This past Saturday, news broke about a Tesla crashing into a parked tow truck and bursting into flames on a motorway in Moscow, Russia. Particularly notable about the incident was that after the initial crash, explosions racked the already burning electric car.
A number of developments have emerged about the story so far, which clarified initial misconceptions about the incident, from the make of the vehicle to the injuries incurred by its occupants. With this in mind, Teslarati has compiled this quick guide about what is currently known about this crash and its ensuing fiery aftermath.
The crash
A video of the accident taken from what appears to be a security camera showed the electric sedan passing a first stopped vehicle that had broken down and catching the corner of a tow truck that was sticking out into the adjacent lane. In a statement to CrimeRussia, Aleksey Tretyakov, the vehicle’s owner, noted that he had been traveling at 100 km/h, the speed limit in the area. The impact from the collision was enough to push the tow truck forward into the central dividing wall.
A video of the exact moment the Tesla crashed into the tow truck could be viewed below.
The make of the car
Initial reports that emerged following the accident tagged the Tesla as a Model S. With more videos of the crash’s aftermath emerging online, it now appears that the electric car involved in the accident was a Model 3, at least based on the shape of the vehicle’s taillights and headlights.
The fire
Videos of the Tesla on fire and the explosions that followed emerged on the heels of the accident. These clips, which were separate from the footage of the electric car crashing into the parked tow truck, showed a vehicle that was already ablaze. Two explosions could be seen in the videos, which resulted in parts of the electric car flying to the air.
Quite interestingly, the explosion within the vehicle seemed to have happened after the tow truck that the Tesla crashed into had been moved (the heavy vehicle does not seem to be in the vicinity when the explosions happened). As observed by Tesla Motors Club member KarenRei, the nature of the explosion in the Model 3 looked notably similar to an explosion that happens when an airbag explodes. A video of such an incident could be viewed here.
The injuries
Initial reports of the injuries that resulted from the accident pointed to the driver of the Tesla and his two children being severely injured. Russian media outlet IXBT.com, for one, noted that Tretyakov was in “intensive care” due to the crash. Later reports would prove this to be false. Speaking with CrimeRussia, the Tesla owner noted that both of his legs were broken due to the accident, but his two children were “practically not injured.”
Update: While CrimeRussia noted in its coverage of the incident that the Model 3 driver had two broken legs as a result of the crash, it appears that the news agency misquoted the Tesla owner’s statements. Vladimir Grinshpun, a native Russian speaker, noted in a message to Teslarati that the Tesla owner clearly stated during a video interview with the news agency that he had one broken leg and a broken nose due to the accident. A video of this interview could be accessed here.
A video depicting what appeared to be Tretyakov hobbling away from his vehicle as his two children walked ahead of him has also been aired on Russian media outlet Russia 24.
On Autopilot
Being a Tesla crash, it was not surprising to note that several reports promptly related the crash to the potential use of Autopilot. Discussing the incident, longtime TMC member mongo noted that since Teslas in Russia are imported through a third party, there was likely no Navigate on Autopilot support in the area. Thus, functions of Autopilot would likely be limited to basic features such as lane-keeping.
This was mentioned by Tretyakov himself, who noted that he was using a “driver-assist” feature and a “trimmed” version of Autopilot when the accident happened. The Tesla owner added that he was holding the wheel in the moments leading up to the crash, though he also admitted that he did not notice the parked tow truck on the road. Based on the video of the Tesla’s crash, it appears that either the vehicle or Tretyakov engaged the brakes just before the car hit the parked truck.
Tesla’s statement
Tesla is yet to issue a formal statement about the incident, though the electric car maker has recently published its most recent vehicle accident and fire data. Tesla notes that from 2012 – 2018, “there has been approximately one Tesla vehicle fire for every 170 million miles traveled. By comparison, data from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and U.S. Department of Transportation shows that in the United States there is a vehicle fire for every 19 million miles traveled.” It should be noted that Tesla’s data set includes instances of vehicle fires caused by structure fires, arson, and other things unrelated to the vehicle, which account for about 15% of Tesla vehicle fires over this time period.
H/T JPR007 on Twitter.
Tesla has tentatively scheduled its unveiling event for the Roadster’s next-generation iteration, and you will not believe the date the company picked for it.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said during the 2025 Annual Shareholders Meeting that the company is aiming for an April 1 demo event.
Yes, April Fools’ Day.
🚨 Tesla’s unveiling event for the Roadster Gen 2 is scheduled for April 1, 2026.
Yes, April Fools’ Day. pic.twitter.com/sw09GUYFPV
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 6, 2025
Tesla originally aimed for its “most epic demo” to take place at the end of this year. However, the writing on the wall as 2025 winds down seemed to indicate the company was not quite ready to show off everything it plans to implement into the Roadster.
