A Tesla car landed in a backyard swimming pool, after its driver had accidentally stepped on the accelerator instead of the brakes and crashed through a retaining wall in Pasadena, California. Three people were rescued just before the car was completely submerged, and fortunately no injuries were reported, according to a news report from Insider.
Tesla cars have an excellent reputation for high safety standards. The electric vehicle recently proved its worth in saving the lives of four people when a driver, for still unknown reasons, drove his entire family off a 250-foot cliff in California.
Tesla in the Pool
Three passengers were inside the car when the female driver was supposed to hit the brake pedal, but accidentally stepped on the accelerator instead. The car then slammed through the wall of a house on West California Boulevard. At that time, someone was inside the house but was unaware of what happened outside.
The accident occurred Tuesday morning (January 10) near Pacific Oaks Children’s School. Two teachers at the school witnessed the incident and quickly went to help save the passengers inside the car, which included a female driver, a grandmother and a 4-year-old boy. They were rescued right before the vehicle completely sank to the bottom of the swimming pool.
According to Dr. Jack Paduntin, the president of Pacific Oaks Children’s School, the child in the car is one of their students and was in the process of being dropped off.
The Pasadena police and fire department responded at around 9 a.m., within minutes at the scene, but the rescue had been completed when they arrived, and no serious injuries were reported.
A heavy-duty crane successfully removed the Tesla from the pool Tuesday afternoon.
Tesla “Boat Mode”
Not having an engine and because of its “waterproof enough” construction, Tesla cars have the ability to float and be relatively water-resistant, but it is not an official feature, so it is best not to really try it.
The Tesla’s ability to wade through water without its interior getting wet has been touted so much that the company is considering it to become a standard feature in their next offering, the Cybertruck.
On September 2022, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said, “Cybertruck will be waterproof enough to serve briefly as a boat, so it can cross rivers, lakes & even seas that aren’t too choppy.”