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Tesla Model S achieves best safety rating of any car ever tested
- jlgreco 13y ago"the front section that would normally contain a gasoline engine is used for a second trunk." I guess somebody has veto'd "frunk". Oh well.
- MrFoof 13y agoYes, but as a result, extra attention was probably given to the entire front of the vehicle, which is also usually the case for mid-engine supercars. The big reason why the small overlap test is being focused on (aside from cars doing so well in every other test) is because of the reliance of manufacturers relying on an engine block (though really, the front reinforcement bar) to provide some assistance in bearing and distributing crash forces in more serious front impacts. When a single A-pillar has most of the force to bear, it's not been pretty for nearly every other car on the market.
- tjmc 13y agoIn the UK & Australia it would be a "froot".
- kibibu 13y agoOr a "hat"
- sliverstorm 13y agoAll the auto clubs around cars with empty front sections call them frunks.
- unionjack22 13y ago"It is possible to game the regulatory testing score to some degree by strengthening a car at the exact locations used by the regulatory testing machines. After verifying through internal testing that the Model S would achieve a NHTSA 5-star rating, Tesla then analyzed the Model S to determine the weakest points in the car and retested at those locations until the car achieved 5 stars no matter how the test equipment was configured." - This is how you take on the Big Three
- marvin 13y agoSo, does anyone want to give odds that Tesla will be a disruptive force in the automotive industry throughout the next decade?
- turing 13y agoIf they manage to remain at or near profitability through the continued scaling of Model S production and the introduction of the Model X next year, then things could get very interesting when they release their infamous 'third-generation', mass-market vehicle.
- adwf 13y agoYeah, I remember beign told at the end of the 90's that if you'd bought 100 shares (~$2000) of Microsoft stock at IPO and sold in '99, you'd have cashed in well over a million dollars. Tesla gives me that kind of feeling at the moment. It probably won't be to the same extent as Tesla's market cap is already quite high. So I can't see them splitting quite as much as MS. But on the other hand, I think they're definitely a stock to hold on to for quite a while and see what happens.
- nonchalance 13y agoThe problem with your thought process is that, unlike microsoft and google or apple, most traders and analysts already treat the company as if it can do no wrong. Analysts calling for price targets of 130 or 160 were predicting sales of 200K+ units per year 2-3 years out, which is a really aggressive target given the size of the addressable markets. On the other hand, it was only in 2011-2012 that wall street gave Apple its due credit. Which is not to say that the stock couldn't jump further, but as of now it's already in the same ballpark as big auto in terms of market cap (as of close today, Tesla market cap is 17.6B while Ford's market cap is 65B and GM's market cap is 51B).
- sliverstorm 13y agoIn short, a good buy requires two things: 1) Potential for growth 2) Potential for growth that everybody else hasn't already recognized Tesla is dandy for #1, but isn't looking too hot on #2.
- knowaveragejoe 13y ago> The Model S lithium-ion battery did not catch fire at any time before, during or after the NHTSA testing. It is worth mentioning that no production Tesla lithium-ion battery has ever caught fire in the Model S or Roadster, despite several high speed impacts. While this is statistically unlikely to remain the case long term, Tesla is unaware of any Model S or Roadster occupant fatalities in any car ever. I can't help but feel this is a bit of a jab at Boeing. :)
- baddox 13y agoI wasn't sure exactly what was meant there. At first, I thought it meant that it was statistically unlikely for there to be no battery fires in the long term, but I think it's just referring to occupant fatalities.
- vidarh 13y agoIt might be, but also consider that lithium-ion batteries do have a reputation, and catching fire or exploding would be high on the list of things that anyone wanting to sow doubt about the safety of an electric car might bring up, so pre-empting it might be worthwhile for that reason too.
- VladRussian2 13y agoone can only guess what Airbus sales reps talk about in private with their potential clients :)
- knowaveragejoe 13y ago
- dave1619 13y agoElon has mentioned how much they prioritized safety in designing the Model S. I'm glad to hear that their efforts have paid off. This is great news for Tesla as it opens their market even larger as the car can appeal to those seeking safety and not just performance or lower carbon footprint.
- bhauer 13y agoI know what you and Elon mean here with the word "prioritized," but it's impressive just how many things on the Model S were a priority. Safety, performance, style, technology, experience, efficiency, etc. Where it seems most manufacturers set a few priorities and then fail to deliver on some of those, it seems the Model S had several and met them all. Of course, I end up sounding like an evangelist saying that.
