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The First Person Ever To Die In a Tesla Is a Guy Who Stole One

mrspoonsi sends this news from The Verge: Elon Musk can no longer say that no one's ever died in a Tesla automobile crash. But few people will be pointing fingers at the electric car maker for this senseless tragedy. Earlier this month, 26-year-old Joshua Slot managed to successfully ride off with a Model S he'd stolen from a Tesla service center in Los Angeles, but police quickly spotted the luxury vehicle and gave chase. According to Park Labrea News, the high-speed pursuit was eventually called off after officers were involved in a fender bender of their own, leaving the police department strained for resources and without any feasible way of catching up to Slot. Reports claim he was traveling at speeds of "nearly 100 mph," but losing the police tail apparently didn't convince Slot to hit the brakes. Instead he sped on, eventually colliding with three other vehicles and a pair of street poles. The final impact was severe enough to "split the Tesla in half" and eject Slot from the car's remains. The Tesla's front section wound up in the middle of the road and caught fire. Its rear portion flew through the air with such force that it slammed into the side of a local Jewish community center and became wedged there.

39 of 443 comments (clear)

  1. Died Outside a Tesla by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Considering he was thrown from the vehicle (likely from not wearing a seatbelt) I'm not sure you could say he died 'in' a Tesla.

    1. Re:Died Outside a Tesla by Jarik+C-Bol · · Score: 5, Funny

      Died "near" a Tesla.

      --
      I've decided to Diversify my Holdings. I've divided my cash between my left and right pockets, instead of all in one.
    2. Re:Died Outside a Tesla by Gr33nJ3ll0 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Wouldn't this apply to all Tesla owners?

    3. Re:Died Outside a Tesla by CanHasDIY · · Score: 5, Funny

      Lol, you are technically correct.

      The best kind of correct.

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    4. Re:Died Outside a Tesla by mythosaz · · Score: 5, Funny

      As there have only been 100 billion humans ever on the planet, 7% of us are still alive, making being human only 93% lethal.

      I suspect the number of Tesla owners versus dead Tesla owners demonstrates them to be nearly immortal.

    5. Re: Died Outside a Tesla by Austerity+Empowers · · Score: 4, Funny

      So Tesla's anti-theft system is 100% lethal?

    6. Re:Died Outside a Tesla by sneakyimp · · Score: 3, Funny

      Yeah! Just more proof that electric cars will never catch on in the United States.

  2. Thrown from the vehicle by Megahard · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So, assuming he wasn't already dead, technically he didn't die in the Tesla.

    --
    I eat only the real part of complex carbohydrates.
    1. Re:Thrown from the vehicle by timrod · · Score: 5, Informative

      He didn't die in the car itself, but he died of injuries sustained from the car crash. The summary makes this distinction by saying "in a Tesla automobile crash", but the article itself does not.

    2. Re:Thrown from the vehicle by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      Loking at those pictures, while bad it was probably survivable if he had been wearing a seat belt. It was being ejected that killed him.

    3. Re:Thrown from the vehicle by Nonac · · Score: 5, Funny

      There have been two deaths resulting from a Tesla crash.

    4. Re:Thrown from the vehicle by beelsebob · · Score: 4, Informative

      Incorrect, in modern F1, it's virtually unheard of for the monocoque (the footwell, plus the rest of the area the driver sits in) to be compromise in any way. This includes head on into the barriers at 200mph type crashes. At the British grand prix last week, Kimi Raikkonen walked (with a sore ankle) out of a 47g impact. The monocoque was perfectly in tact.

    5. Re:Thrown from the vehicle by marciot · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Loking at those pictures, while bad it was probably survivable if he had been wearing a seat belt. It was being ejected that killed him.

      It was the sudden stop after being ejected that killed him.

  3. another tesla fire by Noah+Haders · · Score: 5, Funny

    from summary: The Tesla's front section wound up in the middle of the road and caught fire.

    Yup, another tesla fire.

    1. Re:another tesla fire by neminem · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You're saying Michael Bay's engineering team designs ways for cars to *not* catch on fire? I would think rather the exact opposite would be true.

  4. Re:Why is this news? by aevan · · Score: 4, Informative

    Three cars, two poles, a building, 100mph..and even then, died later?
    *amused* give some credit to the Tesla for him lasting that long

  5. Great Story! by rullywowr · · Score: 5, Funny

    Well, that was an electrifying story! I really got a charge out of it.

  6. Hi speed chase, hum? by Koyaanisqatsi · · Score: 3, Insightful

    So, in who's interest is it that the police perform these "for show" stunts?

    Wouldn't it be much better to deploy a helicopter, drone or other means of tracking the car from a distance, and not risk killing several bystanders in a crash? This time only the bad guy died, but even him did not deserve capital punishment for a car jack ...

