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Tesla Model S P85D’s instant acceleration helped save owner from a crash [Video]

Instant torque is a great selling point for electric vehicles – mainly because it’s fun, but it can also be safer if you know how to use it. The most common example is when overtaking a vehicle on the highway, but if you have a quick reaction time, it can also move you away from an impending crash.

That’s exactly what happened to Jason Hughes, who is better known by the Tesla community for his insane projects like retrofitting a pre-Autopilot Model S with Autopilot sensors or building a 1,000hp electric car using Tesla drivetrain and Chevy Volt batteries

He captured a near miss on his rear dashcam yesterday. A Prius driver apparently not paying attention almost rear-ended his Model S. Here he explains the moment before the video starts:

“I was slowing to a stop to yield to opposing traffic in order to make a left turn. You can hear my blinker is on… you can also see the opposing traffic pass by.”

Then this happened:

If you look at the lane markings, it’s clear that the Prius stopped almost exactly where Hughes’ Model S was before hitting the accelerator.

He added in the description of the video:

“This rear facing wide angle video doesn’t do the acceleration justice. Probably not many other cars out there that could have done this successfully. I was back up to nearly the speed limit (55 MPH) by just after the time this video cut off and by the time the Prius was nearly stopped in the space I was previously stopped.”

No one was hurt and no insurance claim has been filed, thanks to the P85D’s acceleration and Hughes’ quick reaction time.

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Avatar for Fred Lambert Fred Lambert

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