- rdtsc 13y ago> Elon has mentioned how much they prioritized safety in designing the Model S. Definitely a smart move. If nothing this gives them a smaller attack surface against attacks from Tesla's competitors. You can bet they would have attached like leeches to any minor safety flaw. For example, say, a Tesla car caught on fire and its batteries ended up electrocuting a fireman -- there would be no end in sight to the letters to the editor from "concerned citizens" about fireman's family and how we won't think of his children. Extra effort for increased safety is definitely worth it, if anything at least for marketing purposes.
- lsc 13y ago>Extra effort for increased safety is definitely worth it, if anything at least for marketing purposes. More to the point, traffic deaths are a /real danger/ - more people are killed by falling appliances than by terrorism, and we seem to think it's worth spending huge amounts of money, going to war with the rest of the world, and giving up many of our own rights to fight terrorism. For most of us? Terrorism is not a real threat. For most of us, especially us middle-class Americans, If we die before we get old? there is a pretty large chance that death will be in a traffic accident. If we want to increase safety, we should be spending thousands of dollars on auto safety for every dollar we spend "fighting terrorism"
- iandanforth 13y agoFavorite quote: "[T]he exact number is uncertain due to Model S breaking the testing machine"
- tlb 13y agoThey picked a wimpy machine if it broke at 4x. Here's one that can apply 159 tons of force (about 80x the weight of a Tesla). http://www.overbuilt.com/products/car-crushers http://www.overbuilt.com/products/car-crushers
- moocowduckquack 13y agoCorrect me if I am wrong, but that doesn't look particularly like a calibrated testing machine.
- bluefinity 13y agoYeah, I'm pretty sure this is the type of thing they use for crushing cars for scrap metal, not testing how much pressure it takes.
- ghayes 13y agoMy favorite was "While this is statistically unlikely to remain the case long term, Tesla is unaware of any Model S or Roadster occupant fatalities in any car ever."
- simonb 13y agoThere aren't that many on the road to begin with. To put this into perspective: during 1990-1994 there were 5 fatalities in Volvo 240s with 186000 cars on the road [http://www.iihs.org/externaldata/srdata/docs/sr3009.pdf http://www.iihs.org/externaldata/srdata/docs/sr3009.pdf] Also the roof holding 4 additional cars, that's cute http://www.aronline.co.uk/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/volvo-stack-e1314951030869.jpg http://www.aronline.co.uk/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/v...
- turing 13y ago"Of note, during validation of Model S roof crush protection at an independent commercial facility, the testing machine failed at just above 4 g's. While the exact number is uncertain due to Model S breaking the testing machine, what this means is that at least four additional fully loaded Model S vehicles could be placed on top of an owner's car without the roof caving in." I don't have any frame of reference for how this compares to other vehicles, but damn, that is impressive.
- jlgreco 13y agoI wonder what sort of a drop 4g's translates too. It seems to me that the height you can drop it before the roof caves in is the more important figure, but I guess it is probably more difficult to accurately run the test that way.
- ISL 13y agoDepends upon how squishy the roof/substrate is. The acceleration-to-height or compressive stress-to-height conversion is not well-defined in general. If you're optimizing for dropping a car on its roof from a specified height, it's probably better to drop the car on its roof.
- beachstartup 13y agoi'm guessing that in accidents, cars very rarely drop on their tops - they either roll and come to rest upside-down, or get hit when they're already turned over/sideways.
- jacquesm 13y agoThe one thing you learn about car accidents is to not make any assumptions at all about how they progress. Cars can get flipped up and land on their roofs easily, and it doesn't take much for this to happen either. It definitely is not the most common accident but it does happen and frequently enough that they test for it.
- 13y ago
- ultimatedelman 13y agoThe graphic below shows the statistical Relative Risk Score (RSS) I do not think that acronym means what you think it means.
- loceng 13y agoWell, they probably won't win out against the whole of the geeky internet.
- thiagoperes 13y agoElon is on a roll
- ChuckMcM 13y agoVery impressive. One really cannot over stress that there is a lot of car that you "don't need" in the front and back if you don't have a big engine but using it for energy absorption is a certainly valid use. So far the only complaints my friends have had with their cars has been the "constant" updates to the software.
- spullara 13y agoI can't believe people would complain about the updates to the software. They are more rare than iPhone dot releases and come with real benefits. Maybe they were pulling your chain.
- ilyanep 13y agoWhat kind of updates come in Tesla software releases, and also how do they get into the car? I've actually never thought about this at all.
- spullara 13y agoYou get all the updates over the provided 3G connection the car has included. Here are some of the release notes: http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showwiki.php?title=Model+S+software+firmware+changelog http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showwiki.php?title=Model+S+so... I started with 4.2 and am on 4.5 now.
