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Tesla Model S Falls off a Cliff in Puerto Rico, Driver Walks Away With Just a Scratch

Say what you will about Tesla, but they make seriously safe cars. This is true both in terms of active safety (obviously, with all that technology on board), but also in terms of passive safety. The latter is represented by the likes of crumple zones, seatbelt mechanisms, airbags and so on.
Tesla Model S falls off a cliff 7 photos
Photo: Elias Sobrino Najul / Twitter
Tesla Model S falls off a cliffTesla Model S falls off a cliffTesla Model S falls off a cliffTesla Model S falls off a cliffTesla Model S falls off a cliffTesla Model S falls off a cliff
Having a vehicle that excels at passive safety will save your life to a greater extent than one that’s equipped with all possible automatic bells and whistles. In other words, once an impact becomes unavoidable, that’s where passive tech comes in and this incident from Puerto Rico is a perfect example of such a scenario.

According to Teslarati, the crash took place last Wednesday and it involved a Tesla Model S that managed to drive off a cliff. At this point, we can’t be sure exactly why that happened, whether there was an issue with the Autopilot system or whether it was a driver error. It makes little sense to speculate right now.

What we can tell you is that despite taking a substantial tumble, the driver of this Model S managed to walk away with barely a scratch. Literally, a scratch on his arm. That’s it.

If you’re wondering how that may be possible, well, it’s because the Model S, like all Teslas, is a really tough cookie. Since the Model S is fully electric, the lack of an internal combustion engine has led to more substantial crumple zones, which is key to safety. Furthermore, the battery pack makes the car heavier, thus increasing overall mass, which is also very important in a crash – as is the low center of gravity.

We should point out that while these images, courtesy of Elias Sobrino Najul, indicate a car that’s been obliterated, we believe the pics were taken after emergency responders had already taken various parts off the Model S.
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About the author: Sergiu Tudose
Sergiu Tudose profile photo

Sergiu got to experience both American and European car "scenes" at an early age (his father drove a Ford Fiesta XR2 supermini in the 80s). After spending over 15 years at local and international auto publications, he's starting to appreciate comfort behind the wheel more than raw power and acceleration.
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