Would you sacrifice your $70,000 car to save someone’s life?
Most of us will never have to answer this question, but at least one German man recently faced this exact dilemma. Fortunately for the other driver, he decided the damage was worth it—and ended up earning a shout-out from the Tesla CEO himself.
Manfred Kick was driving his Tesla Model S down the Autobahn near Munich, Germany, when he noticed something was amiss. The Volkswagen Passat ahead of him was swerving back and forth across the road, occasionally slamming into the guardrail.
When he got closer to the out-of-control car, he discovered the other driver slumped over the steering wheel, apparently unconscious.
“It was clear the driver needed urgent help,” the 41-year-old Kick told German newspaper Muencher Merkur.
Instead of driving away, Kick decided to take matters into his own hands. He pulled in front of the Volkswagen and slowed down until the other car grazed his rear bumper. Then, he kept braking until both cars came to a full stop.
This is even more impressive considering that parts of Germany’s Autobahn are famous for their lack of any official speed limit.
Kick then waited until EMTs arrived and took the other driver to a nearby hospital. According to officials, the man suffered a stroke, but has recovered and remains in stable condition.
Meanwhile, Kick was left with more than $10,000 worth of damage—until the boss heard the story.
Two days after the incident, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted about the heroic act and offered to pay for Kick’s repairs.
“Congrats to the Tesla owner who sacrificed damage to his own car to bring a car with an unconscious driver safely to a stop!” Musk wrote. “In appreciation, Tesla is providing all repair costs free of charge and expedited.”
In appreciation, Tesla is providing all repair costs free of charge and expedited. https://t.co/D68HNJcCoQ
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 15, 2017
Sometimes, good deeds really are rewarded—at least when Elon Musk is paying attention!