unilad homepage
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • World News
    • Crime
    • Health
    • Money
    • Sport
    • Travel
  • Film and TV
    • Netflix
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Archive
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Teen who purchased totaled Tesla for $13,000 breaks down how much it cost to restore

Home> Technology> News

Published 20:32 22 Oct 2024 GMT+1

Teen who purchased totaled Tesla for $13,000 breaks down how much it cost to restore

The teenager had saved a few bucks by fixing it himself

Joe Yates

Joe Yates

google discoverFollow us on Google Discover
Featured Image Credit: YouTube/Winston’s Garage

Topics: Tesla, Cars, Elon Musk, YouTube, US News, Money

Joe Yates
Joe Yates

Joe is a journalist for UNILAD, who particularly enjoys writing about crime. He has worked in journalism for five years, and has covered everything from murder trials to celeb news.

X

@JMYjourno

Advert

Advert

Advert

You may have never heard of Winston Pemberton, but moms and dads around the world will surely be envious of his parents.

He could even just be in the running for 'Child of the Year' after restoring two totaled Tesla's for his parents - saving them thousands of dollars in the process.

According to reports, the Washington teen splashed out $15,000 of his parent's money at an auction for the original 2018 Tesla Model 3 Long Range AWD (all-wheel drive) in red, which he gave to his mom.

Advert

But the 18-year-old explained in a video that the car's figure was actual $13,000, and while rebuilding it, he uncovered the shock accident that took place.

His story was shared on YouTube channel Wham Baam Teslacam, with the channel's host saying: "Winston purchased this totaled Model 3 from a wrecking yard and rebuilt it himself in his garage.

"Once the car was completely rebuilt he plugged in his USB drive and retrieved the footage stored locally on the Tesla's computer finally revealing how the car had been totaled.

Winston Pemberton has applied for a job at Tesla after restoring two totaled electric vehicles (YouTube/Winston's Garage)
Winston Pemberton has applied for a job at Tesla after restoring two totaled electric vehicles (YouTube/Winston's Garage)

"The footage shows the former owner driving along when another car suddenly appeared from the right with no opportunity to stop."

He added: "The Tesla driver T-boned the other driver on the driver's side, the Tesla was a total loss and was sold to Winston by Geico Insurance - Winston won the auction for $15,000 before setting out to build the cheapest Tesla in the US."

But as mentioned earlier, that price was actually $2,000 more than what he himself had stated.

So how much did he spend on it?

Pemberton spent a whopping $10,000 on car parts - $1,000 of that went to the taxman, so realistically it was $9,000, but the US is not a tax haven.

It meant that he'd spent $25,000 on the entire project in total - having actually bought the car for $13,000, with the extra $2,000 being spent on fees since he didn't have a dealers license.

The teen shared his progress on his YouTube channel, WinstonsGarage.

His bio reads: "I rebuilt a Tesla Model 3 for my parents and we have been driving it for a couple months now! I hope to one day bring another Tesla onto the channel and rebuild it but we will see."

Possessing the ability to restore a smashed up Tesla is an incredible feat and one that must surely put him on Elon Musk's radar?

According to his latest update video, he'd already applied for a job at Tesla, however, they decided to 'go with someone else', however, he took it in his stride and isn't deterred from applying again in the future.

UNILAD has previously contacted Tesla for comment.

Choose your content:

14 hours ago
18 hours ago
19 hours ago
a day ago
  • NASA
    14 hours ago

    Reason why NASA video has sparked conspiracy theory that Artemis II mission is being faked with green screens

    Artemis II is going to the Moon for the first time since the 1970s

    Technology
  • Reflect Orbital
    18 hours ago

    Scientists issue warning over controversial plan to launch 50,000 mirrors into space

    The proposed plan would supposedly offer sunlight 'on demand'

    Technology
  • Heritage Space/Heritage Images via Getty Images
    19 hours ago

    Artemis II could end moon landing conspiracy during Netflix livestream

    The Artemis II mission is the first time humans have traveled to the Moon since 1972

    Technology
  • NASA/Reid Wiseman
    a day ago

    Reason why Artemis II new photo of Earth has huge difference to previous images

    The impressive photo of Earth was released by NASA on Friday

    Technology
  • Man shocked after learning how much Tesla he purchased for $62,990 in 2022 is now worth
  • Man driving Tesla for a year compares cost of charging to gas and reveals shocking difference
  • Exactly how much money each person on Earth would get by splitting Elon Musk's wealth after $1 trillion Tesla deal
  • Financial expert explains how Elon Musk plans to save Tesla reputation with ‘bright shiny object’