Why tertiary alkyl halides give $"S"_"N"1$ reactions mostly ?

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Answer 1 · 2016-01-02T03:41:49

They form stable carbocations. $"S"_"N"2$ is difficult due to steric hindrance.

It would be hard for the nucleophile to swim its way past the 3 bulky alkyl groups to attack the carbon center in $"S"_"N"2$ .

Why tertiary alkyl halides give "S"_"N"1"S"_"N"1 reactions mostly ?