Felt like a hard enough hit that my car was totaled

[tga]

These? http://insideevs.com/tesla-model-s-rear-ended-big-rig/

And from that page is a link to the thread here on TMC:

And the day was going so well...

 

[galangg]

Ouch, glad you are ok.

 

[Haggy]

There was a guy around these parts last year who got smashed into the rear by a 17 wheeler semi. The guy was able to drive the Tesla home. The 17 wheeler was disabled and had to get towed. No joke. There's pics on these forums of it. To say the car can take a hit from the rear is an understatement. It definitely speaks to the level of safely engineering put into the car by the genius' over at Tesla.

I was rear ended by an 18 wheeler back in 2001. I'm still in pain. Obviously it wasn't in a Tesla, but it did total my former minivan. It didn't damage the Mack truck. The MS has 500 pounds over the minivan. I can't say what would have happened, but I'm sure I would have survived and possibly come out better. My wife was in the vehicle with me. Fortunately the kids were not. Had Tesla been around, they would have been in the rear facing seats.

 

[yobigd20]

Had Tesla been around, they would have been in the rear facing seats.

It is for this reason that despite Tesla's accomplishments/safety awards, I would still never put my children in rear facing seats, EVER. The risk is just not worth it.

 

[walla2]

The rear facing seat is supposedly the safest location in a car with the boron steel additions so you are actually doing worse in the middle seat for your kids.

 

[GuyHall]

Here is a photo of the rear. On close examination you can see some bent trim and scrapes. Initial estimated repair $2500.

 

[dsm363]

That's amazing. You could even miss that damage just walking by the car. Glad everyone is ok and that the damage is minor.

 

[hiphenry]

Better clean up the lens of your camera and retake that photo :tongue: .... Must be only scratches on your lens! That is almost impossible to believe. I will feel very safe putting my kids in the rear jump seats.

 

[Skjervesbu]

anthony - is that a Corolla on your picture? For comparison I have almost the exact same pictures from my BMW (sorry about the poor picture quality):

Probably have to state I'm not a hater (P85D ordered) but the pictures shows ORDINARY behaviour even for this old car. Based on the Corolla comparison my impact seems at least as hard as anthony's. No neck problems, Bimmer repair was ~$13K vs. anthony's $28K.

- These cars outweight the Corolla's at least 2:1, and the lighter car takes most of the deformation.
- The repair cost is easily underestimated. The plastic bends beck in place, but the structure is damaged.
- Is there a standard for bumper height? The truck in "The day was going so well" clearly hits above the Tesla's bumper and enters the trunk, but the Corolla (if correct) seems to go underneath?

By the way, Corollas should be banned.