Gilbert Arenas Blames Tesla Cybertruck For Son's Crash
Gilbert Arenas Blames Malfunctioning Tesla Cybertruck For Son’s Fiery Car Crash
The fiery car crash that Alijah Arenas, son of former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas, was involved in last month shook up the sports world. The elder Arenas believes that it was due to an issue with the Tesla Cybertruck that Alijah was driving at the time. He stated as much during his appearance on the All The Smoke podcast on Monday (May 19), saying “the steering wheel went limp” to host and former NBA star, Matt Barnes.
“The car malfunctioned on him,” Arenas said. “The steering wheel went limp and ran him right into a tree.”
The 18-year-old Alijah was trapped inside the Cybertruck as it caught fire, but he couldn’t break the windows as they were bulletproof.
“He couldn’t break the window. I seen that people were like, ‘Oh, he fell asleep.’ I’m looking at, he’s on the phone with 9-1-1 —I’m trying to get that call—he’s on the phone with them for 10 minutes, so I know he was at least in the car for 10 minutes,” Arenas added, disputing earlier reports that his son had fallen asleep at the wheel.
“If you are a parent and your teen has this car, you might want to put a hammer in that joint, something that can break the window. Because physically, he said he was trying to kick the window in and couldn’t,” he continued.
Alijah was rescued from the vehicle because of a crack left from his attempts at breaking the glass, which Good Samaritans used to pry the glass off. The five-star athlete was hospitalized for smoke inhalation after the April 24 crash and was in a coma for a brief period of time. Since the crash and his time in the hospital, the younger Arenas has made good strides in preparation for the fall, when he’ll play for the USC Trojans.
Gilbert Arenas shared how he told his son how lucky he truly was.
“Most people don’t get to see the flowers and how everyone reacts when something happens. So you get to witness what the world did when you was sleep,” he said. “When you was in an induced coma. This is what’s supposed to make you great: that you watch life that could’ve just ended. You can’t take this s–t for granted.”