    1. Re:Hi speed chase, hum? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      When the police called off the chase (for other reasons) and he kept going at 100+mph, there's no "punishment" involved, let alone capital punishment. This is a Darwin Award pure and simple, pure suicide-by-stupid.

      I do agree that police chases are a spectacle who's time has long-sinced passed, but you mention drones as a means of tracking them, and they're now "teh new evil" no matter what purpose they're put to by authorities, so until the country gets a little less schizophrenic I don't see that changing.

    2. Re:Hi speed chase, hum? by ClioCJS · · Score: 3, Insightful

      And that is a mechanism making it okay for innocent people to die because _______________?

      --
      -Clio
      Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
      Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com
    3. Re:Hi speed chase, hum? by tipo159 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Did you read article? The police had given up on the chase before the guy crashed the Tesla that the final time.

      According to the source, "the pursuit was terminated because there wasn’t enough time or police resources in the area to catch up with the vehicle." It didn't help that the pursuing officers were involved with a minor collision of their own.

    4. Re:Hi speed chase, hum? by jeffb+(2.718) · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Having had the experience of having my own performance car stolen temporarily, and damaging it to the extent of needing a new engine and reupholstering, at the time I felt capital punishment is not enough.

      You may think this is a little severe, but people who are into cars feel they have had part of their soul ripped out of them if it is stolen and trashed, especially if it is their personal hobby and they are doing it at the limits of their budget.

      I understand that many people attach a lot of their self-image to their vehicles, and devote disproportionate time, attention, and money to them. That doesn't mean that their priorities should be encoded into law.

      Your hobby is not more important to society in general than human life. Yes, it may be more important to you than some other person's life. Laws exist partly to mediate between people's conflicting self-interest.

    5. Re:Hi speed chase, hum? by gman003 · · Score: 5, Informative

      Minor collision? The BusinessInsider source claims the pursuing officers had to be hospitalized. That doesn't sound "minor" to me.

      And they only broke off pursuit when it became impossible for them to continue, not when it became unsafe. Many police departments now have a policy of not performing chases for non-violent crimes because, statistically, you're more likely to kill bystanders by chasing than by letting the criminal drive off.

    6. Re:Hi speed chase, hum? by suutar · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Unless I'm misreading it badly, he's not trying to justify the death penalty for carjacking; he's explaining why he wouldn't mourn for a carjacker. And I bet the typical just-robbed homeowner would agree.

  7. Unsafe at any speed (above 100 MPH)... by Rone · · Score: 5, Funny

    So at times the Tesla was being driven at speeds up to 100 MPH, collided with three cars and two utility poles along the way, and eventually suffered an impact that split the car in two, immolating the front half and embedding the back half within a nearby building.

    Can't people see how dangerous and unsafe these vehicles are?!?

    If something as trivial as multiple high-speed impacts can lead to driver fatality, imagine what could happen in a REALLY serious accident!

    1. Re:Unsafe at any speed (above 100 MPH)... by Xylaan · · Score: 4, Informative
      Actually, since energy goes up at the square of velocity, a jump from 100 to 70 is double the impact energy.

      Also, getting your car ripped in half after hitting a pole apparently is "normal", in that it happens to many cars. https://www.google.com/search?... It's unfortunate, but physics isn't your friend in situations like this.

    2. Re:Unsafe at any speed (above 100 MPH)... by AnOnyxMouseCoward · · Score: 5, Informative

      Look, pretty much all cars split in half when they hit a pole at 100 MPH.

      http://articles.latimes.com/20...
      http://www.autoevolution.com/n...
      http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news...

      How much are you betting that in that last article, the driver of the Maxima wasn't driving 100 MPH? Most highway limits are 65 MPH, you're talking 50% faster, which is perhaps not a "huge difference" but it's not negligible. It also doesn't matter if the car splits in half, as long as the driver is protected within the cage (look at how F1 cars crumple when they crash, without a pole, but protect the driver). What matters more is someone probably not wearing a seat belt...

    3. Re:Unsafe at any speed (above 100 MPH)... by Above · · Score: 3, Informative

      I think I can help you out.

      It's actually a rather common, and well studied occurrence. For instance here's a 70 MPH into a tree car split in half. Many cars have had extremely weak side impact designs for years. It's also one of the hardest things to protect against since there is no crumple zone on the side to absorb energy, unlike the front and back.

      I bet across the country there are multiple cars split in half every single day, many from hitting narrow objects like light poles at relatively modest speeds, like 45MPH.

    4. Re:Unsafe at any speed (above 100 MPH)... by marcosdumay · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You're not talking a huge difference in speed at that point...

      Are you aware that the kinetic energy is proportional to the SQUARE of the speed, right? There is a huge difference in safety - much bigger than between 40MPH and 70MPH.

  8. Re:Ejected from car -- seatbelt? by Dins · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...be sure you buckle up! You can't expect Elon Musk to do it for you.

    Don't give anybody any ideas!

