Owners of these American EVs are well documented to have a disdain for petrol, but isn’t this taking it a bit too far?
News from Taiwan has reached us that there has been an accident involving a Tesla Model 3 in a place that you wouldn’t normally see one of these EVs – a petrol station.
Thus far there has been no official news of this accident but judging by the pictures, it would seem that the black Model 3 has had a coming together with both a white Buick Excelle and a guard rail near the petrol pumps. The Buick sustained only light damage to the front what only seems like a mangled lower bumper and perhaps a slightly damaged left front fender.
The Tesla meanwhile looks to have come out of this accident in worse shape. For one, the side curtain airbags in the Model 3 have gone off, as seen on both the front and rear windows. The front end also looks to be in particularly bad shape with the entire front left fender missing.
In addition to that, the front left wheel is bent inwards, indicating that the suspension components has collapsed. The aerodynamic fairing on the wheel has also come off and ending up several feet from the Tesla, not to mention the fact that the tire has also been unseated from the rim. The passenger shell remains intact though, so there is a good chance the occupants walked away safely.
Upon closer examination, it would appear that this was not a slow speed incident. Judging by the way the guard rail has bent so much that it has caved into the petrol station pillar. And the fact that an ambulance was on the scene of the crash.
Many questions arise from this accident. The main one being why did a Tesla end up in a petrol station? Considering the fact that it was queueing at the pumps, this discounts the possibility of the owner getting something at the petrol station kiosk or using the toilet. However as mentioned prior, no official word has came from this accident, so everything thus far is just speculation.
That being said, this accident could have ended in much worse fashion than what we see in the pictures today. Having an accident which such ferocity in a place which stores vast quantities of flammable liquids could have been very bad indeed.
A fuel leak from the Buick, or an EV fire on the Tesla could reduce the petrol station, and possibly the even the surrounding area, to cinders. Thankfully though nothing of the sort happened. It just goes to show that modern safety precautions in petrol stations do work when the unexpected happens.
Still, who would have thought that a Tesla would traverse such foreign and unfamiliar lands like a petrol station?
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