- ChuckMcM 13y agoIt is certainly possible they were yanking my chain, would not be the first time. Our CTO Greg had an issue with the 'low power' recharge situation which was fixed by a later software update. I've not manageed to get the building owner to install a charging station in our parking lot yet alas.
- Bob_Sheep 13y agoThe crash test results, including the videos, are available here: http://www.safercar.gov/Vehicle+Shoppers/5-Star+Safety+Ratings/2011-Newer+Vehicles/Vehicle-Detail?vehicleId=7769 http://www.safercar.gov/Vehicle+Shoppers/5-Star+Safety+Ratin... And even more crash test data and videos: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/database/aspx/vehdb/testtabledetails.aspx?LJC=8308&existphoto=Y&p_tstno=8308&existreport=Y&r_tstno=8308&existvideo=Y&v_tstno=8308&database=v&tstno=8308 http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/database/aspx/vehdb/testtablede... http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/database/aspx/vehdb/testtabledetails.aspx?LJC=8309&existphoto=Y&p_tstno=8309&existreport=Y&r_tstno=8309&existvideo=Y&v_tstno=8309&database=v&tstno=8309 http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/database/aspx/vehdb/testtablede... http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/database/aspx/vehdb/testtabledetails.aspx?LJC=8310&existphoto=Y&p_tstno=8310&existreport=Y&r_tstno=8310&existvideo=Y&v_tstno=8310&database=v&tstno=8310 http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/database/aspx/vehdb/testtablede...
- RomP 13y agoThis is simply unkind to the competition (and to the poles alike): "Tesla achieved this outcome by nesting multiple deep aluminum extrusions in the side rail of the car that absorb the impact energy (a similar approach was used by the Apollo Lunar Lander) and transfer load to the rest of the vehicle. This causes the pole to be either sheared off or to stop the car before the pole hits an occupant." There's winning and there's crushing the opponents. One shouldn't gloat in the latter case, but this case deserves an exception. Congratulations Elon and the team on tremendously nice engineering!
- Florin_Andrei 13y ago> There's winning and there's crushing the opponents. Crushing the opponents while your car remains uncrushed in the test (or the least crushed). That's what you get when you ask the rocket scientist to make you a car.
- ISL 13y agoIf you ask a rocket scientist to make you a car that passes the crash test ratings alone, they'll build you a tungsten dump truck. If you're going to win, you might as well reach the destination without noticing that you've had a collision.
- mikeash 13y agoI imagine NASA's crawler transporters would score exceedingly well on most of these tests, assuming the technicians survived.
- nonchalance 13y agoIsn't this old news? (http://www.treehugger.com/cars/tesla-model-s-gets-5-star-safety-rating-every-category-after-nhtsa-crash-tests.html http://www.treehugger.com/cars/tesla-model-s-gets-5-star-saf... was posted two weeks ago: http://www.treehugger.com/cars/tesla-model-s-gets-5-star-safety-rating-every-category-after-nhtsa-crash-tests.html http://www.treehugger.com/cars/tesla-model-s-gets-5-star-saf...)
- callmeed 13y agoIf you're curious, like I was, about the side pole test, here's a video of the Tesla: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBvH3lysmJA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBvH3lysmJA Here's a Prius for comparison (4 stars): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yc0uUx2T37k http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yc0uUx2T37k
- mikeash 13y agoThat looks like the difference between waking up sore the next morning and waking up in the hospital the next morning. Pretty impressive how well the Tesla does given how little space is available to absorb the blow. Minor nitpick: your second link is a Prius c, which is quite a bit smaller than a regular Prius, and more like a Yaris aside from the drivetrain. Still a decent example of a "normal" car in any event.
- Lagged2Death 13y agoThat's a Prius C, the new super-small one based on the Yaris chassis. Given its ultra-low-budget roots, four stars is actually really impressive. Yeah, the Tesla is better, but it's a newer, heavier, and far more expensive design. It should be better.
- teamonkey 13y agoHere's a Prius v. Looks worse than the c. http://youtu.be/GNZ5ojGRiRU http://youtu.be/GNZ5ojGRiRU
- ricardobeat 13y agoThat fallacy is debunked by every sports car ever.
- sliverstorm 13y agoSports cars have always made sacrifices in this regard. The first being simply that real sports cars are half the size of a modern saloon, which gives much less room for crumpling.
- sbierwagen 13y agoIt helps that it weighs 4,600 pounds. (More than a thousand pounds heavier than the Volvo S60 they compare it to.) Heavier vehicles always do better-- which is why SUVs survive crashes so well.
