Shocking footage has surfaced online showing the moment a massive semi-truck side-swiped a Tesla Model 3 in the U.S. last year.
This video was recently posted to the Wham Baam Teslacam channel on YouTube and reveals that the incident occurred on a tollway in Colorado. While the truck driver was to blame for the crash, it could have been easily avoided.
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As the front-facing camera of the Tesla reveals, it was approaching a large semi-truck in the right lane. Suddenly, however, the trucker merged into the lane being occupied by the Tesla. The truck slams into the side of the Model 3, shattering its passenger-side windows and sending it into the median where its driver, Aaron Smith, managed to swerve around the cable barriers before coming to a stop.
Images taken of the Tesla after the crash show that both the passenger side doors were scratched and dented heavily by the truck. The passenger-side front wheel was also ruined, as was the front bumper. Unsurprisingly, the narrator of this video says that the Tesla was determined to be a total loss.
Could the crash have been avoided? Yes. If you re-watch the clip, you’ll notice that the trucker had his turn signal on and was looking to change into the left lan, so perhaps the Tesla driver could have backed off the throttle to let the truck in. Not that this is any excuse for the truck driver, who should have taken much more care when changing into the left lane. Had they looked in their mirrors, they would have seen the approaching Model 3.