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Tesla Model Y driver escapes frightening freak accident unscathed

Credit: @douglasthron777/X

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1 year ago

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A Tesla Model Y was involved in what could only be described as a freak accident in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The incident resulted in the death of a person and injuries to another two. The driver of the all-electric crossover was able to walk away from the accident without any injuries. 

At around 4:30 p.m. local time on Thursday, Fort Lauderdale Police and Fire Rescue units responded to the Southeast Third Avenue Bridge. Authorities saw a shocking scene. A Tesla Model Y and a minivan were damaged by a part of a crane that collapsed onto the bridge. The bridge itself had an apparent hole, seemingly from the falling crane. 

Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Chief Stephen Gollan explained the incident in a comment. “It is my understanding from the construction company that they were doing a process at the time called stepping the crane. It was not the crane that failed; it was a platform that they had equipment staged on that had failed at the time of the incident,” he said.

A construction worker who was at the crane tragically lost his life, and a man and woman were transported to Broward Health Medical Center following the incident. A witness who lives in a building in front of the construction site shared his experience with 7News, stating that the part of the crane actually fell into the Tesla first. The part then bounced off the all-electric crossover and landed on the minivan.

“The big crane was falling down, and it looked like when it hit the bridge, it broke in part. There is a portion of the crane near the construction site, and the other one that hit the bridge bounced off the Tesla and then bounced up and hit the van. We drive this every day, so it’s a pretty scary thing to think,” the man noted. 

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Mark Cerezin, the driver of the Model Y, stated that he was fortunate enough to brake when he did. The impact with the part of the crane completely destroyed the front of the Model Y, but the vehicle’s cabin was otherwise undamaged. 

“It was just an instinct. It was just a reaction, peripheral reaction, slamming on the brakes. I have a Tesla, it’s all glass on top, so I saw here coming down, and that’s when I gauged, I guess, by a split second. Had I not slammed as hard as I had with my foot, I’m not here speaking to you. It hit the front of my car. It was like slow motion. And then I just saw the front of my car just disappeared. Just, like, sliced it. Then that piece of metal bounced in the air and then went to the right and landed on another car,” he said. 

Video that was obtained by 7News reportedly showed Cerezin helping the woman driving the minivan, who was injured in the incident. Images taken at the aftermath of the freak accident showed that the A-pillar in the minivan collapsed due to the impact of the falling crane. As per the Model Y driver, he took off his shirt so he could put compression on her injuries. 

“There was a lady that was bleeding, and I took off my shirt and put compression and helped her,” Cerezin said, adding that he feels grateful that he escaped any injuries due to the incident. “From, of course, this day forward, I’m just happy to go home to my wife. I’m happy to go home to my family and to my friends. I’m just so grateful,” Cerezin noted as he was placed on a stretcher. He later shared similar sentiments in a video posted on social media. 

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

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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.

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Elon Musk

Elon Musk reveals SpaceX’s target for Starship’s 10th launch

Elon Musk has revealed SpaceX’s target timeline for the next Starship launch, which will be the tenth in program history.

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15 minutes ago

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July 16, 2025

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Credit: SpaceX

Elon Musk has revealed SpaceX’s target timeline for the next Starship launch, which will be the tenth in program history.

Musk says SpaceX is aiming for a timeline of roughly three weeks from now, which would come about ten weeks after the previous launch.

Coincidentally, it would bring the two launches 69 days apart, and if you know anything about Elon Musk, that would be an ideal timeline between two launches.

SpaceX is coming off a test flight in which it lost both the Super Heavy Booster and the Upper Stage in the previous launch. The Super Heavy Booster was lost six minutes and sixteen seconds into the flight, while SpaceX lost communication with the Ship at 46 minutes and 48 seconds.

Musk is aiming for the tenth test flight to take place in early August, he revealed on X:

This will be SpaceX’s fourth test flight of the Starship program in 2025, with each of the previous three flights bringing varying results.

