Social media is positively brimming with videos of angry drivers losing it over something as stupid as a zipper merge. Unfortunately, however, not every situation ends with angry words fired off into the ether. In this case, two ticked-off Tesla drivers gave in to their road rage, leading to a shooting that sent one to the hospital.
Two Tesla drivers, one gun, and a whole lot of road rage
California is Tesla’s best domestic market by a wide margin. As such, it’s no surprise to see Model Ys and Model 3s zooming up and down Bay Area highways on a near constant basis.
And, unfortunately, that means periodic bouts of road rage. Like a recent case wherein a Tesla cut another Tesla off, just before the first EV boxed the other car in.
According to FOX 2 KTVU, the driver of the first Tesla exited his car and started walking toward the other vehicle. The second driver, still in their EV, threw something at the approaching driver to halt his advance. It didn’t work.
Desperate to stop the other motorist, the driver in the second Tesla discharged a firearm at the first, striking him in the arm. That did it; the first driver retreated to his Tesla and drove off.
Camera footage captured the wounded Tesla driver as they drove to Washington Hospital in Fremont, California, home to Tesla’s Fremont factory. As for the gun-toting Tesla driver, reports put them speeding away from the site of the shooting at over 100 mph, sometimes crossing onto the shoulder to do so.
California isn’t a frontrunner for rage-related street shootings, but it does have an angry driver problem
Bay Area authorities claim that freeway shootings are down year-over-year. However, California does have a road rage and dissatisfied driver problem.
According to data from the NHTSA, US Census, and Gun Violence Archive, Los Angeles, California, takes the No. 2 spot among the most dangerous cities for drivers. Higher-than-average reckless driving instances and some of the worst traffic density in the country are a breeding ground for road rage.
