Tesla Roadster versus SUV

[Rhodomel]

SUV vs Tesla
One less Tesla off the road.
I think that the Aptera would fare much better than this Tesla.

[KarenRei]

Ouch :P

The Roadster sure is a low car. Looks like the passenger compartment held up well, though. Wonder how this happened?

[mmalc]

Originally Posted by KarenRei

Wonder how this happened?

Seems it was due to a third party, not in the picture -- see Flickr.

[Ardie3301]

A sad day for the Tesla owner (and probably his insurance agent).
I hope all parties involved are safe and sound.

But I do notice a lack of poisonous battery electrolyte oozing across the highway, no deadly sparks flying, no environmental damage that electric vehicle doomsayers had been worrying about.

-- Ardie
But in this case, I think I'd still prefer to be the SUV driver than the Tesla driver.

[JimmyDreams]

I'd love to know what happened before all the "the SUV driver didn't hear the Tesla coming!" stories that are bound to start up.

Stupid $100K car driver, or Zombie, Inattentive SUV driver.....who's to blame?

[jhm614]

I'm just glad nobody was hurt. You know that we are going to see an Aptera accident picture sooner or later. At least the Aptera is enclosed.

[KarenRei]

But I do notice a lack of poisonous battery electrolyte oozing across the highway, no deadly sparks flying, no environmental damage that electric vehicle doomsayers had been worrying about.

-- Ardie
But in this case, I think I'd still prefer to be the SUV driver than the Tesla driver.

Well, the rear crumple zone and the safety cell did their job admirably. The rear crumple zone really crumpled, but looks like the windows didn't even break. And yeah, this accident probably crushed the heck out of that battery pack (in the rear, just under the PEM), but no significant problems. Well done, Tesla. Well done.

The real problem, in my highly subjective view, is just how low the Roadster is. A higher car wouldn't so readily have an SUV just drive over it. I can't imagine a scenario where an SUV would end up driving over a 2e (not involving a ramp). A 2e over another vehicle? Sure. But under?

[Ardie3301]

Originally Posted by KarenRei

<snip>

. . . I can't imagine a scenario where an SUV would end up driving over a 2e (not involving a ramp). A 2e over another vehicle? Sure. But under?

Oh, I don't know. The 2e's horizontal tail itself might end up being an excellent launching ramp if it gets rear-ended by some jacked-up 4X4.

-- Ardie.
I'll let someone else be the crash test dummy for that one.

[KarenRei]

Originally Posted by Ardie3301

Oh, I don't know. The 2e's horizontal tail itself might end up being an excellent launching ramp if it gets rear-ended by some jacked-up 4X4.

-- Ardie.
I'll let someone else be the crash test dummy for that one.

But the rear end is like 3 feet off the ground. When you say "jacked up", are you picturing monster truck? Because that's the only thing I can picture high enough to pull that off.

Okay, I just came up with a scenario that would work: a 3-car pileup. The 2e rear-ends a car and goes up and partly over it. This forces the boat tail down toward the ground. Then a jacked-up truck comes up from behind and uses the 2e like a ramp.

Implausible, of course

[Tamerlin]

Originally Posted by KarenRei

Okay, I just came up with a scenario that would work

Remember when that National Guard tank was rolling down the highway? But I guess every car would be a "low car" to a tank.