Here's Lola Amparo’s Story: The Grandma Terrified By Tesla Summon
Her grandson, Dave de Jesus, was kind enough to tell us what happened back in 2017.
Lola Amparo is a hit. When we first published her video here at InsideEVs, people had a great time with her reaction to what we called the Tesla Smart Summon. We also thought she was speaking Spanish, but her grandson, Dave de Jesus, read the original article and agreed to tell us the whole story behind the funny video he shot.
Gallery: Terrified Grandma On Tesla Model S Learns What Smart Summon Does The Hard Way
When we shared the video, it was hosted at the Elon Musk Stuff Facebook page and had no information there. Probably because it was public on De Jesus's Facebook profile as well – it was originally posted on December 25, 2017.
“Her name is Amparo Tomeldan. But we just call her Lola Amparo – lola is grandma in Tagalog.”
Some of our readers with knowledge of the languages spoken in the Philippines said she was speaking Ilocano. Others said it was Tagalog. And there were the ones that bet on Pinoy. We asked De Jesus what she was the language she used.
“In the video, she was speaking a mix of Tagalog and Ilocano. Basically, what she was saying in the video when the car started moving was ‘help, help, help! I'm gonna die!’”
A family code allowed De Jesus to know the right time to call it quits.
“I stopped the Summon as soon as I heard her call ‘Kiko’ – at 15 seconds. That is my nickname. I knew at that moment she was starting to get serious and that she'd had enough.”
Her terror came from not knowing what De Jesus' brand-new Model S at the time could do.
“She didn't even have an idea that the car could be remotely moved forward and backward. Back in 2017, there was only the regular Summon, unlike the Smart Summom we have today.”
De Jesus also translated what she tells them at the end of the video.
“As she was getting out of the car, she was saying, ‘I don't like this car! It's gonna give me a heart attack! I thought you guys would just take a photo of me!’ and she walked away.”
As the matriarch, Lola Amparo must have reserved quite a punishment for De Jesus, right? Not really: she also has a fantastic sense of humor.
“She was actually laughing at herself when we showed the whole family that video later that day. It was Christmas morning, so our whole extended family was all together in that house laughing so hard at her video.”
If we knew about that, we would have published the article last Christmas. Lola Amparo turned the “gift” she received from De Jesus's Model S into a video her family will remember for a long time. Thanks to De Jesus's generosity in sharing it, not only her family but InsideEVs’ readers as well. All the best, Lola Amparo! And try not to get so scared next time you see what a Tesla can do.
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
All The EVs That Got Canceled Or Delayed In 2025 And 2026 (Updated)
The Best Compact Electric SUVs To Buy In 2026
Someone Is Already Trying To Flip One Of The Last Tesla Model S's Built. The Price Is... Ambitious
Polestar Won't Appeal Its U.S. Ban. Now Dealers Are Left Holding The Bag
This Tesla Model 3 Battery Chemistry Ages Better Than The Rest
America’s First UL-Certified Plug-In Balcony Solar Microinverter Is Here
The 16 Cheapest Electric Cars In 2026