A video of a Tesla car flying into a Los Angeles neighborhood street went viral on social media, but Jordan Hook was not pleased with the dangerous stunt. The musician created a GoFundMe fundraiser to gather money to repair his severely damaged car after the Tesla landed in Echo Park Street.
He also fired at YouTuber Alex Choi, who claimed that no vehicles were damaged while the stunt occurred.
At midnight on Sunday, a driver now recognized as YouTuber Durte Dom launched a Tesla Model S into the air from the top of a hill. It then landed on Baxter Street, one of the city’s steepest streets.
Though it was initially reported that no cars were damaged in the process of filming the stunt, Hook clarified that his Subaru Forester faced the brunt of the Tesla’s landing.
A part-time substitute teacher, Jordan Hook, was left with destroyed front tires, steering column, and suspension. The musician had also recently spent $5,000 repairing his car’s engine, but his Subaru was severely damaged after Dom’s stunt.
During an interview with Vice, Hook revealed that his community encouraged him to create a fundraiser. He also made a short video explaining the predicament.
Alex Choi issues DMCA strike on Jordan Hook’s video
YouTuber Alex Choi has been recognized as the man behind the stunt. He uploaded a video on his YouTube channel titled “a flying tesla,” which held over 1.5 million views on his channel at the time of writing.
Choi said in his video that the driver found a stray cat on the street, brought it cat food, and put the cat in the Tesla while performing the stunt. He stated that no passengers or the cat were harmed while filming.
Choi also issued a DMCA takedown on Hook’s first video, where the latter explained the reason behind starting a GoFundMe. The content creator reportedly did so as Hook used a clip from his video.
Expressing how overwhelmed he felt with his damaged car, Hook told Vice:
“It’s going to take a while to sort through all of those options right now. It’s just a lot for just one person, especially the person out of work, out of money, out of a car, to have to deal with. This is a microcosm of society that’s happening right now.”
Jordan Hook was told by the Los Angeles Police Department that a detective had been assigned to the Tesla jump case. Detective Calvin Dehesa said that the vehicle in the video was rented from an Enterprise Rent-A-Car, but who rented the car remains unclear.
The person driving the vehicle will be charged with a misdemeanor for the hit and run.
At the time of writing, Jordan Hook’s GoFundMe campaign had gathered $14,244. Alex Choi himself made the largest donation of $2,000, even as the fundraiser hopes to accumulate $20,000.