Tesla's Safety on Display in Incredible Videos

Two Teslas avoid a crash by swerving around a van

ecretOrganization60/Reddit

As incredible as Teslas are, they are still vulnerable to a threat every time they are on the road — human drivers. This problem has been displayed repeatedly, but an amazing video demonstrates firsthand how much safer the roads would be if there were more Teslas.

Teslas Evade Reckless Driver

Reddit user, @SecretOrganization60, posted a video of two Model 3s avoiding a crash. An old Ford Econoline Van makes a left turn directly in front of the two Teslas. One dodges behind the van, missing it and avoiding the median, while the other escapes an inevitable wreck by swerving around the front of the van. Both Teslas proceed undamaged, as does the old van, which ironically has two warning signs on the back to stop for children.

The poster, who was in one of the Model 3s, says that although the vehicle was not in Autopilot, he was surprised at how well it handled, thanks to its low center of gravity.

Time really dilates in the situation. I recall looking behind the van for following cars and checking the right lane to see what the options were. The real surprise was the low CG of the 3. My approach had been to minimize the impact, I didn't actually expect the car to maneuver anywhere near as well as it did.

Two @Tesla Model 3s simultaneously avoiding a wreck from a driver running a red light.$TSLA #TSLA @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/wRidKJUzNs

— S.E. Robinson, Jr. (@SERobinsonJr) February 21, 2023

Tesla Credited with Saving Lives

Another post on Twitter thanked Elon Musk and Franz von Holzhausen for saving a life. The post includes a picture of a Model X in flames and the aftermath of a horrendous crash. The poster, @plaz_red, said his mother was driving the Model X when she was hit nearly head-on by a 1980 Lincoln town car that crossed the line. The Lincoln caught fire, and the flames spread to the Model X.

According to Tesmanian, the Model X detected the danger, and the Collision Avoidance Assist slowed the Tesla and moved it to the right, but there was a fence leaving nowhere for the Model X to escape. The falcon wing doors automatically opened, allowing the woman and her dog to exit the car. She suffered only a few minor bruises.

Tesla's have been shown to be 2.5 times safer than human drivers and 10 times safer on Autopilot. The company's chief designer, von Holzhausen recently said, "(Teslas are) far safer than any other car out on the road. I have a family with kids, and I shudder to think of putting my kids in any other car because it's less safe… if you want to do the right thing for your family and have the lowest probability of injury, then you have to put them in a Tesla."

Time and time again, Tesla proves to be the safest car on the road.

Compilation of Teslas Avoiding Accidents

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Tesla Introduces Hands-Free Frunk Opening in Update 2024.32.3

Not a Tesla App

In Tesla’s upcoming update, 2024.32.3, Tesla has added hands-free support for opening the vehicle’s frunk. This follows the Spring Update (2024.14), which added Hands-Free Trunk support for certain vehicles.

When hands-free trunk support was added earlier this year, it was supported on vehicles that include an ultra wideband chip, which includes the refresh Model S, new Model X, and the 2024 Model 3. Due to the hardware requirement, these will be the same vehicles that support the new Hands-Free Frunk feature. Legacy vehicles without UWB will unfortunately not support either feature due to the hardware requirement. UWB enables far more accurate tracking of the phone key, allowing Tesla to pinpoint its exact location relative to the vehicle.

The Cybertruck interestingly also includes an ultra wideband chip, however, it didn’t include the automatic opening of the gate earlier this year. However, we expect the Cybertruck to also receive the hands-free frunk opening in this 2024.32.3 update or relatively soon afterward.

Update: The Cybertruck is receiving hands-free frunk support in the 2024.32 update as well.

Hands-Free Frunk

The Hands-Free Frunk works similarly to the trunk feature – with an iPhone 11+ and a recent version of the app, you’ll be able to stand in front of your vehicle, and the Frunk will unlatch after sounding a chime. On some vehicles, the frunk will immediately open after being unlatched, however, you’ll need to manually close it.

This new feature isn’t enabled by default – you’ll need to go to Settings > Locks > Hands-Free Frunk to enable it.

At this time, Tesla doesn’t support UWB on Android devices, though both the Hands-Free Trunk and Hands-Free Frunk support will come to Android users in a future app update, according to Tesla.

Exclude Home

With the addition of the hands-free frunk opening, Tesla has also added a new option. You can now choose to disable the automatic opening when your vehicle is located at home to prevent you from accidentally opening. This will apply to the automatic frunk and trunk. In addition, in the Model X, you’ll also be able to disable the self-presenting doors at home. This is a great addition as many people have kept the hands-free feature disabled due to it awkwardly opening in the garage.

In the 2024.32.3 update, Tesla also mentions that they’ve improved the detection of the phone key, which should make the feature more reliable and faster when approaching the vehicle from the front or rear.

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Tesla’s Referral Program Launches in Europe

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Following its recent launch in the United States and Canada, Tesla has launched their referral program in several European countries as well.

The program is available in Germany, Norway, France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and possibly others. The program is almost the same as the one available today in North America, with rewards for each referral and a discount for those referred. The cap in Europe is also ten per year.

This program comes right on the heels of a 0% financing offer for the Model Y in Sweden and France. While referrals aren't currently available in Sweden, the 0% financing still is.

European Referrals

The European Referral program accounts for country and local currency, where applicable.

The referral reward program is comparable to the one available in North America. After exchange rates, there is only an approximately 10% difference between the available rewards in the US and EU.

Other Countries

We expect this program to start rolling out to other European countries over the next few days or weeks, as Tesla continues to expand its referral program.

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