A joyride in a stolen electric car ended with a horrific crash last Friday in West Hollywood.

A man drove off from a car dealership in California in a Tesla model S. Police were alerted to the theft and began chasing the car at around 12.45am.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kE_u731EmYA

News site KTLA reported that police stopped pursing the vehicle after one of its patrol vehicles crashed. (The officers were not injured.)

The joyride, which at times hit speeds of up to 161kmh, continued on for another 11km before the driver lost control of the car.

The Tesla slammed into two vehicles and a lamp post. It split into two, with one half of the wreckage left on the road and the other wedged in a nearby wall.

Amazingly, the driver survived, though he was taken to hospital in critical condition.

The car's lithium-ion batteries began to burn, some popping like fireworks and shooting into the air, reported The Wall Street Journal.

Quartz reported that seven people, including the driver, were injured in the incident.

Here's one half of the stolen black car after the crash.

And here's the other half stuck in a wall.