Its capabilities have been teased quite heavily throughout most of the year, but the biggest hints came last week when Musk appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience Podcast.
He said:
“Whether it’s good or bad, it will be unforgettable. My friend Peter Thiel once reflected that the future was supposed to have flying cars, but we don’t have flying cars. I think if Peter wants a flying car, he should be able to buy one…I think it has a shot at being the most memorable product unveil ever. [It will be unveiled] hopefully before the end of the year. You know, we need to make sure that it works. This is some crazy technology in this car. Let’s just put it this way: if you took all the James Bond cars and combined them, it’s crazier than that.”
The Roadster has been somewhat of a letdown, at least in its newest version, thus far. Tesla has routinely delayed the project, putting those who put lofty down payments on the car in a weird limbo, lost at what to do.
One notable pre-orderer cancelled his reservation last week and got in a spat with Musk about it.
Now that there is a definitive date for the Roadster unveiling, Musk and Co. should have a more definitive cutoff date for features and capabilities. Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen said earlier this year that when they showed Musk what they had done with the Roadster, the CEO encouraged them to do even more with it.
This delayed things further.
Musk also said he believes production would begin between 12 and 18 months after the unveiling, putting it out sometime in 2027.
Elon Musk
Tesla (TSLA) shareholders officially approve Elon Musk’s 2025 performance award
To earn his landmark pay package, Musk would be required to lift Tesla’s market capitalization from about $1.1 trillion today to $8.5 trillion over the next decade.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk has officially approved his 2025 Performance Award, a landmark pay package that could make him the world’s first trillionaire and make Tesla the most valuable company in the world by a mile.
The 2025 CEO Performance Award was officially approved by Tesla shareholders at the 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting.
Elon Musk‘s landmark pay package
As per Tesla, more than 75% of the shareholders approved Elon Musk’s 2025 CEO Performance Award. It was then unsurprising that the approval of Elon Musk’s pay plan received overwhelming applause from the event’s attendees.
The CEO took to the stage with much enthusiasm, welcoming every shareholder to the event and dancing briefly on stage. Optimus also danced on stage smoothly, demonstrating its improved movements to much appause.
Elon Musk’s 10-year targets
To earn his 2025 CEO Performance Award, Musk would be required to grow Tesla’s market capitalization from about $1.1 trillion today to $8.5 trillion over the next decade. At that level, Tesla would surpass every major public company in existence. The compensation plan also requires Tesla’s operating profit to grow from $17 billion last year to $400 billion annually.
Apart from leading Tesla to become the world’s biggest company in history, Musk is also required to hit several product targets for the electric vehicle maker. These include the delivery of 20 million Tesla vehicles cumulatively, 10 million active FSD subscriptions, 1 million Tesla bots delivered, and 1 million Robotaxis in operation.
The 2025 Tesla Annual Shareholder Meeting from Gigafactory Texas is set to kick off at 4 p.m. EDT, 3 p.m. CDT.
The company will be having its typical presentation for the event, where CEO Elon Musk, along with other executives will discuss things like future products, the outlook of its self-driving development, potential releases for next year, and some current events within the company.
However, this year’s Shareholder Meeting has slightly more implications than others, as Investors and Shareholders have spent the last several months petitioning and supporting one of the proposals on the docket that could be the deciding factor in Musk staying or leaving Tesla.
Elon Musk’s new pay plan ties trillionaire status to Tesla’s $8.5 trillion valuation
Proposal four outlines a new compensation package for Musk that could give him $1 trillion in shares if he is able to complete a variety of lofty goals related to production, self-driving, and other important company projects.
Musk has said that he is truly after more influence on company decisions, especially as the Tesla Optimus program is ramping up and becoming a more relevant part of the company’s story.
The CEO said during the Q3 Earnings Call that he would not feel comfortable developing an “army of robots” if he did not have a comfortable amount of influence in some of the decisions. He could be voted our or out-influenced by what he calls “activist shareholders.”
One of those investors came after his past pay package, which was approved by shareholders not once, but twice. Musk still was not able to obtain the pay because of a Delaware Chancery Court ruling.
Nevertheless, this is one of the last ditch efforts Tesla is making to get Musk the compensation that he wants.
The meeting is set to kick off at 3 p.m. local time in Austin. You can watch it via the livestream on X:
Here is the link to Tesla’s 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting:https://t.co/29dN4gkMWY
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 6, 2025
Tesla schedules Roadster unveiling event, and you won’t believe when it is
Tesla (TSLA) shareholders officially approve Elon Musk’s 2025 performance award
Tesla 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting: How to watch
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