A man in Israel managed to outrun over a dozen armed Hamas operatives in his Tesla EV in a dramatic chase involving gunshots and bullets being pumped into his legs, hands, and skull and lived to tell his tale.
In a post on X by Gilad Alper, the head of Israel's Freedom Party, "C", a resident of Kibbutz Mefalsim and a member of the settlement's emergency squad, was called in shortly after the Hamas group launched a barrage of over 5,000 rockets from Gaza on southern Israel.
He rushed to his Tesla Model 3 Performance and began driving to the assembly point. His Apple Watch had already stopped working after being hit by a shrapnel.
"Photos that appeared for the first time on the Tesla Israel Telegram channel document what happened next," Mr Alper wrote, as he narrated the drive "C" spoke about from the hospital where he was admitted with a series of head and hand surgeries.
"The terrorists recognized me from a distance of 10 yards. In addition to their Kalashnikovs, they had a machine gun that fired bullets of a larger calibre. They did not realize that it was an EV, so they shot at the front, hoping to hit the engine that was not there, and then at the back, trying to set the fuel tank on fire. Of course, there was no fuel tank. They shot my tires. I pressed the accelerator, and they started chasing me," the post said quoting "C".
The battle on the road was now between a Toyota truck and a lone driver in a private car. "But it was also a chase between a diesel truck with about 150 hp against an electric sedan with more than 530 hp and dual drive. About 15 well-armed terrorists faced a wounded, but determined driver, who found himself fighting for his life hundreds of meters from his home," the post said.
"They shot my tires, but the acceleration of the Tesla is amazing even in this situation, and the dual drive managed to keep me on the road. I quickly got away from them, but I realized that I had to get to the hospital as soon as possible and I drove at a speed of 112 mph with flat tires. The tires started to crumble, but the dual drive balanced out the wheels, some of which were already on the rims. According to the app, I continued to drive at around 110 mph," "C" said, according to the post.
The car had around 100 bullet holes, and the front window was cracked but did not disintegrate, the post said. The windows had to be broken by the rescue teams to get "C" out and transfer him to treatment.
"Bullets hit my legs and hand, got one in the skull and I was also hit by shrapnel... The car continued to drive, the battery did not heat up, but it took a lot of damage. There is not a part that did not take a bullet. It still drives if you press the pedal, but it seems to me that I should already be thinking about my next Tesla," the post quoted "C" saying.
Reacting to the post, Tesla founder Elon Musk said: "Glad he made it!"
Israel woke up to a dawn attack on the day of Sabbath last Saturday by the Hamas group from Gaza in one of the deadliest escalations of conflict in the area. Although caught by surprise at first, Israel retaliated, pounding Gaza with airstrikes and reducing districts, cities, and towns to rubble. Then came the "complete siege" of Gaza, under which Israel stopped the supply of water, food, and other essentials to the blockaded coastal strip, crippling an already battered population.
Thousands have died on both sides since the Sabbath attack and thousands more have been injured, with Israel vowing to destroy the Hamas group and launching a ground offensive on the Strip.
