JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (WBTW) — A Florida driver was able to escape an attempted carjacking at gunpoint Friday thanks to features of his Tesla Model 3, and the entire incident was caught on camera.
Draper Younce said he was sitting in his Model 3 in a Jacksonville parking lot waiting to pick up a friend when a suspect came up to him and tried to take his car at gunpoint.
The suspect reached for the door handle, but because the Tesla door handles are flush with the body of the car, the suspect wasn’t able to grab it to open the door quickly enough, providing Younce with a split-second opportunity to drive away.
The Tesla has multiple cameras around the outside, which captured the incident. Younce shared the footage to his Twitter page. It went viral, even catching the attention of Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Younce said the car was in “hold” mode, which means when the car is stopped, it won’t move — even if the car is in drive — until the driver hits the accelerator. He said he believes that aided in his escape because the suspect didn’t know the car was on and in drive.
Younce sped off due to the car’s quick acceleration. The suspect fired a shot at the car but hit near the pillar between the driver door and the rear passenger door.
As of Thursday night, the suspect hasn’t been caught.