Legendary American tin-top racer and motoring television personality Randy Pobst was lucky to escape with only minor injuries after crashing his Tesla Model 3 hill-climb car during testing at Pikes Peak.
“Too fast too soon, first run, first massive bump on top section,” Pobst posted on social media. “I know better. I know it’s rough up there.”
The crash went viral on the internet yesterday following the publishing of a sequence of photographs of the accident by world renowned photographer Larry Chen, including one paused on the Tesla while entirely airborne prior to impact.
Since then, onboard video of the crash has also been published online by the car’s builders, Unplugged Performance. You can watch the footage below:
The fully electric sedan had its rear shocks blown out, its wheels bent, a bent rear frame, a damaged rear-drive unit, and plenty of other damage.
But, despite this, Pobst and Unplugged Performance are keen to repair the vehicle in time to run again this weekend.
“We are glad Randy Pobst is safe,” the team posted. “It is amazing how one instant can turn success into heartbreak on this mountain.
“We may never know if we would have broken the 10 minute barrier. We surely gave it our full effort to support the Tesla mission.”