Nov. 13, 2010; Chicago, IL, USA; Washington Wizards point guard Gilbert Arenas (9) being guarded by Chicago Bulls small forward Luol Deng (9) in the second half at the United Center. The Bulls defeated the Wizards 103-96. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-Imagn Images Dennis Wierzbicki-Imagn Images

Wizards Legend Gilbert Arenas Blames Tesla for Son’s Crash

Originally posted on Washington Wizards on SI
By Henry Brown | Last updated May 22, 2025 9:00 AM ET

New details surrounding Alijah Arenas' car crash and how close the basketball prospect came to suffering further injuries continue coming to light weeks after the incident, with father and former Washington Wizards All-Star Gilbert Arenas recently opening up on his perspective to the close shave.

His 18-year-old son briefly slipped into a coma last month after ramming into a fire hydrant and a tree in his Tesla Cybertruck before the car caught fire with Arenas still stuck inside. His former player-turned analyst father recounted his takeaways from the experience on the "All the Smoke" podcast, blaming Tesla's manufacturing for the accident.

"The car malfunctioned on him," the elder Arenas told Matt Barnes. "The steering wheel went limp and ran right into a tree."

“You’re a lucky one to see this.”

Gilbert Arenas opens up to Matt about his son's fiery single-car crash in late-April.

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"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," he continued. "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."

The McDonald's All-American and University of Southern California commit eventually made it out of the burning wreckage when bystanders came to his rescue, and he was quickly placed on medically-induced drugs upon making it to the hospital before eventually coming to within the week.

He made quick progress in his rehab process, and is expected to make a full recovery.

Gilbert, for his part, has been in the news for his own reasons this spring, from the debuting Netflix documentary about his ill-advised locker room gun toting that accelerated his NBA demise or his various talk show-induced sound bytes. This is unlike anything he's had to deal with since retiring from the NBA, but he's still going about the reckoning process with his token light-minded demeanor in returning to his place in front of the microphone.

This article first appeared on Washington Wizards on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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