Blake Bortles shares the hilarious reason he bought a Tesla...

Blake Bortles shares the hilarious reason he bought a Tesla

By: Cameron DaSilva

[theramswire.usatoday.com]

Blake Bortles joined the Los Angeles Rams this offseason, signing with them after being cut by the Jacksonville Jaguars. He visited the facility and immediately knew he wanted to sign with the Rams, despite knowing he wouldn’t be a starter. He’s friends with Jared Goff and loves what Sean McVay has done in L.A., so he viewed it as a perfect fit.

Having grown up in Florida and playing there until last year, going to Los Angeles was quite the change. And with the move came the motivation to change one thing about himself, too.

Bortles wanted to quit using chewing tobacco – or dip, as it’s often called – so he forked up the cash for a Tesla.

The two don’t seem to be related at all, but Bortles’ explanation on “Pardon My Take” actually makes sense.

“The plan was to buy a Tesla so that I could quit dipping, so that I wouldn’t have to go to the gas station anymore,” Bortles said. “So now I just go to the gas station to buy dip.”



The plan and intentions were great, but Bortles’ execution was poor. His expensive idea for quitting dipping has not worked out thus far.

Jared Goff saw Bortles’ car and thought the former Jaguars quarterback was joking about buying it. He thought it was about Bortles trying to fit in in his new city.

“I actually thought you were joking when I first saw it,” Goff said. “I thought you were messing around like, ‘Oh, I’m in California, I’m gonna rent a Tesla.”

Bortles admitted fitting in was part of the reason for his purchase, too.

“I also wanted to fit in. But I also have a pickup truck back in Jacksonville and I was like, ‘I don’t really want to bring that out to California,’ so I figured I’d buy something where I could fit in,” Bortles said.

Instead of going to the gas station for gas like most people, Bortles says he charges his car at home and “there’s a charger at the facility.”

Driving a Tesla does have its perks, aside from avoiding the gas station like Bortles was trying to do. He uses the autopilot function whenever he drives to the Rams’ facility, sitting back and checking the news while his car gets him to work.

“I just let it get on the highway and you double-click the thing twice and it just drives you all the way there,” Bortles said. “I kind of check the news and see what’s going on. It beeps like every 60 seconds and you’ve got to touch the wheel, so you can’t take a nap.”

The funniest part of the story is how Bortles actually bought it. It was almost accidental because of how easy it was to purchase online.
“I ended up on the Tesla website and it was like, ‘Design your own.’ So I’m like, ‘Ah, I might as well see what I can do here,’” he explained. “So I get to the last page and there was a ‘Buy now’ button, and I was like, ‘Well, I gotta hit this.’ I got a call immediately, like, ‘Hey, congratulations on your Tesla purchase.’”

Bortles says the call included instructions for wiring the money for his purchase, and it was that simple.

“The guy called me immediately and was just like, ‘I’ll send over the wiring instructions,’” Bortles said. “[I said], ‘All right, I guess we got one.’”

So now Bortles has a $160,000 Tesla and still hasn’t quit dipping. But at least he doesn’t have to pay for gas or drive himself to work anymore, so he’s got that going for him.