http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.engadget.com/media/2008/07/volkovteslawreck3.jpg

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 Tesla co-founder Martin Eberhard saw his car rear-end a truck while on router for delivery to Eberhard's home. While the cause of this new accident isn't official, a few eye-witnesses said that Tesla #6 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.

Soruce: http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/29/tesla-6-crash-disturbs-the-sound-of-silence/

make it an open header and call it a day.






























i kid i kid lol.

what does the car being silent have to do with the cause when the driver rear-ended someone?

"a few eye-witnesses said that Tesla #6 had gone "unnoticed" as it went "bumper-to-bumper between the cars."

Yes, I was wondering the same thing. Its not like it was invisible or even, because its an electric car, vehicles in front of it become unoticable. :confused:

airbags didnt' deploy?

FAIL

airbags didnt' deploy?

FAIL

Hey, older Honda with passenger cabin-mounted sensors and Ford airbags don't deploy in some similar situations like that either.

airbags didnt' deploy?

FAIL

the Tesla bumper didn't directly impact the other car....believe me you don't want the airbags deploying unless its mandatory! those things have an explosive charge.

Damn that's a sorry sight

airbags didnt' deploy?

FAIL

When will people learn?

If a person walks away from an accident (and in this case it seems like nobody got injured) with no injuries, or even mild-moderate injuries, then it is a good thing that the airbags didn't deploy.

An airbag isn't like a fluffy pillow, it's a very powerful thing that can cause significant injury on its own

When will people learn?

If a person walks away from an accident (and in this case it seems like nobody got injured) with no injuries, or even mild-moderate injuries, then it is a good thing that the airbags didn't deploy.

An airbag isn't like a fluffy pillow, it's a very powerful thing that can cause significant injury on its own

My brother in law had to nearly get a skin graft on his wrist because of the airbag deployment. Both his wife (My sister, their baby, and he himself walked away. In this case the airbag probably did save them from head injury, but man it sure took a chunk of skin and flesh off his wrist:eek2:

PS. That accident looks minor. I wouldn't want the airbags going off on such a minor impact either. It only looks worse since the car is so low it went under the other car, but it still looks relatively low speed too me.

My brother in law had to nearly get a skin graft on his wrist because of the airbag deployment. Both his wife (My sister, their baby, and he himself walked away. In this case the airbag probably did save them from head injury, but man it sure took a chunk of skin and flesh off his wrist:eek2:


Was he in a modern car? I heard that airbag burn isn't as much as problem with today's depowered airbags. My car is the first year that Subaru has em and I feel safer knowing that they've been slowed down.

You know it's pretty hard to tell from the picture but my guess is that this is a slow speed accident that didn't come close to the threshold for air bag deployment. With the shape of the Elise, er, Tesla, it just submarined under the Merc. I'll be you the repair bills are going to be impressive. Sort of a shame the bag didn't go off prematurely, at least that the way the idiot in the Tesla won't be the posterchild for being able to afford more car than he can drive. And that is accounting for the fact that traffic in SF on a Friday evening isn't exactly giving you the opportunity to do 0-60 in 3.9 seconds anywhere. Of course, it is SF... Wonder how fast the Merc was going when it backed into the Tesla?:D

Was he in a modern car? I heard that airbag burn isn't as much as problem with today's depowered airbags. My car is the first year that Subaru has em and I feel safer knowing that they've been slowed down.

A 2006 Honda, and the accident happened last year. Car was about 1 year old. If you ever saw what an airbag looked like its not a smooth silk cloth but rather like a burlap bag. Kind of rough. Now, this accident was a freeway accident where a car lost control and slammed into another car which then slammed and pin their car and others against the center cement divider so the airbag going off was well worth it and appreciated. My personal opinion is airbags should go off to save a life, not just to save a little bloody nose. You do want an airbag to go off when needed, but not on every accident.

Yeah, looking at this accident it doesn't look like the airbag was needed.

To be honest, when ever Im tinkering on my car Im always a little afraid when I go to start it that I've crossed a wire somewhere and the airbag is going to go off in my face. Though I know that that will probably never happen. Still, I've seen airbags deploy before. Kinda freaky.

A 2006 Honda, and the accident happened last year. Car was about 1 year old. If you ever saw what an airbag looked like its not a smooth silk cloth but rather like a burlap bag. Kind of rough. Now, this accident was a freeway accident where a car lost control and slammed into another car which then slammed and pin their car and others against the center cement divider so the airbag going off was well worth it and appreciated. My personal opinion is airbags should go off to save a life, not just to save a little bloody nose. You do want an airbag to go off when needed, but not on every accident.

Like we are slowly getting too, the total lack of skid marks from the Tesla front tires sort of indicates this wasn't exactly a life threatening situation. I guess that stopped Benz just sort of faded into the street clutter....

Battery powered or not, the safest car in the world is one that is driven competently and that accelerates, handles, and brakes well. Then you only need airbags due to the idiots in the Teslas behind you.