  9. Died Outside a Tesla by slashdice · · Score: 5, Funny

    I guess they can also charge him with "leaving the scene of a crime"

    --
    Copyright (c) 1990 - 2014 Dice. All rights reserved. Use of this comment is subject to certain Terms and Conditions.
  10. Anyone who thinks by future+assassin · · Score: 4, Insightful

    or tries to blame this on the Tesla car killing someone in a 100MPH accident and not the car thief's actions, is a straight up retard

    I have no illusions about Musk doing this to get richer but so far his shown that being a psychopath is not a requirement to being a CEO who might actually like to see the world change for better and move humanity forward.

    --
    by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
  11. The victims by wonderboss · · Score: 3, Informative

    "Sgt. Chris Tatar, with the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station, said five people in the three vehicles that were struck by the Tesla sustained “varying degrees of injury.” They were hospitalized, and had been released as of Monday, he added."

    --
    more cowbell
  12. Wow! by Hamsterdan · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I'm amazed at how the safety cage is still there, pretty much undamaged, even if the car was split in half...

    Looking at the pictures from TFA, looks like he would still be alive if not ejected from the car (if he could've gotten out before it caught fire)

    No wonder NHTSA broke their machine while testing roof resistance

    http://www.roadandtrack.com/go...

    --
    I've got better things to do tonight than die.
  13. Re:Jews? by Vinegar+Joe · · Score: 4, Funny

    Or Israel will retaliate by bombing Los Angeles.

    I'm trying to see the downside.

    --
    "The average reporter we talk to is 27 years old......They literally know nothing." - Ben Rhodes
  14. Re:Why is this news? by gstoddart · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Cyclists ARE a menace, to themselves.

    I recently saw a cyclist come from the sidewalk on my right, cross an intersection diagonally across me (between two left-turning lanes of north/south traffic), get back up onto the sidewalk, and then later get into the bike lane going the wrong way, at an alarming speed.

    As a motorist and a cyclist, I was completely stunned. It's cyclists like that why motorists hate cyclists.

    Nobody can avoid killing you if you don't even pretend to follow the rules of traffic. But many many drivers forget that they are required by law to not run over cyclists, even if they are inconvenient.

    I have seen more cyclists do ridiculous things than I could count. I give them a wide berth, but, I have to admit, some of them seem like they're trying to get killed.

    Likewise, a lot of drivers more or less don't give a damn and will practically run them over, or off the road, or door them. Sometimes buses don't even obey bike lanes.

    I won't ride a bicycle on city streets anymore.

    --
    Lost at C:>. Found at C.
  15. Re: Jews? by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 3, Informative

    Technically, Arab insurgents in the area are *all* civilians, aren't they? It's not like they're a part of some nation's army.

    --
    Ezekiel 23:20
  16. Re:Why is this news? by tepples · · Score: 4, Informative

    Nobody can avoid killing you if you don't even pretend to follow the rules of traffic.

    I'm a cyclist, and I follow the rules of traffic to the extent that I can. But the metal rims of my bicycle don't have enough surface area to consistently trigger the vehicle-sensing induction loops at intersections. At some intersections in my home town, I've seen even a bicycle and a motorcycle put together fail to trip it. So in the 35 states that haven't passed dead red laws, I don't understand how to follow the law against crossing the street at a red light, other than by not traveling at all.

  17. Re:Why is this news? by Anguirel · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Likewise, a lot of drivers more or less don't give a damn and will practically run them over, or off the road, or door them.

    Or do give a damn and do those things on purpose. Or will throw things at them. I've only had one or two cases in several years of daily commute cycling where I suspect a driver was maliciously trying to edge me off a road, but in some regions its apparently a frequent hazard, and if anyone brings it up, a lot of victim-blaming happens (e.g. cites story of a time they saw a crazy cyclist similar to yours, then claims the person being harassed by a motorist was probably doing something similarly bad, or attempts to charge the guy for inciting the incident in some fashion (see previous link)).

    I try to call out cyclists behaving badly, but I find it isn't all that common. When I'm out and about I notice a lot of cyclists behaving perfectly well -- it's just that the odd one or two that don't are the ones that stick out and you notice. The same is true of any vehicle operator -- it's just that people have gotten so used to seeing several dozen traffic violations every day (e.g. failing to signal, running red lights or stop signs, improper turns, failing to leave appropriate space, various parking offenses) without even touching speeding (which would bring it up to likely some 95% of the traffic on the road -- people failing to exceed the speed limit are more likely to be noticed and considered out of place than people speeding). That one cyclist being crazy (and I agree they exist -- I've seen some pretty egregious cycling behavior before) sticks out more since cyclists in general are more rare, but I suspect fewer cyclists in total behave badly with regard to traffic safety (probably because of the inherent additional danger to cycling).

    --
    ~Anguirel (lit. Living Star-Iron)
    QA: The art of telling someone that their baby is ugly without getting punched.