r/TeslaCollision

Hey everyone,
I’m looking for some collective wisdom on this 6-car accident I was just in on I-35 here in Austin. My 2023 Model Y is totaled, and I’m about to start the battle with insurance.

The Situation:
• The Car: 2023 Tesla Model Y, ~65,000 miles.
• The Goal: Maximize my payout to help bridge the gap to a 2026 Model Y (Juniper).
I’ve heard mixed things about how fault is assigned in Texas pileups. I want to make sure I’m positioned correctly before the adjusters start pointing fingers.
Questions for the group:

1. Fault: Based on the footage, who do you see as the primary "initiator"? In Texas (modified comparative fault), if I'm under 50% at fault, I can still recover damages—how do you see the percentages playing out here?
2. Valuation: With 65k miles, the insurance company's "Actual Cash Value" (ACV) offer will likely be lower than the $30k I paid. Has anyone negotiated a total loss on a high-mileage Model Y recently? What "comparables" did you use to push the price up?
3. Texas Specifics: I know I’m entitled to the 6.25% sales tax reimbursement in Texas for a total loss. Anything else I should demand (title/reg fees) to maximize the check?
4. Replacement: I’m planning on getting the 2026 refresh. Does anyone have tips on using the "replacement cost" argument if the ACV comes in significantly lower than the market price for a new one?
   Appreciate any insights or similar experiences!

This is BOTH views.

Can anyone give me a general estimate? The hood is bent and is slightly misaligned. The Fascia Camera is now misaligned as well. The Front bumper will need to be replaced. The trunk may be repaired as the dent/damage is very minimal. The driver who hit me was clearly at fault because they failed to brake.

I was using full self drive on standard mode going highways speeds (60mph) with my 2026 Y. I usually keep my hand loosely along the bottom portion of the steering wheel, even on hands-free mode but in this moment I had my hand off the wheel and glanced down to grab my coffee out of the cupholder. Almost as soon as I did, my car jerked to the left harder than usual. I was so panicked in the moment wondering why it was changing lanes so harshly and thinking, am I going to hit someone? When I realized I was headed for the median and not just going to the left lane I tried correcting the wheel but it was too late, I still hit the median. I will say the video makes it seem like I had way more time to react then it really felt like in the moment. You can kind of see the car start to correct before I hit the median, and I truly think it saved me from more damage than occurred. I still hit pretty hard. The Tesla still drives, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. I have to wait on someone to come and see the car while it sits on the lot for a full estimate of damages. I am in no way shape or form blaming self drive. I know that the driver is always liable, even though it doesn’t feel fair what happened. I’m just showing this as a reminder that full self drive is supervised for a reason and even if you have to look away just for a second, be cautious. Stay safe out there.

It doesnt look that bad, had car in front lose control and hit them trying to slam on my breaks. They are okay, I was protected by my Tesla only scraps and bruises.

Aftermath photos in the comments. That is a single lane per side road. The Skoda took some risk overtaking a car but I should also yield, but all other cars also yielded. A lot of questions in my mind.

At a quick glance, majority of damage was some paint transfer. I need to clean the area to fully determine the damages. Does it look intentional or accidental to you?

Last night a drunk driver slammed into my car and took off, but thankfully my dashcam caught the whole thing and I was able to get the license plate from the footage. Police report has been filed and insurance has been notified, so now I’m just waiting to hear back from the Tesla Insurance adjuster.

I’m honestly stressing because I have no idea whether Tesla insurance is going to repair it or call it a total loss. The charge port is also severely damaged and says it needs service on the screen. The car drives only at 10mph and makes noise. Has anyone here dealt with something similar after a DUI hit-and-run? Based on your experience, does this look like it’s totaled? This is a 2020 Standard Range + Tesla Model 3 with 92k miles.

Just had my car returned from the body shop after an accident. Had the door shell and left fender replaced. I just noticed after picking it up a slight difference in panel alignment or fit from the left and right side. With the fronk open you can see there is a little less space and the fender is slightly canted in relation to the hood closed. Shop said it’s basically as good as it will get and it’s very minor. Is this something worth getting checked out or good enough?

Check my other post since I can't add photos as well, tiny piece of rubber in the road, didn't see it until the last minute, got sucked up in my rear wheel well, blew my tire and caused damage along the whole side of my car. Had to get it towed over an hour away to the closest Tesla approved body shop, over 5k in damage.

