Tesla Model 3 survives 300-foot Malibu plunge

A Tesla Model 3 went about 300 feet down a cliff off Mulholland Highway in Malibu on Friday, May 29, and both occupants survived, according to local news reports and Malibu Search and Rescue accounts cited by those outlets. ABC7 Los Angeles reported that rescue crews airlifted a man and a woman to a trauma center with moderate injuries after the morning crash. The reports said the vehicle left the roadway at about 7:30 a.m. and came to rest on a steep hillside below the highway. Social media posts that circulated again on Tuesday helped push the crash into wider view, but the underlying incident dates to last week, not June 2. ### When did the Malibu crash actually happen? Friday, May 29, is the date given in local coverage of the crash. ABC7 said the Tesla plunged off Mulholland Highway that morning, and The Malibu Times separately reported emergency crews were dispatched at approximately 7:30 a.m. to a rollover in which the vehicle went roughly 300 feet over the side. (abc7.com) Tuesday, June 2, is when fresh X posts and reposted video drew broader attention online. That timing appears to have created confusion around whether the plunge had just happened. The available local reporting points to a Friday incident that was later amplified on social media. (abc7.com) ### What do local reports say happened on the cliff? ABC7 reported that the driver was already outside the Tesla and yelling for help when rescuers arrived. The station said a woman remained pinned inside the vehicle, prompting crews to rappel down the cliff to reach the wreckage and extract her. (abc7.com) The Malibu Times said the crash involved a serious rollover off Mulholland Highway. Several follow-on reports, citing Malibu Search and Rescue, said the hillside rescue involved multiple agencies and helicopter transport from the scene. ### How badly were the occupants hurt? ABC7 reported that the man and woman were airlifted to a trauma center with moderate injuries. (abc7.com) Westside Today, citing the same rescue response, also said both survived with moderate injuries after the 300-foot plunge. No official identities for the occupants were included in the local reports surfaced in this search. (malibutimes.com) The coverage reviewed also did not include a public statement from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department on the cause of the crash. ### Which agencies responded at the scene? (abc7.com) Malibu Search and Rescue was identified in ABC7’s report as the source for key details about the response. Westside Today and other follow-on reports said the Los Angeles County Fire Department, the California Highway Patrol and McCormick Ambulance also responded to the scene. (abc7.com) Helicopter rescue was a central part of the operation. Local reports said both occupants were airlifted from the hillside after crews reached the wreckage below the roadway. ### Why did this story spread on social media days later? X posts on May 31 and June 2 recirculated video and photos of the wrecked Tesla and emphasized that the occupants survived. (abc7.com) Some posts framed the crash as a Tesla safety story, but the verified facts available from local reporting are narrower: a Model 3 went off Mulholland Highway, fell about 300 feet, and two occupants were hospitalized with moderate injuries. Tuesday’s online attention appears tied to those reposts rather than a new emergency response. Readers looking for additional official detail would most likely find it from Malibu Search and Rescue, Los Angeles County Fire, or the California Highway Patrol if those agencies issue further incident information. (abc7.com) (teslaoracle.com)