The 15-year-old Navy officer is praising the electric car he bought from Tesla for having played a “huge part” in saving his life in the attempt to carjack this week. 

Draper Younce was driving the car of Draper Younce, a Tesla Model 3 at an apartment complex in Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday afternoon when a carjacker came into the car from behind and took out a gun, and yelled at him to be taken out of the car.

Younce stated to FOX News that the features in his car, such as its door handles that flush, exterior cameras, torque and horsepower, and a “hold” feature that allowed him to stand still while driving, made it easier for him to get out.

“The first thing I said was, ‘no, man, I’m not getting out of the car,'” Younce said to FOX Business. “And the second thing I said … ‘this is a Tesla, you can’t steal a Tesla.'”

A photo from Draper Younce’s Model 3 Tesla with the bullet hole located in Jackson, Florida. (Draper Younce)

Due to the doors that were flush on the vehicle The driver “completely missed the door when he tried to open it,” Younce claimed.

The incident led the carjacker to drop his weapon at a “split-second,” giving Younce the chance to hop onto the gas to “just take off.”

“I literally snapped back into kind of the training that I’ve received throughout my career,” he explained. “I just had to look for that moment. I didn’t know what the moment was going to be.”

At that time, the vehicle was placed in “hold,” which means even though it was idle but it was in drive, which allowed Younce to accelerate right away.

“The car is ready to go, so I didn’t need to put the car in gear or anything,” the driver said.

The carjacker fired at Younce however the bullet hit the car between the passenger and front doors.

Close-up of Draper Younce’s Model 3 Tesla with the bullet hole located in Jackson, Florida. (Draper Younce)

Thanks to the car’s 8 cameras Younce managed to record the entire event and turn the footage over to the police in an effort to track the culprit.

Eight cameras are located around the exterior of the vehicle and at the very least, four cameras are always recording, he explained. If you ever sound the horn or enter involved in an accident, then the vehicle will automatically save the prior 10 minutes, including some of the moments following the incident, he added.

“When I pulled away, I realized I said, ‘oh, honk the horn, save the recording. You know you got this guy on camera,'” He stated.

Following an incident, Younce was quick to hop on Twitter to thank the auto company’s chief executive Elon Musk.

“Thank you for your help @elonmusk your car played an integral part in helping me save my life. It is imperative to make all cars bulletproof, or buy my hands on a Cybertruck,” he tweeted.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
TESLA	TESLA INC.	850.00	-21.27	-2.44%

The story went viral, with the tweet gaining over 14,000 followers. The tweet even got the interest of Elon Musk who replied, “Wow.”