofolklore @ Jul 29th 2008 7:56AM]

lol this makes me sad that I missed Warped Tour

[MatthewJ @ Jul 29th 2008 5:25AM]

Tesla or Telsa? Make your mind up!

[Sachin @ Jul 29th 2008 9:28AM]

Well, seeing as he didn't say "Telsa" once, coupled with the fact that Tesla is a real word, I'd say he meant Tesla.

[MatthewJ @ Jul 29th 2008 10:16AM]

Thanks, but I replied before the corrections were made!

[XenoX101 @ Jul 29th 2008 5:27AM]

If 10 cars have been delivered and 2 of them have crashed, that means there's a 20% chance of having a crash in one of these!

(Not really, but people might presume just as well)

[Dylan @ Jul 29th 2008 5:29AM]

I never noticed how ridiculously low that thing is. It could just be the perspective, but if that thing is as low s it appears to be how the heck is it street legal? You've got a better chance of seeing a go-kart from behind your steering wheel than that thing.

[eZtipS @ Jul 29th 2008 5:54AM]

um... I think it's low cuz it's under another car.... but maybe I'm way off on this one.

[Bad Beaver @ Jul 29th 2008 6:06AM]

It's a sports car. They are low.

[KC @ Jul 29th 2008 6:11AM]

It's based on a Lotus Elise - you know, the second smallest vehicle currently for sale in North America - which is an exotic sports car. Ever seen a performance sports car that wasn't a hell of a lot lower to the ground then your average sedan?

[Rynth @ Jul 29th 2008 7:19AM]

Dude above me:

"Lotus Elise - Exotic sports car"

Exotic? It's built by a couple of hairy yorkshire men in a shed, how the hell is that exotic?

Still, they are very, very nice cars, I've had the privilege to drive on, they stick to the road like shit sticks to a blanket.

Still, exotic? Pfft.

[Richard @ Jul 29th 2008 10:57AM]

Rynth, you are an idiot.

[User @ Jul 29th 2008 12:46PM]

Rynth,

Most auto enthusiasts here would still consider Lotus as an exotic car manufacturer. Price and engine size are not requirements to make a car an exotic.

To me, what makes a car exotic is exotic performance and handling... Not whether or not the men who made it are hairy.

Call me crazy or something, but I just don't care about how beautiful the men making my cars are.

[Jeebus @ Jul 29th 2008 4:06PM]

Adjective
exotic (comparative more exotic, superlative most exotic)

1. foreign, with the connotation of excitingly foreign.
2. non-native to the eco-system

So Lotus would be considered exotic outside of Yorkshire.

[Brad @ Jul 29th 2008 8:31PM]

It's okay, you can safely presume that @Rynth is a racist, or at the very least pretty bigoted. From the few lines we've seen:

All cars in Yorkshire are made my men
All Yorkshire men are hairy
England doesn't produce "exotic" cars

Kudos to you, @Rynth! You managed to have an incredibly narrow mind conveyed in very few words. How succinct of you!

Jackass.

[Darkroom @ Jul 29th 2008 5:46AM]

cars are boring... the end!

[NsN @ Jul 29th 2008 6:21AM]

pretty much like your comments then?

[Sefs @ Jul 29th 2008 5:55AM]

What a waste...

[Timerider @ Jul 29th 2008 11:48AM]

Yeah, why do rich people suck at driving?

[User @ Jul 29th 2008 12:30PM]

They're too busy making money...

Haha

You don't have to be very rich to drive a Tesla. (It's not Phantom priced.) If you're single and work at a good job in SF/Silicon Valley, it's not difficult to buy a Roadster without leasing.

[David Smith @ Jul 29th 2008 6:04AM]

And the sign says "Long-haired freaky people need not apply"

[Artie Lange @ Jul 29th 2008 6:28AM]

Signs, signs, everywhere signs...

[Tim @ Jul 29th 2008 9:04AM]

lookin' at the scenery, wastin' my time

[vardeman62 @ Jul 29th 2008 9:31AM]

Do this, don't do that! Can't you read the signs?

[jupiterthunder @ Jul 29th 2008 11:57AM]

@Tim

lol. It's should be "Blockin' out the scenery, breaking my mind".

[OX4 @ Jul 29th 2008 6:27AM]

Except that it hit a Mercedes sedan, which is neither an SUV nor Hummer.

[jim @ Jul 29th 2008 1:00PM]

Um, that's a Volvo, not a Mercedes.

[SuperQ @ Jul 29th 2008 1:07PM]

No, it really is a merc. See the the logo on the wheel, and the shape of the tail lights.

[Harry K @ Jul 29th 2008 6:48AM]

in the world of motorcycles there is a saying "loud pipes save lives" which means the louder your exhaust sounds the more chance you have of getting noticed by a car instead of getting hit by one, maybe tesla needs to do something about this

[SirWalksAlot @ Jul 29th 2008 8:33AM]

The loud pipes are only there to compensate for driving like an ass. On a recent trip, ever motorcyclist I saw was behaving like a jerk, weaving in and out of traffic illegally without even signaling and driving down the centerline to get between cars. Yeah he had a loud exhaust. It just highlighted how much of a tool he was.

[Sebastian @ Jul 29th 2008 8:35AM]

Right and if we all take this to the extreme then all of our ears fall out. Seriously, compare the street noise of an average US city to the street noise of one of those European cities. All over sudden these "stupid" noise regulations they have there make a huge difference for all of us.

[Kaiser-Machead @ Jul 29th 2008 9:58AM]

Yeah, as if loud pipes ever stopped motorcycle accidents.