Back in July, we told you about Frenchman Rafael de Mestre, and his Verne-inspired attempt to travel around the world in just 80 days in his all-electric Tesla Roadster.
Using some clever social media, and a few video cameras to boot, de Mestre has live blogged his trip in detail, giving us the highs and lows of a global expedition in a super-sexy sports car.
On Sunday, however, just 600 miles short of the finish line, de Mestre’s attempt to beat fellow Frenchmen Xavier Degon and Antonin Guy’s own electric car circumnavigation of the world came to an abrupt halt.
While passing through Germany, de Mestre’s all-black Tesla, nick-named KIT, rear-ended a Toyota hatchback and Mercedes SUV after failing to stop in time on a busy stretch of road.
Luckily, de Mestre escaped from his car unharmed, as did all of the other drivers involved in the accident.
At the present time, the cause of the accident has not been disclosed, but de Mestre, posting on the trip’s Facebook page on Sunday said it all.
“noooooooooooo!!!!,” he wrote. “game over! +++ I’m Fine!!!”
Initially, things looked bleak, with most of his Tesla’s front bodywork smashed and lying on the blacktop after the accident.
But early this morning, de Mestre gave at least some hope of finishing his trek: Tesla was already working on his car.
Rafael de Mestre's Crashed Tesla Roadster (via Facebook)
“Tesla is repairing KIT with 5 technicians in parallel!,” he excitedly proclaimed online.
Rather than end his trip early as first feared, it looks as if de Mestre may just beat his fellow Frenchman -- driving a 2012 Citroen C-Zero (Mitsubishi i) -- across the finish line.
That’s as long as Tesla can repair his car in short order, of course.
As for the accident itself?
De Mestre captured it all via an on-board camera, and posted this short, but terrifying video of the accident online, calling it “The black day of the race.”
We’re glad to hear that no-one was injured, and wish de Mestre the best of luck with the remaining 600 miles of his trip.
And of course, we’d like to remind everyone of one simple fact.
As we’re sure de Mestre was, Always. Wear. Your. Seatbelt.
+++++++++++
