Man restores a salvage Tesla then surprises his wife with it as her new car and her reaction is one of disbelief
- YouTuber surprised wife with a salvage Tesla Model 3
- He’d worked tirelessly to get it working
- Now it was time to reveal the EV to his amazed spouse
Published on Mar 07, 2025 at 5:35 PM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Last updated on Mar 07, 2025 at 8:00 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Emma Matthews
A YouTuber known for his work with junk vehicles gave his wife a surprise with a salvage Tesla Model 3 he’d worked extensively to fix.
His restoration work spanned from transferring parts to reconnecting everything.
After completing a successful test drive it was finally time to reveal the restored EV to his spouse.
Her reaction was simply priceless.
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The work on the salvage Tesla Model 3
After a long multi-post journey working on the salvage EV Tesla, Ivan of the Niko Brothers finalized his rebuild.
He’d been transferring parts from old to new bumpers, assembling the door panels, and fixing faults before a test drive.
Despite being fully charged, a technical fault limited the EV’s speed to 6mph, however, Ivan reconnected everything and read theerror codes to fix it.
Following a few initial adjustments, including alignment, subframe work, and checking the suspension after lowering the car, Ivan takes it for a test drive.

While he’d worried that a few more tweaks were needed, the salvage Tesla performed well – and Ivan was finally ready for the big EV surprise.
The surprise
He announced that the reason behind the project was to surprise his wife.
To set up the big reveal, he ensured that his lucky wife was at a friend’s house when he brought the Tesla Model 3 over.
Ivan’s wife was shocked and excited when she saw the Tesla, struggling to believe that it’s really hers.
As she gets behind the wheel of the electric car, having previously driven a minivan, she is confused as to how you start an electric car.
“What do I even do? Where are the buttons? Where’s the key?” she asked in disbelief.
To help it sink in, the couple takes the Tesla for a test drive, with Ivan’s wife in ‘complete shock’.
What a lovely surprise!
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All Supercar Blondie contributors undergo editorial review and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and authority in automotive journalism. After gaining her BA Hons in French and English at the University of Nottingham, Amelia embarked on a vocational diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). This led to numerous opportunities, from interning at Vogue to being on the small team that launched Women’s Health magazine in the UK, which was named the PPA Consumer magazine of the year for three years running. As Health, Beauty and Fitness editor, Amelia personally received a Johnson & Johnson Award and was shortlisted for both PPA and BSME titles. Since then, Amelia has created content for numerous titles and brands, including the Telegraph, 111 Skin, Waitrose, Red magazine, Stylist, and Elle, as well as being Head of Content at Vitality and Editor in Chief at INLondon magazine. “My superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a relatable story you’ll want to share with your friends after you’ve read it.” After joining the SB Media family as a senior journalist in September of 2023, Amelia’s role has evolved to see her heading up the SEO output of the editorial team. From researching the most ‘Google-able’ key terms to producing evergreen content - it’s been a time of hard work, growth, and success for the editorial team and the Supercar Blondie website. “I like to think of myself as a ‘method journalist’. In other words: I live and breathe whatever I am writing about. When writing about fitness, I trained as a personal trainer, and as a beauty editor, I completed an ‘expert’ in scent diploma with the Fragrance Foundation. “During my tenure at Supercar Blondie, however, I did something I never thought possible: I passed my driving test at the age of 36. One day I’d love to train as a mechanic to better understand what happens under the hood, too. “My sweet spot is providing readers with a ‘takeaway’ (read: something new they didn’t know before) after reading every one of my stories. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the automotive world, I know the experts and bodies in the field to rely on to provide our readers with an informative and thought-provoking story every time they visit the site.”