All jokes aside are 2020 model 3 just shy of 90,000 miles served its purpose and did its job but is definitely totaled by an inattentive driver that failed to yield leaving their driveway. The driver of the model 3 walked away with nothing more than some marks from the seatbelt and airbags. Every airbag deployed except for the passenger side dash airbag. Car was leaking some sort of oil probably from the front drive unit.

Got rear ended while sitting in traffic by a cop. He was going full speed at roughly 25-30mph without slowing down. The impact felt pretty big. The rear bumper took all of the damage from his crash bar and doesn’t look too bad but wondering if anything behind would be damaged. Anyone with a similar accident have any estimated repair costs for this? Car still drives and works fine otherwise.

Hello fellows!

After 12 years of driving carefully and safely, my time has come. I bumped into a car parked in a spot next to me which has damaged my bumper and fender.
I went around a few collision centers in Northern California and the estimate ranged from 3k to 7k.
I can’t make sense out of this variation.
Can someone with such unfortunate experience please suggest what should a realistic cost should be?
I am with Tesla insurance. Does anyone know how much the premium goes up by?

Hi guys. I got in my first accident today and could use some help on what to do next. Here is some additional help and context:

1. I have footage of the accident from all the cameras.

2. I have footage from Meta Glasses of the other party admitting fault.

3. I filled a claim with my insurance not knowing I should have filled with the other parties. I filled with the other party and let my insurance know, they said the adjuster would figure it out and it's not a big deal.

4. My insurance told me not to tow the car or talk to a repair shop until the adjuster spoke with me.

5. The car is not drivable. I drove it from the accident scene to my home (about 3 minute drive) at a very low speed, but the car 100% should not be driven in the state it is in.

So, the question I have is.. do I wait for the adjuster to contact me before submitting service for collision through the Tesla app? Do I reach out to the dealership I got the car from or the Tesla collision center closer to me? Did I royally mess up submitting a claim with my own and the other parties insurance? If so, how to proceed?

Lastly, would Tesla tow and/or give me a loaner during this process? I have a couple days to figure this out before needing to get back to work. Any help, direction, or advice would be appreciated!

Someone hit and run my vehicle while I was at work, parked in a garage. You guys think it’s cooked or repairable

UPDATE: It went through the paint so I need a full hood repair and emblem replacement. I'm in Northern California and my estimate is $1,268.97.

Well, here I am. I was so sure I'd always be a spectator and not a poster in this group. Yesterday, a nine year old "keyed" my car with a rock (little sh!t). He tried to deny it until my step-dad told him about the cameras and then he said it was an accident.

I know noone can give a real estimate, but I'm just looking for input from others with experience. The kid has a deadbeat dad and within 6 months of moving in with his grandparents, his grandma died. Poor grandpa's raising a little boy on his own. I saw their house and know they don't just have extra cash laying around so I'm probably going to just take the loss and pay for the repairs. Any input as to how much I'm looking at? It looks like it might have gone through the paint in one spot.

I have a good one. Older guy hit me with his 90’s suburban while turning into my own driveway. He was behind me and suddenly veered to the right and hit me as I was turning right. The camera above my garage caught it. 21 M3LR with 55k miles I bought new. I’m pretty sure it’s going to be a total loss, estimate came in around $16k which seems low to me. There is definitely a suspension problem (nothing in the estimate for that though) as the car bobbles and is way out of alignment, so much so that I won’t drive it and had it towed. I’m ok with a total loss because I don’t want a patchwork car. My state is 60% of value to total, I don’t think this car is worth $26k.

Picked up my 2026 Model 3 Performance in Quicksilver recently and just noticed this chip/gouge on the front bumper edge. I did not hit anything, and it definitely wasn’t there on delivery day. There was shriveled up paint in the gouge mark that I thought was a smudge so I licked my finger to clean it up and the paint just fell off.

The only place the car’s been besides driving to/from work was a tint shop. The damage is on the edge/lip of the bumper, which makes me wonder if something contacted it while the car was there.

A friend told me it just looks like normal rock damage, but to me it seems more like direct contact because it’s one isolated gouge instead of multiple small chips.

What do you guys think:
road debris/rock chip?
curb contact?
or does this look like someone/something bumped it?

Also, for anyone with Quicksilver paint, what did a repair like this cost you?

Someone drove my car into a pole, is the car cooked for good