Tesla Model Y falls 300-foot cliff in Malibu

A Tesla went about 300 feet off Mulholland Highway in Malibu on May 29, and both people inside survived, according to local news reports and Malibu Search and Rescue. The crash was reported at about 7:05 a.m. to 7:30 a.m., depending on the outlet, and drew a response from Malibu Search and Rescue, the Los Angeles County Fire Department and the California Highway Patrol. Video and photos published by local media showed the vehicle resting in brush and trees on steep terrain below the road. Both occupants were airlifted to a trauma center with what rescuers described as moderate injuries. ### Where did the crash happen, and what is verified? Mulholland Highway in Malibu is the verified crash site in the reporting that followed the rescue. KTLA reported the Tesla plunged off a Malibu cliffside along Mulholland Highway around 7:30 a.m. Friday, while NBC Los Angeles placed the wreck in the 2500 block of Mulholland Highway and said the vehicle came to rest about 300 feet below the canyon road. (ktla.com) Pacific Coast Highway appears in some secondary retellings, including the Tesevo blog cited in the prompt, but the more detailed local reports identify Mulholland Highway, not Pacific Coast Highway, as the road where the vehicle left the pavement. Based on those contemporaneous reports, the location is best described as a Mulholland Highway crash in the Malibu area. (ktla.com) ### What do rescuers say they found at the bottom of the slope? Malibu Search and Rescue said the male driver was outside the vehicle yelling for help when crews arrived, and the female passenger was pinned inside the Tesla. KTLA and the Malibu Times both attributed that account to rescuers and reported that crews used ropes and rescue tools to reach the wreckage on the steep hillside. (nbclosangeles.com) NBC Los Angeles reported that a medic was lowered by helicopter to the crash site, one person was hoisted to the roadway, and a second person was treated while trapped in the vehicle. ABC7 video distributed on YouTube and Yahoo also described both people being airlifted after the plunge. ### How badly were the occupants hurt? (ktla.com) KTLA reported both the driver and passenger suffered moderate injuries and were airlifted to a local trauma center. The Malibu Times used similar language, saying both survived and were taken by helicopter for treatment because of the remote and steep terrain. NBC Los Angeles said details on their conditions were not immediately available at the time of its report. (nbclosangeles.com) No names, ages or later medical updates were included in the local coverage surfaced in this reporting. ### Was it actually a Model Y? The vehicle was widely described in local reporting as a Tesla, but not every outlet specified the model. (ktla.com) The Tesevo post called it a Tesla Model Y, while some Tesla-focused retellings elsewhere identified other models, including a Model 3. The contemporaneous local reports cited here do not appear to independently confirm the exact model designation. (nbclosangeles.com) That means the most defensible description is that a Tesla passenger vehicle went off Mulholland Highway and fell about 300 feet, with the precise model still unconfirmed in the reporting reviewed. ### What is known about the cause? The California Highway Patrol is investigating the cause of the crash, according to the Malibu Times. (tesevo.com) Authorities had not released an explanation for why the vehicle left the roadway in the reports published through May 30. Los Angeles County has separately highlighted safety concerns on Mulholland Highway. (ktla.com) A county Vision Zero project page says the Board of Supervisors approved a motion in August 2023 to address traffic safety along Mulholland Highway and identify ways to eliminate fatal and severe-injury crashes there. May 29 is the key date in the timeline: that is when the crash occurred, the rescue unfolded and local television outlets first published footage from the scene. (malibutimes.com) The next public step is likely to come from the California Highway Patrol if investigators release a cause or collision findings. (ktla.com) (visionzero.lacounty.gov)