Connect with us

News

Tesla owner in Israel escapes terrorists in Model 3 despite blown tires, dozens of bullet holes

Credit: @mluggy/X

Published

on

As it turns out, driving a vehicle with no internal combustion engine and instant torque is quite useful when faced with literal terrorists. This was something that a Model 3 Performance owner from Israel learned firsthand when he encountered Hamas terrorists as he was heading to an assembly point. 

During the beginning of Hamas’ attack, a Tesla owner from Mefalsim, a kibbutz in Southern Israel near the Gaza Strip, was called in with the community’s alert squad. As he was driving to the assembly point, he encountered a vehicle loaded with Hamas terrorists. Photos and videos of the Model 3 Performance after its run-in with the terrorists hinted at the shocking events that transpired. 

Speaking from Sheba Hospital, where he is recovering from a series of surgeries due to the attack, the Tesla owner told Israeli publication Walla about his encounter. According to the Model 3 owner, the terrorists proceeded to spray the Model 3 with bullets, shooting at the front in an attempt to hit the engine. The terrorists also shot at the Model 3’s rear, seemingly in an attempt to ignite the fuel tank. Fortunately, the Model 3 Performance had neither an engine nor a fuel tank. 

“The terrorists recognized me from a distance of 10 meters. In addition to their Kalashnikovs, they had a machine gun in the battle that fired bullets of a larger diameter. They didn’t realize it was an electric car, so they shot at the front, hoping to hit the engine that wasn’t there, and at the back, attempting to ignite the non-existent fuel. They shot my tires. I pressed the gas, and they started chasing me,” the Tesla owner noted. 

At this point, it was a matter of survival. Thankfully, the Model 3 Performance is a very quick car, and the Tesla owner was able to gain some distance from his attackers. The Model 3 owner noted that his car’s acceleration ultimately allowed him to get away, and the Tesla’s safety systems allowed him to drive to a hospital at speed, even with blown-out tires. 

Advertisement

“They shot at my tires, but the acceleration of the Tesla is astonishing even in this situation, and the dual propulsion managed to keep us on the road. I distanced myself from them quickly, but I knew I had to reach the hospital as fast as possible, so I drove at a speed of 180 km/h (111 mph) with blown-out tires. The tires began to disintegrate, but the dual propulsion balanced the wheels, some of which were already on the rims. According to the app, I was still driving at 170-180 km/h,” he noted. 

The Tesla owner was able to drive to Barzilai Hospital on his damaged Model 3. By the time the Tesla owner reached the hospital gates, his Model 3 had dozens of bullet holes, and he was bleeding from multiple injuries. Almost miraculously, the Model 3 was reportedly still operational by the time it reached the hospital. The Tesla owner’s wife was even able to track the Model 3 due to updates on the Tesla App. In later comments, the Model 3 owner noted that his next vehicle will be another Tesla.

“I took bullets in my legs and hand, and one in the skull and shrapnel. But my head works and motivation kept me on the road even now in the hospital. The car continued to drive; the battery didn’t heat up, but it took a lot. There is no part that didn’t take a bullet. It still drives if you press the gas, but it seems to me that I should already be thinking about my next Tesla,” he said. 

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

Advertisement

Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

Advertisement
Comments

Elon Musk

Elon Musk reiterates shocking xAI detail, and hints at an upcoming monster

He also announced that xAI’s upcoming model, Grok 5, will begin training very soon.

Published

on

MINISTÉRIO DAS COMUNICAÇÕES, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Elon Musk has reiterated a rather shocking tidbit about xAI’s impressive scores at the ARC-AGI benchmark.

He also announced that xAI’s upcoming model, Grok 5, will begin training very soon.

xAI results on the ARC-AGI benchmark

In a recent post on social media platform X, Greg Kamradt, President of the ARC Prize Foundation, noted that Grok 4 has been used in two SOTA submissions to the ARC-AGI V1 and V2 benchmarks. The submissions, which were the best that the foundation has encountered to date, were done using xAI’s large language model, Grok 4. 

As per Kamradt, when asked about why the submissions were done using Grok 4, the authors stated that “It was the best model I used in testing.” Musk was evidently proud of this accomplishment, though he also highlighted that these accomplishments were attained with just Grok 4. This suggests that once Grok 5 is in the picture, xAI’s lead in the AI sector could become notable.

