News
Tesla Model X safety-first approach saves groom’s life after hit and run the night before his wedding
A groom-to-be behind the wheel of Tesla Model X is thankful to be alive after the vehicle was involved in a severe side-impact collision by a stolen vehicle that careened into the driver’s door of the all-electric SUV at 65 miles per hour.
The driver, an automation consultant for Tesla, rented a Model X for his wedding. After leaving the rehearsal dinner that took place the night before the wedding, the groom-to-be dropped off his fiancé and headed home. Then things took a turn for the unexpected. In a forum post entitled ‘I am alive today well BC of a Model X‘, the driver recounts:
“When I made my way out of the parking lot, I began to take a left turn onto the main street. Mid-turn, I noticed a silver car quickly approaching the driver’s side of the vehicle (I later learned that they were going over 65mph on a private road). I had no time to react, since the driver came from a blind spot on my left. At this point, it looked like the driver had no intention of slowing down, and I immediately thought that I was either going to get badly hurt or potentially die.
I quickly braced and gripped the steering wheel as I was pounded by the silver car, sending me over 20 feet away from my starting point. With the impact, all of the airbags deployed, instantly leaving me in shock. The outgassing of the airbags caused the car to smoke, making it difficult to see. I reached for the door handle with my right hand, but was not able to open it. Seeing no other option, I kicked open the door and was able to escape the vehicle. As I walked outside, I immediately saw the police chasing after the culprits driving the silver car. I looked around, dazed, and ended up falling to the ground. I am unsure of what happened next, but all I can remember is hearing voices from the people nearby, and Nancy screaming my name. When I came to consciousness, I was being helped by the police, paramedics, and fire department. The silver car was a mess, but the Model X only suffered a broken axle and bent wheel.”
An impact from a 3,000 pound Honda Civic traveling at 65 miles per hour into a nearly stationary vehicle would normally end with disastrous consequences but the Model X was able to sustain the impact by cocooning the driver with twelve airbags: head and knee airbags in the front, two side curtain airbags, four seat-mounted side airbags, and two door-mounted airbags, putting the safety-first design to the test in ways nobody would ever want to have to experience. We saw a similar occurrence last year when a Tesla Model X saved the life of an entire family and their pet after it was involved in a horrific traffic accident at an intersection. “I waited 4 years for this one and would wait 4 more if that is what it took to protect my family like this.” said the driver of the Model X at the time.
The groom-to-be that was saved in this latest accident had previously worked with Tesla as an automation consultant for the company in the stamping, body and paint production line, and worked directly with engineers involved in the Model S, X and Model 3. Having worked with many of the people who designed the vehicle instilled a respect for Tesla and its vehicles that was enough for him to choose a Model X as the vehicle to be used for his wedding.
“I wanted to write this to you in hopes that this raises visibility to the management chain at Tesla. I can’t thank Elon Musk, Tesla, and the team enough for what they do and want them to know that their car saved my life. While I also believe that I am still alive because of divine intervention, being in that car was definitely my shield and protector. I have made it a short term goal of mine to sell my cars and buy a Tesla as my next vehicle. That car saved my life. Thank you for your time and I hope this message gets passed through to everyone, especially Elon.”
This story highlights a critical differentiator between Tesla and other auto manufacturers. Tesla and Elon Musk have always put safety first which the company puts as a main focal point at each new vehicle reveal. This focus on safety led to the development of vehicles with larger crumple zones up front (the frunk) than any comparably-sized vehicle, better coverage from integrated airbags and a greatly reduced risk of rollover due to the floor-mounted battery.
Tesla summarizes the safety features of the Model X on its website:
Model X is designed with safety as the first priority. The floor-mounted battery lowers the center of gravity so that the risk of rollover is about half that of any vehicle in its class. The battery structure strengthens Model X against side impact intrusions. And without a gasoline engine, the large front trunk acts as a giant impact-absorbing crumple zone. Although the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has not yet conducted crash testing on Model X, Tesla’s own internally conducted crash testing indicates that Model X should be the first SUV to receive the highest safety rating in every category.
Building on the world-class safe design of Tesla vehicles, a layer of active safety features that are included in every Tesla sold take this to the next level with features like Automatic Emergency Braking and side impact collision warnings.
The safety-first culture at Tesla extends beyond its vehicles and into the next generation of products the company is producing – its factory. In its recent blog post about safety, Tesla shared how a safety-first focus underpins the entire design process even going so far as to look for ergonomics concerns in virtual mock ups of its manufacturing lines before they are built.
Tesla is revolutionizing the way humans get around and at the same time, rethinking the safety systems that keep all the people in its care in ways that ultimately benefit everyone. The driver of the Model X in this accident has made it a short term goal to acquire a Tesla as his personal vehicle. That should speak volumes to anyone who has been in an accident, lost someone in an accident or wants to keep themselves and those they travel with as safe as possible.
Source: Teslarati Forums
News
Tesla lands approval for Robotaxi operation in third U.S. state
On Tuesday, Tesla officially received regulatory approval from the State of Arizona, making it the third state for the company to receive approval in.
Tesla has officially landed approval to operate its Robotaxi ride-hailing service in its third U.S. state, as it has landed a regulatory green light from the State of Arizona’s Department of Transportation.
Tesla has been working to expand to new U.S. states after launching in Texas and California earlier this year. Recently, it said it was hoping to land in Nevada, Arizona, and Florida, expanding to five new cities in those three states.
