Not good: Tesla Roadster, Toyota Prius and VW Touareg meet with disastrous results
Posted Oct 23rd 2009 2:56PM by Sebastian Blanco
Ouch.
A three-way crash between a Tesla Roadtser, Toyota Prius and a VW Touareg didn't leave a pretty scene behind, but it appears that at least the Tesla driver walked away with only minor bruises. We don't know what happened to the occupants of the other vehicles. According to Autopia, it seems that the Roadster was allegedly stopped when the Prius hit it from behind – going about 50 mph – and pushed the Tesla under the SUV (note the piece of the EV in the VW's rear end). We'll just say it again: Ouch.
UPDATE: More from Autopia.
[Source: Autopia]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Joe 3:02PM (10/23/2009)
And then the Scary lithium batteries all exploded and blew up and entire city block!
Wait, you mean that didn't happen? But I heard lithium batteries are super dangerous!
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Billiam 3:10PM (10/23/2009)
Roadsters are doing great in crashes so far! A handful of them have been in pretty serious wrecks, with no injuries. One rolled near France at ~100 mph after the drive lost control in the rain and I think the result was a sprained or maybe broken wrist (didn't hear anything confirming exactly).
These are safe cars. And there are LOTS of safety features for the battery pack!
Jared 9:53AM (10/26/2009)
The Tesla is a safe car because it's a Lotus design chassis. Simple as that. Hold your comments about the other two cars until you hear what happened bout the drivers.
Nozferat 6:44PM (10/26/2009)
What's your point? Do all car crashes end in fuel tanks exploding genius?
Uhhhh....uhhhhh...wait for it....uhhhhh...NO.
Joe 6:47PM (10/26/2009)
Apparently comments drenched in sarcasm are lost on you.
Nozferat 2:58AM (10/27/2009)
I know exactly what you meant....I just wanted to point out stupid it is to point out how unsafe are fuels are when they are just as safe as batteries.
Joe 9:22AM (10/27/2009)
...yeah.... You still don't get it.
Lithium batteries (without safety features) are notorious for exploding when either overcharged or damaged. A lot of people think that electric cars like the Tesla are dangerous because of it, and this one took a Prius right into the battery pack. And it didn't explode! Obviously, the pack worked as designed and contained any cells that may have gone bad inside the pack.
Get it now? I've explained it beyond the point of being funny.
Nozferat 9:12PM (11/02/2009)
Tell me something new genius...AGAIN...how many cars do you see in accidents that simply explode?
Let me know when you get it....
Joe 10:19PM (11/02/2009)
Ok, let me try this one last time. This is what happens to lithium battery when physically damaged without any safety measures in place.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fG_UuPmLO1c
The Tesla Roadster is full of them, and yet, that didn't happen in this accident because there are safety measures in place to prevent it. However, people who don't understand that the Tesla pack is safe think that the vehicle would be dangerous and possibly explode in the event of a collision. Hence, my post.
I was at no point referring to fuel of any kind. Nor do I think that all car accidents end in explosions.
Brett 3:07PM (10/23/2009)
1) First we should be happy no serious injuries. That being said- it's kind of cool that we are at the point where a 50mpg hybrid can be in an accident with an EV that has a 220 mile range.
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Joey Mazz 2:11AM (10/27/2009)
I think its great that we live in an age where an electric car and a hybrid can slam into each other while a mostly undamanged suv sits on top of them. Note to self... buy a Touareg, preferably a TDI.
Oliver Burke 9:06PM (10/29/2009)
Well said, Brett!! in both regards: you "checked" on the people first...
then the cool comment about the advance of less polluting hi-tech vehicles.
I concur, my brother, and "+"ed your comment!!
Laurens 3:08PM (10/23/2009)
Excellent towing vehicle, a Touareg. Who did the fotoshop ;-)
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GoodCheer 7:53PM (10/23/2009)
Hey Laurens
How would define internet troll?
ZEVstar 3:12PM (10/23/2009)
That must have been the most energy efficient pile up in the history of the automobile...
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meme 3:35PM (10/23/2009)
That Prius driver must be kicking themselves so hard. "Congratulations! You utterly destroyed one of the few highway speed electric cars on the road, as well as your own Prius, and have ensured that insurance will never be affordable for you again!"
As for the wreck itself, looks like the Roadster did everything it was supposed to do: the crush zones crushed and the passenger compartment looks remarkably intact -- even the windshield appears unbroken. That said, the real problem with the Roadster is that it's just so darned low to the ground -- hence it goes under cars instead of just crumpling. This sort of accident shouldn't be able to happen to my (upcoming) Aptera,
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Boyprodigy1 4:47PM (10/23/2009)
Even going under a vehicle the guy only had minor bruises. I'd say success. Too bad i had to see a picture of so much smashed up green. It makes me a little sad actually.
Ignatius 10:49PM (10/23/2009)
If you look closely at the windshield, it's fairly blurry, which means it probably was smashed, but not broken to the point of falling out of the frame.
Tush 3:36PM (10/23/2009)
I think the Prius and Toureg were so jealous they decided to take out the Roadster.
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Derek Jones 3:44PM (10/23/2009)
50 mph into the back of a parked Tesla.... OK I can understand that part. The car's very low, could have been a log.... But there was a Toureg parked in front of the Tesla! Someone flew past the airport on this one....
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