Crossword Genius

In danger while pinching Tesla on drive (2,5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

at stake

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'in danger' is the definition.

'while pinching tesla on drive' is the wordplay.
'while' becomes 'as' (eg 'while I walked' means 'as I walked').
'pinching' means one lot of letters goes inside another (taking inside).
'tesla' becomes 'T' (scientific unit).
'on drive' becomes 'take' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'as' placed around 't' is 'ats'.
'ats'+'take'='AT STAKE'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for at stake that I've seen before include "Being risked or bet on" , "To be won or lost" , "Being risked, depending on outcome of event" , "Being risked, like money with bookie" , "where many martyrs died" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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