Lifestyle
Tesla shows proactive approach to passengers’ safety after Model 3 accident
Vancouver resident Peter Levey and his wife waited more than two years for their Long Range RWD Tesla Model 3. As part of their celebration for the new electric car, the couple embarked on what was supposed to be a multi-day road trip heading south to San Diego and back. Levey notes that the trip was two years in the making, and he and his wife were looking forward to it.
The first days of the road trip were everything that Peter and his spouse expected, plus more. On the first day of the trip, the couple headed to Portland, clocking in 322.3 miles on the road but only using 68 kWh of their vehicle’s 75 kWh battery, even with the A/C on during the entire trip. Unfortunately for Peter, the trip was unceremoniously cut short when a 4-door Dodge slammed into the back of their Model 3 at the intersection of Coastal Hwy 101 and Matlock Way in Oregon. The impact was notable, causing the Model 3 to get shoved 15-20 ft forward.
Authorities later informed Peter that the Dodge was likely traveling more than 40 mph when it collided with the electric sedan. The gas-powered car was significantly damaged, completely smashing its front end. Its hood was also bent at an inverted V, and its radiator was hanging out. The Model 3 showed far less damage. Multiple panels were dented, but apart from a couple of broken lights at the rear, the structural integrity of the vehicle was not compromised in any way. Peter noted in a video of the incident he uploaded on his model3man YouTube channel that even the contents of the Model 3’s trunk were unharmed by the collision.
Similar to other stories of Teslas involved in accidents, Peter’s Model 3 protected him and his wife well. They both escaped injury, and they were able to walk away from the crash without any problems. Inasmuch as this is impressive, Peter notes that what really struck him was how Tesla proactively reached out to him after the accident. For Peter, it was this approach to safety that truly made him believe how serious the company is about improving its cars and keeping its passengers secure.
“I have to say two things, and they are both about Tesla, the company, and their response to us. About a minute and a half to two minutes after the time of impact, my cellphone rang, and I looked at it, and I didn’t recognize the number — it was a 1-877. It turned out to be Tesla Roadside Assistance, and their first question was ‘Our computers show that you suffered a major impact. Are you guys okay? Were you in an accident?’ and I cannot tell you how comforting that was.
“It was just amazing. There we were — we felt alone, we felt isolated, we didn’t feel like talking to the guy behind us for obvious reasons, and there comes a call, and it’s from your car company. So we were incredibly impressed by that. And later in the afternoon, and later in the evening, Tesla Roadside Assistance worked diligently with us to try and get the car into Towing Mode, to give us everything we could try. It was most impressive.”
Tesla Roadside Assistance’s proactive response to the accident is just half of the story. A day after, Peter received yet another call from Tesla. This time, the call was from Tesla’s head of safety engineering, who asked if he and his wife were doing alright, and if he had any suggestions on how to improve the Model 3’s safety systems even more.
“The next day, when I got home from Vancouver, I got another call from the head of safety engineering, and he wanted to find out how we were. He also wanted to find out ‘What can we do to make this car safer? What can we do to give an even greater measure of safety to the occupants?’ and that was mind-blowing. I’ve never had that from any car company, and I understand why people now say the Tesla Model S, Model X, and Model 3 are the safest cars on the road.”
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- Damages incurred by a Model 3 after a rear-end collision. [Credit: Peter Levey/YouTube]
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- Damages incurred by a Model 3 after a rear-end collision. [Credit: Peter Levey/YouTube]
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- Damages incurred by a Model 3 after a rear-end collision. [Credit: Peter Levey/YouTube]
Damages incurred by Peter Levey’s Tesla Model 3 after a rear-end collision. [Credit: model3man/YouTube]
Peter’s Model 3, whom he christened as “Red Dragon,” is currently in a Tesla-approved body shop to see if the vehicle could still be repaired. In a phone conversation with Teslarati, Peter stated that he hopes the wait for his vehicle’s repair (if it is indeed repairable) would not be too long. But even if it does take some time, he lightheartedly noted that he has a considerable amount of experience when it comes to waiting for his Model 3. Ultimately, Peter stated that he is sharing his experience not only to highlight the safety of Tesla’s vehicles. It is also about iterating how Tesla’s proactive response to its customers makes them a unique company that is both innovative and still incredibly emphatic.
