Here's why you definitely shouldn't speed in a Tesla

Los Angeles - Wise men don’t learn from their own mistakes — they learn from the mistakes of others. In this case, a not-very-wise Tesla driver shows you why speeding and doing extreme manoeuvres in an electric vehicle carries more risk than on a conventional car.

A viral video of a Tesla Model S flying through an intersection of Baxter Street and Alvardo Street in Los Angeles. After its descent, the Model S crashed into two parked cars and a couple of trash cans. Although no one was seen to be injured, this stunt, in particular, drew a crowd to which some took to social media the video of the "low-budget Hollywood stunt act".

Disclaimer: Of course when we say you shouldn’t speed, that applies to all vehicles.

But with EVs, there is an added risk as drivers may not be prepared for the most important part: Slowing down.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poIAAPTyob0[/embed]

The problem is that EVs:

1. Weigh much more than an ICE car of comparable size
2. their low-slung batteries can deliver a more planted feeling at normal speeds
3. Their torquey motors deliver huge acceleration

All those factors mean that fast EVs — in this case, the Tesla Model S which weighs around 1,961 to 2,250kg —  gain speed and don’t 'feel' fast, until you realise you’re going really quickly and can’t slow down. In the video, you can see the Tesla driver hit the brakes but the car doesn’t slow down until it’s ploughed through half of Los Angeles and reached nearly the bottom of the hill.

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) are currently investigating but have yet to catch the driver yet. Although, there might be a breakthrough for the LAPD, as it has narrowed its search down to a person of interest, identified as @dominykas on TikTok. The account recently published a video on Sunday with an angle of the crash overlaid with the words “I just crashed my new Tesla”.

[embed]https://twitter.com/LAPDCTD24/status/1505753919724482560[/embed]

Currently, there is a $1,000 (S$1,300) reward for any info leading to the mystery Model S driver.

READ ALSO: New traffic accident simulator helps you agree on claim amount

This article was first published in CarBuyer.