Grok 5 incoming

Elon Musk has shared a number of tidbits about Grok 5 as of late. In recent comments on X, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO stated that he believes Grok 5 has the potential to actually reach artificial general intelligence (AGI). This suggests that Grok 5 would be nothing short of a monster, as it could be capable of matching or surpassing human-level intelligence across tasks such as thinking, reasoning, and other domains by a substantial margin.

Advertisement

Grok 5 may also be coming soon. As per Musk in another post on X, xAI will be starting the training of Grok 5 in a few weeks. Musk definitely seems to be highly optimistic about the capabilities of Grok 5, with the CEO stating late last month that the update would be coming before the end of the year and that it will be “crushingly good.”

Continue Reading

News

SpaceX is partnering with chipmakers to enable Starlink satellite-to-cell service

President Gwynne Shotwell outlined the effort during a space industry conference in Paris.

Published

on

Credit: SpaceX/X

SpaceX is working with microchip manufacturers to integrate satellite-connectivity hardware into smartphones, advancing its plan for direct-to-device services through Starlink. 

The move follows the company’s $17 billion acquisition of wireless spectrum from EchoStar Corp., a deal that positions SpaceX to operate more independently of traditional telecom carriers. 

President Gwynne Shotwell outlined the effort during a space industry conference in Paris this week, as noted in a Bloomberg News report.

Starlink direct-to-device

Starlink currently serves millions of customers in over 100 countries, primarily through ground-based dishes. The company, however, is now expanding into satellite-to-cell service, which should enable unmodified phones to connect directly with orbiting satellites. While SpaceX has a partnership with T-Mobile US, the EchoStar spectrum purchase gives it more control to negotiate with global carriers on its own terms.

“We’re working with chip manufacturers to get the proper chips in phones,” the SpaceX President stated. “We will now be initiating discussions with telcos in a different way now. Now it’s our spectrum, but we want to work with them, almost providing capacity and wholesaling capacity to their customers.”

Advertisement

The company plans to launch satellites capable of supporting its direct-to-device business within two years, with early mobile phone testing expected by late 2026.

Starship program continues test flights

Shotwell also addressed SpaceX’s Starship program, which recently completed its 10th test flight in August. She said the mission met all objectives, providing a critical morale boost to teams after a challenging development year. 

“My Starship team needed that win,” Shotwell noted. “Development programs always are kind of a 24/7 operation, and I was really pleased for them.”

SpaceX is planning to fly one more iteration of the current Starship prototype, known as V2, before transitioning to the next-generation V3 vehicle. That version, expected to debut late this year or early 2026, is designed to be more capable and support eventual crewed missions to the Moon and Mars. 

“The V3, which we want to fly hopefully late this year, but maybe early next year, is really the vehicle that could take humans to the moon and Mars,” Shotwell stated.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Elon Musk

Elon Musk says xAI has a chance to reach AGI with Grok 5

The comment came after Grok 4 posted strong results on the ARC-AGI benchmark.

Published

on

xAI-supercomputer-memphis-environment-pushback
(Credit: xAI)

Elon Musk suggested this week that his artificial intelligence startup xAI has the potential to reach artificial general intelligence (AGI) with the next version of its large language model, Grok 5. 

The comment came after Grok 4 posted strong results on the ARC-AGI benchmark, which tests reasoning and problem-solving ability.

Musk sees Grok 5 as AGI candidate

In a post on X, user @amXFreeze shared the latest results of the ARC-AGI leaderboard, which showed Grok 4 outpacing rival systems such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT in problem-solving and open program synthesis tasks. 

Musk reacted to the performance by stating that “I now think xAI has a chance of reaching AGI with Grok 5. Never thought that before.” 

Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) refers to an AI system that is capable of matching or surpassing human-level intelligence across tasks such as thinking, reasoning, and other domains by a notable margin, as noted in a report from Benzinga. AI companies today are actively pursuing AGI.

Advertisement

xAI’s speed 

While xAI was only established in March 2023, the startup has grown aggressively. Since its founding, it has rapidly risen in the AI segment and its Grok large language model has become a mainstream option for everyday users, especially on social media platform X. The company is still growing aggressively, and it is currently expanding its Colossus supercomputer cluster in Memphis. 

During xAI’s Engineering Open House event in San Francisco in its early days, Elon Musk highlighted that speed would be the company’s primary competitive edge. To highlight this, Musk stated that “No SR-71 Blackbird was ever shot down and it only had one strategy: to accelerate.” So far, xAI is definitely playing this role very well. 

Continue Reading

Trending