This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.

"World's Safest Car" To Get Underbody Blast Shield To Avoid Embarrassing Car-B-Q Moments

Tyler Durden's picture




 

Once upon a time, Tesla's Model S was supposedly the world's safest car. Then a few of them spontaneously combusted either in the comfort of their own garage, or while doing the unthinkable, i.e., driving over pieces of debris on the road, and questions emerged just how much money was used to bribe the NHTSA which had rushed to proclaim the Model S the safest car it has ever tested without apparently doing any actual testing. Today questions of NHTSA bribes re-emerged louder than ever after NHTSA reported earlier it had "closed an investigation into fires involving electric sports car maker Tesla Motors Inc's popular Model S sedans after finding no "defect trend." Obviously a forced recall by Tesla would have promptly shifted the spontaneous combustion from merely its cars to its all important for marketing purposes stock price.

Yet there was one person who did not quite agree with NHTSA's assessment: Tesla boss Elon Musk.

Elon Musk, chief executive and founder of Tesla, announced on Friday that all Model S cars – the company’s top model – manufactured from this month will be fitted with a triple underbody shield.

Because, you see, the "world's safest car" needs what is effectively a bomb blast shield planted in the floor. Just in case.

In a blog post on Medium , Mr Musk said the company decided to fit the shield to reduce the risk further. It follows an “over-the-air” software update to increase the ground clearance of the Model S at highway speeds to reduce the odds of a severe underbody impact.

What risk? Isn't the Model S the world's safest car... at least in those times when it is not burning uncontrollably of course.

Mr Musk said Tesla would also retrofit the shields, free of charge, to existing cars upon request or as part of a normally scheduled service.

 

Although he noted there have been no casualties as a result of the fires, Mr Musk wrote: “We felt it was important to bring this risk down to virtually zero to give Model S owners complete peace of mind.”

 

During the course of 152 vehicle level tests the company found the shields prevented any damage that could cause a fire or penetrate the plate that already protects the battery pack.

 

We have tried every worst-case debris impact we can think of, including hardened steel structures set in the ideal position for a piking event, essentially equivalent to driving a car at highway speed into a steel spear braced on the tarmac,” Mr Musk wrote.

And yet one piece of stray metal allegedly managed to lead to this:

 

One thing is certain: if after the inclusion of what is effectively a mafia-style bomb blast shield Tesla's continue to have occasional Car-B-Q moments, it will be far more difficult for the damage control brigade to come up with excuses. Which, of course, is all an enterprising arb, who buys the car and "hedges" with a few million in puts really needs for one of the best possible pair trade returns in 2014.

 

- advertisements -

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.
Fri, 03/28/2014 - 14:56 | 4603340 Joebloinvestor
Joebloinvestor's picture

What about driving the wrong way through an exit and spiking all the tires (on one so equipped)?

Will that puncture the shield?

Fri, 03/28/2014 - 15:30 | 4603467 Zymurguy
Zymurguy's picture

It puts itself out or it gets the hose again.

It puts itself out or it gets the HOSE AGAIN!

PUTS ITSELF OUT!!!

Fri, 03/28/2014 - 15:37 | 4603491 Zymurguy
Zymurguy's picture

Well, I'm crying foul on this one... we all know that when these advanced batteries discharge they generate a tremendous amount of heat (you've no doubt read many stories of modern tech' laptop batteries catching fire).  Enough so to cause combustion or other items around them to combust.  I dont' believe for one minute that impacts from objects is the problem.  I believe they are discharging/recharging these at too great a rate thus generating dangerously high temperatures.

Fri, 03/28/2014 - 15:41 | 4603503 Rising Sun
Rising Sun's picture

electric cars 1910 - 1940 - FAIL

 

electric cars 1990 - current - pending FAIL

 

natgas and diesel technology have come a long way

Fri, 03/28/2014 - 16:59 | 4603712 cougar_w
cougar_w's picture

There is a body of evidence that electric vehicles were driven (pardon a pun)  from the market.

Our system rewards cartels. The cartel gets to write both history, and protective market controls. Once in place the cartel stays in place, and everything that came before slowly evolves into something that was a bad idea.

Almost nobody gets this. It is so common and examples are so numerous that it is as invisible to us as water must be to fish. Our entire system of public education is part of it, as is probably half of the State laws passed in any given year. There are cartels at every level of industry but in particular in energy, finances, media and transportation. The cartels have virtual government charters and enjoy government supports. They will be bailed out over and over because they are the backbone of the entire nation and it's spreading political structure.

See it, people. Just see it for what it is. Stop pretending you are making informed choices from among options, because you are not. And when someone comes along saying that something new is no good or a threat or a waste of time, think in the back of your mind that even if it is true that is also the sort of thing the cartel would be telling you to blind you to something that for the cartel is an existential threat.

Fri, 03/28/2014 - 20:42 | 4604397 Elliott Eldrich
Elliott Eldrich's picture

You may want to check out the book "Internal Combustion: How Corporations and Governments Addicted the World to Oil and Derailed the Alternatives" by Edwin Black. Not saying it's the be-all and end-all of information on this topic, or that it is 100% correct in all of its statements, but from an adversarial point of view it makes a pretty compelling argument that supports your assertion.

Fri, 03/28/2014 - 18:00 | 4603941 Captain Nukem
Captain Nukem's picture

Battery powered cars are for children. I'm waiting for a nuclear-powered 'Fermi' with a 50 megawatt reactor under the hood.

Eat  my neutrons, Tesla-tots!

Fri, 03/28/2014 - 18:10 | 4603988 cougar_w
cougar_w's picture

This is my favorite take on the idea:

http://blog.seattlepi.com/americanaerospace/2010/07/12/the-missile-from-...

... and they nearly did it. Don't know if I should be happy or disappointed that they never did. Somethings are just that epic, you want to see it.

Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site!