On Tuesday, Tesla officially received regulatory approval from the State of Arizona, making it the third state for the company to receive approval in:
BREAKING: Tesla has officially received approval from the Arizona Department of Transportation to launch its Robotaxi service on public roads in the state!
I just confirmed directly with the Arizona DOT that @Tesla applied for a Transportation Network Company permit on Nov 13th.… pic.twitter.com/iKbwfGfiju
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) November 18, 2025
Tesla has also been working on approvals in Nevada and Florida, and it has also had Robotaxi test mules spotted in Pennsylvania.
The interesting thing about the Arizona approval is the fact that Tesla has not received an approval for any specific city; it appears that it can operate statewide. However, early on, Tesla will likely confine its operation to just one or two cities to keep things safe and controlled.
Over the past few months, Robotaxi mules have been spotted in portions of Phoenix and surrounding cities, such as Scottsdale, as the company has been attempting to cross off all the regulatory Ts that it is confronted with as it attempts to expand the ride-hailing service.
It appears the company will be operating it similarly to how it does in Texas, which differs from its California program. In Austin, there is no Safety Monitor in the driver’s seat, unless the route requires freeway travel. In California, there is always a Safety Monitor in the driver’s seat. However, this is unconfirmed.
Earlier today, Tesla enabled its Robotaxi app to be utilized for ride-hailing for anyone using the iOS platform.
News
Tesla ride-hailing Safety Monitor dozes off during Bay Area ride
We won’t try to blame the camera person for the incident, because it clearly is not their fault. But it seems somewhat interesting that they did not try to wake the driver up and potentially contact Tesla immediately to alert them of the situation.
A Tesla Robotaxi Safety Monitor appeared to doze off during a ride in the California Bay Area, almost ironically proving the need for autonomous vehicles.
The instance was captured on camera and posted to Reddit in the r/sanfrancisco subreddit by u/ohmichael. They wrote that they have used Tesla’s ride-hailing service in the Bay Area in the past and had pleasant experiences.
However, this one was slightly different. They wrote:
“I took a Tesla Robotaxi in SF just over a week ago. I have used the service a few times before and it has always been great. I actually felt safer than in a regular rideshare.
This time was different. The safety driver literally fell asleep at least three times during the ride. Each time the car’s pay attention safety alert went off and the beeping is what woke him back up.
I reported it through the app to the Robotaxi support team and told them I had videos, but I never got a response.
I held off on posting anything because I wanted to give Tesla a chance to respond privately. It has been more than a week now and this feels like a serious issue for other riders too.
Has anyone else seen this happen?”
My Tesla Robotaxi “safety” driver fell asleep
byu/ohmichael insanfrancisco
The driver eventually woke up after prompts from the vehicle, but it is pretty alarming to see someone like this while they’re ultimately responsible for what happens with the ride.
We won’t try to blame the camera person for the incident, because it clearly is not their fault. But it seems somewhat interesting that they did not try to wake the driver up and potentially contact Tesla immediately to alert them of the situation.
They should have probably left the vehicle immediately.
Tesla’s ride-hailing service in the Bay Area differs from the one that is currently active in Austin, Texas, due to local regulations. In Austin, there is no Safety Monitor in the driver’s seat unless the route requires the highway.
Tesla plans to remove the Safety Monitors in Austin by the end of the year.
Tesla has officially opened Robotaxi access to everyone and everyone, but there is one catch: you have to have an iPhone.
Tesla’s Robotaxi service in Austin and its ride-hailing service in the Bay Area were both officially launched to the public today, giving anyone using the iOS platform the ability to simply download the app and utilize it for a ride in either of those locations.
It has been in operation for several months: it launched in Austin in late June and in the Bay Area about a month later. In Austin, there is nobody in the driver’s seat unless the route takes you on the freeway.
In the Bay Area, there is someone in the driver’s seat at all times.
The platform was initially launched to those who were specifically invited to Austin to try it out.
Tesla confirms Robotaxi is heading to five new cities in the U.S.
Slowly, Tesla launched the platform to more people, hoping to expand the number of rides and get more valuable data on its performance in both regions to help local regulatory agencies relax some of the constraints that were placed on it.
Additionally, Tesla had its own in-house restrictions, like the presence of Safety Monitors in the vehicles. However, CEO Elon Musk has maintained that these monitors were present for safety reasons specifically, but revealed the plan was to remove them by the end of the year.
Now, Tesla is opening up Robotaxi to anyone who wants to try it, as many people reported today that they were able to access the app and immediately fetch a ride if they were in the area.
We also confirmed it ourselves, as it was shown that we could grab a ride in the Bay Area if we wanted to:
🚨 Tesla Robotaxi ride-hailing Service in Austin and the Bay Area has opened up for anyone on iOS
Go download the app and, if you’re in the area, hail a ride from Robotaxi pic.twitter.com/1CgzG0xk1J
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 18, 2025
The launch of a more public Robotaxi network that allows anyone to access it seems to be a serious move of confidence by Tesla, as it is no longer confining the service to influencers who are handpicked by the company.
In the coming weeks, we expect Tesla to then rid these vehicles of the Safety Monitors as Musk predicted. If it can come through on that by the end of the year, the six-month period where Tesla went from launching Robotaxi to enabling driverless rides is incredibly impressive.
Tesla lands approval for Robotaxi operation in third U.S. state
Tesla ride-hailing Safety Monitor dozes off during Bay Area ride
