Gilbert Arenas Says Son Alijah's Crash Stemmed From Cybertruck 'Malfunction'

Gilbert Arenas says the fiery wreck his son, Alijah, was involved in late last month all happened because the teen's Cybertruck malfunctioned.

During a recent interview with Matt Barnes on "All The Smoke," Arenas claimed that as his 18-year-old high school basketball phenom offspring was driving his luxury Tesla ride in L.A.'s San Fernando Valley on April 24, his "steering wheel went limp."

Arenas said as a result, Alijah lost control -- and plowed into a fire hydrant, before he barreled into a tree.

The ex-NBA superstar said the vehicle then caught on fire -- but his boy wasn't able to escape, as the windows were bulletproof.

"He couldn't break a window," Arenas said.

The former Wizards point guard told Barnes that Alijah ended up being trapped inside the burning car for at least 10 minutes ... and he was only able to get out because he had left a crack in the window that good Samaritans were able to use to pull the glass off the car.

Fortunately, Alijah is now doing better after he was hospitalized due to smoke inhalation -- and he's actually getting ready to get back on the basketball court soon.

Arenas added that he strongly emphasized to his son to use the experience as a life lesson.