Saturday morning, nearby Gaza. A Hamas Toyota pickup truck vs. one Tesla
By Udi Tsion, translation from Hebrew
With the beginning of the invasion, J, a resident of Miflasim, was called up with the community’s reserve unit. When he began driving his Model 3 Performance to the assembly point, to his surprise, a pickup truck full of terrorists passed by and began firing at him. He pressed on the gas
This is not how J, a resident of Kibbutz Miflasim, planned to spend last Saturday. But minutes after the Hamas forces invaded the communities nearby Gaza, he was called to an event with the community’s reserve unit. He hurried to his Tesla Model 3 Performance, and began driving to the assembly point. His Apple Watch stopped at 6:50 a.m. from a splinter.
Photos that first appeared on the Tesla Israel Telegram channel document what happened next. In a conversation from Sheba Medical Center, where he is hospitalized after a series of surgeries on his head and hand, he told Walla about a drive he will never forget.
“The terrorists identified me from a distance of 10 meters. In addition to their Kalashnikovs, they had a combat machine gun that fired larger-diameter bullets. They didn’t realize it was an electric car, so they shot at the front in the hope of hitting the engine that wasn’t there, and at the back, in an attempt to ignite the fuel tank that the car doesn’t have. They shot at my tires. I pressed on the gas and they began to chase me.”
In this battle, there was a Toyota pickup truck against one driver in a private car. But it was also a chase between a diesel pickup with about 150 horsepower, versus an electric sedan with over 530 horsepower and all-wheel drive. About 15 heavily armed terrorists against a wounded but determined driver, who found himself fighting for his life hundreds of meters from home.
“They shot at my tires, but the Tesla’s acceleration is amazing even in this condition, and the all-wheel drive managed to keep us on the road. I quickly got away from them, but I realized I had to get to the hospital as soon as possible and I was driving at 180 km/h with blown-out tires. The tires started to crumble, but the all-wheel drive balanced out the imbalance between the wheels, some of which I was already on the rims. According to the app, I continued to drive at 170–180 km/h.”
J already made the journey from Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon by ambulance, after the bullet-riddled Tesla managed to bring him to the gates of the hospital. Despite the fact that the car was counted as having about 100 hits, the front window remained cracked all the way but did not break. The rescue teams who rushed to remove him and transfer him for treatment broke the windows of the doors.
“I was hit by bullets in my legs and hand, and one in the skull and also shrapnel. But my head is working, and the motivation kept me going on the way and also now in the hospital. The car kept driving, the battery didn’t overheat, but it took a lot. There is no part that didn’t get a bullet. It still drives if you press on the gas, but it seems to me that I need to start thinking about my next Tesla.”
My own note — As a Tesla owner, I found this blog exciting, not just due to Tesla of course. I wanted to share it with you to spread the urgent need to destroy Hamas and in addition, encourage moderate new leaders to replaced failed extremists, from Netanyahu to others. Either way, Israel cannot live side by side with a terror state. The Palestinians should not allow it either, from selfish reasons.
Lastly, I used Google’s Bard to translate the article from Hebrew. I didn’t need to change a single word. ChatGPT on the other hand, didn’t do well, it eliminated details from the translation (like the Apple wrist watch) and the quality wasn’t as good.
