In Napa, California, a Tesla Model 3 owner and his kid were being driven when they were struck by a pickup vehicle. The truck driver ran a stop sign when they were in a residential area, t-boning the Tesla at the driver’s side door.
If you’ve ever experienced a situation like this, you’re definitely aware of how challenging it may be to identify who was at fault. Regrettably, the pickup truck driver lied to the authorities and the Tesla Model 3 seemed to be totalled.
The New Lie-Detector: Teslacam
Although the police may not always be able to determine exactly what occurred, your insurance company may hold you partially or even entirely accountable based on the lies of another driver. Thankfully, Tesla owners may have video evidence to present to the authorities and their insurance companies because every new Tesla comes equipped with a dashcam (TeslaCam).
In this accident, the Model 3 was slammed into two distinct utility poles by the pickup truck. One of the utility poles is snapped off and pushed into the air and away from the car, as shown in the video clip. The Tesla’s driver and his son had to exit the vehicle through the window. The pickup truck’s front end has sustained significant damage as well.
The incident was caught by an Autopilot camera, which is not generally used for the TeslaCam feature, and the collision damaged some of the car’s cameras. So, the Model 3 owner had to ask Tesla for video of the collision. He received the video from Tesla, which demonstrated the truck driver had lied to the police.
According to reports, the Tesla driver “took him out,” as the pickup truck driver allegedly informed the authorities. The truck driver failed to even ask the Tesla owner and his son if they were okay as onlookers tried to calm him down. He had no idea that everything was being captured on camera.
The owner of the Model 3 and his son were fortunately unharmed. The cops took the Tesla owner’s side after viewing the video and realizing the pickup truck driver was lying.