“That kind of response inspires confidence among customers. They don’t abandon them when accidents happen,” he said.
Just like the Model S and Model X, the Model 3’s all-electric design does not feature a front-mounted gas-powered engine and a rear-mounted gas tank, which are found on conventional gasoline vehicles. The absence of the engine and gas tank acts as an extra large crumple zone that is capable of absorbing energy during high-speed collisions for. Apart from the ultra-high-strength steel and aluminum used for Model 3’s body structure, its floor-mounted battery pack provides further structural rigidity to the electric car. Earlier this year, the Model 3 was given a “Superior” front crash avoidance rating by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which also praised the vehicle for its Forward Collision Warning and auto brake system.
Watch Peter’s YouTube video of his Model 3’s accident below.
Elon Musk
Trump’s invite for Elon just reshuffled Tesla’s big Signature Delivery Event
Tesla rescheduled its final Model S farewell to May 20 after Musk joined Trump in China.
Tesla has rescheduled its Model S and Model X Signature Edition delivery event to Wednesday, May 20, 2026, after abruptly calling off the original May 12 celebration. The event will take place at Tesla’s factory at 45500 Fremont Boulevard in Fremont, California, the same location where the Model S first rolled off the line in 2012. Invitees received a follow-up email asking them to reconfirm attendance and download a new QR code ticket, with Tesla noting that all travel and accommodation expenses remain the buyer’s responsibility.
The reason behind the original cancellation came into focus the same day it was announced. President Trump invited Elon Musk, Apple’s Tim Cook, BlackRock’s Larry Fink, Boeing’s Kelly Ortberg, and executives from Goldman Sachs, Blackstone, Citigroup, and Meta to join his trip to China this week for a summit with President Xi Jinping. The agenda covers trade, artificial intelligence, export controls, Taiwan, and the Iran war, following weeks of escalating friction between Washington and Beijing over AI technology, sanctions, and rare earth exports. Trump wrote on Truth Social, “I am very much looking forward to my trip to China, an amazing Country, with a Leader, President Xi, respected by all.”
Tesla launches 200mph Model S “Gold” Signature in invite-only purchase
The vehicles at the center of all this are the last Model S and Model X units Tesla will ever build. Priced at $159,420 each, the 250 Model S and 100 Model X Signature Edition units come finished in Garnet Red with a one-year no-resale agreement, giving Tesla right of first refusal if the owner decides to sell. As Teslarati reported, the Model S defined Tesla’s early identity as a serious luxury automaker, and the Fremont factory line that built it is now being converted to manufacture Optimus humanoid robots.
Musk’s inclusion in the China delegation drew attention given his very public relationship with Trump, and the invitation signals the two have moved past and past grievances. Trump originally brought Musk on to lead the Department of Government Efficiency following his inauguration, and despite a sharp public dispute in mid-2025, the two have appeared together repeatedly in recent months. A seat on the China trip, the most diplomatically consequential visit of Trump’s current term, puts Musk back at the table on U.S. economic policy at a moment when Tesla’s China revenue remains one of the company’s most important financial pillars.
Lifestyle
Tesla Semi hauls fresh Cybercab batch as Robotaxi era takes hold
A Tesla Semi was filmed hauling Cybercab units out of Giga Texas for the first time.
A Tesla Semi loaded with Cybercab units was recently filmed leaving Gigafactory Texas, marking what appears to be the first documented delivery run of Tesla’s autonomous two-seater. The footage shows multiple Cybercabs secured on a flatbed trailer being hauled by a production Tesla Semi, a truck rated for a gross combination weight of 82,000 lbs. The location is consistent with Giga Texas in Austin, where Cybercab production has been ramping since February 2026.
