Tesla Appears To Malfunction After Collision With A Jeep

Image via News 3 Las Vegas/YouTube

Onboard footage from a Tesla which shows a Jeep Wrangler slam into it head-on has gone viral on social media. That’s because after the collision, the EV takes off with the driver saying it must have malfunctioned, veering onto both shoulders of the road as the driver desperately tried stopping it.

This is why you shouldn’t tailgate someone.

We’ve never seen a Tesla do something like that, so we’re not quite sure what to make of it. Radu Stefan and his wife decided on Sunday, July 7 to go for a leisurely drive through Mount Charleston outside of Las Vegas, Nevada when the serenity was shattered by the crash.

You can see from the Tesla’s recording the Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon comes flying around a turn, the woman at the wheel unable to keep the rig in its lane. The Jeep slams head-on with the Tesla that’s stopped and waiting to turn at the T-intersection.

But what happens next is an even bigger surprise. The Tesla suddenly accelerates, hitting the Jeep, then turning left. The EV runs off the right shoulder briefly, then veers toward the left shoulder. Stefan claims the car just started driving itself erratically as he pumped the brakes, desperately trying to stop it.

By the time he regained control and reversed to the crash scene, Stefan found the Jeep Wrangler was long gone.

He showed News 3 Las Vegas the front end of his Tesla, which is crumpled. Is it possible with the sensors in the front so damaged, the EV couldn’t properly drive itself afterward?

Some have questioned if this wasn’t a matter of user error, that Stefan panicked and later blamed the erratic driving on the Tesla. But he told the reporter he doesn’t have Full Self-Driving on the vehicle. We couldn’t say for sure what happened.

Nevada State Police have been investigating the crash, including looking for the people in the Jeep. Maybe they will eventually come to some hard conclusions about what happened.

Image via News 3 Las Vegas/YouTube

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By Steven Symes

Steven Symes is an accomplished automotive journalist with a passion for all things related to cars. His extensive knowledge and love for the automotive world shine through in his writing, which covers a diverse range of topics.