IFT-7 in January brought SpaceX its second successful catch of the Super Heavy Booster in the chopstick arms of the launch tower. The ship was lost after exploding during its ascent over the Turks and Caicos Islands.

IFT-8 was on March 6, and SpaceX caught the booster once again, but the Upper Stage was once again lost.

The most recent flight, IFT-9, took place on May 27 and featured the first reused Super Heavy Booster. However, both the Booster and Upper Stage were lost.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) hit SpaceX with a mishap investigation for Flight 9 on May 30.

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Elon Musk

Elon Musk confirms Tesla is already rolling out a new feature for in-car Grok

Tesla is already making in-car Grok more robust with a simple but effective feature that CEO Elon Musk says is “coming.”

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7 hours ago

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July 16, 2025

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has confirmed that the company will roll out a new feature for in-car Grok as it is rolling out to vehicles for the first time.

Grok was just recently added as a feature to Tesla vehicles within the past week, but owners are already requesting some small changes to make it more convenient to use.

Tesla debuts hands-free Grok AI with update 2025.26: What you need to know

The first is already on the way, Musk confirmed, as WholeMarsBlog requested a simple, but useful feature for Grok as it is used within Tesla vehicles.

Whole Mars requested that “Hey Grok” be used as a wake word, automatically activating the AI assistant without having to touch any buttons. Musk confirmed it is already in development and on the way to vehicles:

This feature is incredibly similar to that of “Hey Siri” with iPhones and other iOS devices. The phone will recognize your voice and hear that prompt, automatically activating Siri. Apple’s assistant will then perform whatever task it is asked to perform. It’s a simple but effective performance feature.

Grok is already getting its first reviews from owners as it rolls out to owners for the first time. It is a long time coming, too. Tesla has been hinting that Grok would be enabled in the vehicles for a while now, and it just started its initial rollout last week.

Grok is available in vehicles with the AMD chip and requires Premium Connectivity or a WiFi connection to use.

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Elon Musk

Tesla reveals key detail of Supercharger Diner, but it’s bigger than you think

Tesla has finally released one key detail about the Supercharger Diner, and it is bigger than what it appears at face-value.

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8 hours ago

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July 16, 2025

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has revealed a key detail of its Supercharger Diner as its launch date appears to be nearing, based on what we are seeing at the site currently.

The Supercharger Diner is located on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles and was first proposed as an idea by CEO Elon Musk back in 2018. Musk envisioned a drive-in movie-style 1950s-inspired diner that would feature elements such as servers on roller skates, large movie screens, and a menu inspired by classic treats from several decades ago.

A project that first broke ground in 2023, the Supercharger Diner has been in development for over two years, as Tesla performed demolition work at the site back in February of that year.

It has slowly moved forward, and drone footage shot this week seems to show things are nearly up and running. Musk even mentioned that he had eaten at the Diner Supercharger this week.

There are still details that Tesla has yet to announce and confirm. The most important thing is regarding the menu that will be served at the diner.

Tesla has not hinted at what it will be making for patrons at the restaurant, but Musk commended the food and said the diner would be one of the coolest spots in LA.

However, we now have details on another important thing about the restaurant: the hours.

Images taken by Aaron Cash of ABetterTheater.com show the diner will be open 24/7, as it appears on the front doors of the diner:

At first thought, it seems this will operate like any other diner, as many are open for 24 hours a day. Diners typically serve large menus with numerous options, catering to the tastes and moods of anyone who walks in.

People of all walks of life eat at diners, as the food is typically affordable, tasty, and available at any hour to serve those who are night owls or those who work non-typical schedules.

However, Tesla is a bit different, and it seems that this new venture into food service could eventually transition from human servers and cooks to robots, most notably the company’s in-house project of Optimus.

It is something straight out of a Star Wars movie. I can think of Obi-Wan Kenobi visiting Dex in his diner in Attack of the Clones to figure out where a poison dart was sourced from:

Eventually, Optimus will likely be working as an employee in the Tesla Diner, and 24/7 operation will be performed by the humanoid robot that aims to eliminate trivial tasks from humans.

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