The sighting follows a wave of Cybercab activity at the Austin facility. In late April, drone operator Joe Tegtmeyer spotted approximately 60 Cybercabs parked in two organized groups in the factory’s outbound lot, the largest concentration observed to date. Units being staged in an outbound lot is a standard pre-delivery step, and the Semi footage is the logical next frame in that sequence.
En route with @tesla_semi pic.twitter.com/ZfuOjaeLH1
— Tesla Robotaxi (@robotaxi) May 7, 2026
This is not the first time Tesla has used its own Semi to move Tesla products. When the Semi was unveiled in 2017, Musk noted it would be used for Tesla’s own operations, and over the years Semi prototypes were spotted carrying cargo ranging from concrete weights to Tesla vehicles being delivered to consumers. In 2023, a Semi was photographed transporting a Cybertruck on a trailer ahead of that vehicle’s delivery launch.
The Cybercab itself was first revealed publicly at Tesla’s “We, Robot” event on October 10, 2024, at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, where 20 pre-production units gave attendees rides around the studio lot. Musk stated at the event that Tesla intends to produce the Cybercab before 2027. The first production unit rolled off the Giga Texas line on February 17, 2026, with Musk posting on X: “Congratulations to the Tesla team on making the first production Cybercab.”
Tesla’s annual production goal is 2 million Cybercabs per year once multiple factories reach full design capacity, with the company targeting a price under $30,000 per unit. Tesla has confirmed plans to expand its robotaxi service to seven cities in the first half of 2026, including Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Las Vegas, building on the unsupervised service already running in Austin. Musk has said he expects robotaxis to cover between a quarter and half of the United States by end of year.
Tesla has taken home the “Overall Loyalty to Make” award from S&P Global Mobility for the fourth consecutive year, reinforcing Tesla owners’ willingness to come back. The 2025 awards are based on S&P Global Mobility’s analysis of 13.6 million new retail vehicle registrations in the U.S. from October 2024 through September 2025. The complete list of 2025 winners includes General Motors for Overall Loyalty to Manufacturer, Tesla for Overall Loyalty to Make, Chevrolet Equinox for Overall Loyalty to Model, Mini for Most Improved Make Loyalty, Subaru for Overall Loyalty to Dealer, and Tesla again for both Ethnic Market Loyalty to Make and Highest Conquest Percentage.
Tesla’s streak in this category started in 2022, and the brand has now won the Highest Conquest Percentage award for six straight years, meaning it keeps pulling buyers away from other brands at a rate no competitor has matched. Tesla’s retention among Asian households reached 63.6% and among Hispanic households 61.9%, rates that significantly outpace national averages for those groups. That breadth of appeal across demographics adds a layer of significance to a win that some might dismiss as routine.
The timing matters too. After several consecutive quarters of decline, Tesla’s share of U.S. EV sales jumped to 59% in Q4 2025. That rebound, arriving just as competitors were flooding the market with new models and incentives, suggests Tesla’s loyalty numbers are not simply the result of limited alternatives. Buyers are still choosing it when they have plenty of other options.
What keeps Tesla owners coming back has a lot to do with the and convenience of charging. The Supercharger network is the most straightforward example. With over 65,000 Superchargers globally, it remains the largest and most reliable fast-charging network in the world, and owners who have built their routines around it face a real practical cost when considering a switch. Competitors have made progress, but the consistency, speed, and availability of Tesla’s network is still the benchmark the rest of the industry is chasing. Then there is the software side. Tesla has built a model where the car you own today is functionally different from the car you bought two years ago, through over-the-air updates that add continuous game-changing improvements such as Full Self-Driving that has moved from a driver-assist feature to an increasingly capable autonomous system. For many Tesla owners, leaving the brand means starting over with a car that will not get meaningfully better over time, and that is a trade-off fewer and fewer are willing to make.
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