TeslaCam footage shows a wrong-way Honda forcing the driver of the new Tesla to swerve right and sideswipe a semi-truck.
February 25, 2023 at 4:01 p.m. ET
Taking delivery of a new car is probably the most exciting part of owning a car, but for this owner the day he picked up his new Tesla Model S turned into a nightmare very quickly.
Jeremaine received the car at 9:30 a.m. and just three hours later, his Model S was totaled in a collision that was captured by the vehicle’s TeslaCam system.
After picking up the car in Pennsylvania, the happy Model S owner drove it down the highway to Shreveport, Louisiana. He chose to take that road trip with his new car instead of paying $1,400 in shipping fees, but he would end up regretting that decision just a few hours later.
As the video captured by the car’s cameras shows, everything was going great until a wrong-way driver appeared out of nowhere in front of the Tesla. Surprisingly, the older Honda Accord made no effort to avoid the devastating impact, so the Tesla Model S owner immediately steered into the right lane.
Unfortunately, he side-swiped the front wheel of a UPS semi-truck in the process. As a result, the Tesla was thrown into the road barrier before being crushed by the truck.
The accident happened at 12.20pm, meaning Jeremaine got to enjoy driving his new car for less than three hours before it was totaled. Fortunately, the Tesla Model S protected his life despite the serious accident.
The entire front end, including the frunk, was ripped off the Tesla, the tires were ripped from the wheels, and all the airbags deployed.
According to the people of the Wham Baam Teslacam channel, which shared footage of the crash on YouTube, Jeremaine will likely buy another Tesla once his insurance claim is settled. We see no reason why it wouldn’t, as the Model S once again proved its crashworthiness in this crash.
Could this accident have been avoided by Jeremaine, though? Well, some of the commenters argue that it was a little too close to the trailer in front. While increasing following distance is always a good idea at high speeds and can help prevent accidents, the truth is that no one expects a wrong-way driver to appear in front of them on the freeway.
