San Francisco, Jul 17 (IANS): A Tesla Model X was caught in a passing tornado in the US and the vehicle not only survived the tornado but also filmed the whole thing on Tesla's Sentry mode.
The Model X, which weighs 2,459 kg (5,421 lbs), didn't move at all during the incident. Its low center of gravity, thanks to its battery pack mounted at the bottom of the car and heavier weight likely helped.
The vehicle comes equipped with Tesla's Sentry Mode, which detects movement around the vehicle using Tesla's suite of Autopilot cameras and records for safety.
It recorded several objects flying around and onto the car in the tornado. A video from another angle on the Tesla vehicle showed other vehicles crashing onto each other due to the tornado, Electrek reported.
The owner of the Model X noted that the vehicle was pretty banged up from debris hitting the body panels, but it was still driveable.
Their insurance company is expected to cover the damages.
According to the report, statistically, tornadoes are fairly rare. They form about 1,000 times per year in the US and in Canada, they happen roughly 100 times per year.
However, the US National Weather Service has noted a significant upward trend in recent years, which some are trying to link to climate change.
Recently, there was a major tornado outbreak in Barrie, Ontario, resulting in nine injuries and about 5 kilometers of damages, but fortunately, no one died.
The tornado received a preliminary EF-2 rating, with maximum wind speeds of 210 km/h (130 mph).