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Family of Five Crashes Tesla Model X on Bonneville Salt Flats, Everyone Walks Away

A strange accident happened Sunday night on the Bonneville Salt Flats. A Tesla Model X crashed at night with a whole family inside. The Salt Flats rules expressly prohibit racing during the night.
A Family of five crashes Tesla Model X on Bonneville Salt Flats during night race 7 photos
Photo: Wendover Police Department via Facebook
A Family of five crashes Tesla Model X on Bonneville Salt Flats during night raceBonneville Salt Flats International SpeedwayBonneville Salt Flats International SpeedwayTesla Model XTesla Model XA Family of five crashes Tesla Model X on Bonneville Salt Flats during night race
According to the Wendover PD, a 2022 Tesla occupied by a family of five from Utah County was traveling over 100 mph (161 kph) on the salt flats. The time of the crash was 8:48 pm, which means it was already dark when this happened. This is probably the leading cause of the car hitting an earthen berm with minimal braking. It turned out the salt flats were not that flat after all.

Fortunately, all five occupants escaped with non-life-threatening injuries from the crash. However, the same cannot be said about the Model X. The Department credited the seatbelts and the airbags for reducing the injuries. It’s unclear why someone would take their whole family in the car during a dangerous attempt. Doing a speed run at night is already a bad idea in itself.

The Bonneville Salt Flats is an area about 12 miles long and 5 miles wide, covered in what’s mostly sodium chloride or table salt. The area is generally open to the public for recreational purposes, like land speed racing, running races, and other recreational activities. You need a special permit from the BLM Salt Lake Field Office to access the flat salts, and we have no idea if the family in the Model X had one when they crashed.

Driving on Bonneville Salt Flats is generally not advised when wet for fear of damaging the delicate salt layer. That’s also dangerous, according to the BLM website, which says that “driving on the salt flats at night or when they are wet from precipitation can be hazardous and result in your vehicle getting stuck in the mud.” If you look at the pictures, it appears that this was the leading cause of the crash.

According to the same source, the salt flats saw a significant flooding event in August due to a large amount of rainfall. This led to the cancellation of Speed Week (August 6-12) and subsequent Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials between August 27 and September 1. As you can see, there were several good reasons why the Tesla Model X was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

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About the author: Cristian Agatie
Cristian Agatie profile photo

After his childhood dream of becoming a "tractor operator" didn't pan out, Cristian turned to journalism, first in print and later moving to online media. His top interests are electric vehicles and new energy solutions.
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