- guynamedloren 13y agoI don't know much about the mechanics or engineering of the Model S, but I'm going to take a gander and say that much of that extra weight comes from the battery pack (and other parts of the non-traditional drivetrain), which isn't a (huge?) factor in a crash test (though I could be wrong). Just checked - yep - the battery weighs an estimated ~ 545kg or 1200 lbs [1]. I'd expect the structural components to actually be lighter than competitors, given that they're fabricated with aluminum vs steel. [1] http://www.teslamotors.com/fr_CA/forum/forums/model-s-battery-0 http://www.teslamotors.com/fr_CA/forum/forums/model-s-batter...
- mikeash 13y agoHow much does the gas tank, motor, radiator, transmission, etc. in a normal car weigh? Have to subtract that out of the 1,200lbs to see how much extra is added.
- akira2501 13y agoMid-Range Estimates: Engine: 300 to 450 pounds Transmission: 120 to 140 pounds Gas Tank: 20 to 25 pounds Radiator: 20 to 30 pounds So, roughly 460 to 645 pounds. Add 110 pounds for 15 gallons of gas. The comparison is a little more difficult than this though, because the batteries just store energy. The Model S still has a (416hp) motor, there are a few other differences (regenerative vs standard brakes) and equivalencies (inverter vs alternator).
- mikeash 13y agoYep, it gets a bit tough, but that 460-645lbs range seems like a decent stab at it. I don't get the impression that the Model S's motors are all that heavy compared to the rest of this stuff, but I could be wrong. I'd also wager that the Model S needs a full set of mechanical brakes for emergency purposes, since it still needs to be able to stop safely even if all the electronics suddenly quit while going down the highway at 70MPH. And then there's the question of whether you compare against a 416hp motor, or a less powerful gas motor that would be more typical for a car that size....
- tocomment 13y agoI've always found the star safety ratings confusing especially when I've noticed compact cars getting the same stars as large cars. I'd like to just see each model ranked by number of fatalities per mile driven. Wouldn't that make a lot more sense? Is such a statistic available anywhere?
- tlb 13y agoThey exist [1] but can be misleading because different kinds of people buy different kinds of vehicles. So muscle cars and 4x4s have higher crash rates than minivans and economy sedans mainly because of the people that drive them. [1] http://www.iihs.org/externaldata/srdata/docs/sr4204.pdf http://www.iihs.org/externaldata/srdata/docs/sr4204.pdf
- tocomment 13y agoThanks! I guess you could still use it to compare between say minivans?
- bocalogic 13y agoI am really proud of Elon and his crew. For someone who has made a first pass at making a car he sure has set the bar very high. The performance, quality and safety of this vehicle show that anything is possible. However, on the flip side, it shows how uncompetitive the U.S. market has become. It takes vast sums of money to compete with the big 3. I look forward to Elon pushing the limits in space and with the hyperloop.
- blsci 13y agoIs there an automotive safety engineer in the room? I'd be eager to get expert commentary on these results. The safety test results sound amazing. Tesla is also strong in the marketing department. Just trying to maintain healthy skepticism. These results seem very exciting.
- ra88it 13y agoElon Musk clearly writes these things himself. That, or he's got a bunch of other folks like him working at Tesla. Either way, it's exciting times. It's fun to be inspired by a company. To find something that keeps getting better as it unfolds...
- eru 13y agoOr they work together at creating them. I.e. he writes a draft, gets it fleshed out, and he applies some finishing touches.
- ra88it 13y agoSure. I guess what I mean is I can see his hand in the work. (Or at least I've convinced myself of that.) Tesla's PR is many things, but it's not safe. It feels plain and unadorned and yet genuinely enthusiastic and precisely bold. I used to be worried that Musk's hand was too heavy on the tiller. Now I'm just enjoying the show.
- eru 13y ago> Tesla's PR is many things, but it's not safe. It feels plain and unadorned and yet genuinely enthusiastic and precisely bold. In most big companies the PR people have to cover their asses, but don't have too much ownership of what they say. Whereas for Tesla someone who's not afraid is calling the shots.
- enraged_camel 13y agoExactly. It is an incredibly refreshing departure from how things are normally done in Corporate America.
- eru 13y agoAnd I think it's worth it for them to spend CEO time on it. Because the difference is not just between people reading good PR vs mediocre PR, but whether people will actually read it. (I.e. if it's not worth doing well, might as well not do it.)
- spajus 13y agoSorry for the sarcasm, but could it be because it runs out of batteries before hitting the test wall? :)
- D_Alex 13y agoOkay, I am convinced this car is superb. How about we... build more of them? There is a Ford factory here in Australia that is due to be shut down in 2 years, it could be converted, and us Aussies would love to be able to buy this car. I personally promise to buy one if it is built here. The Aussie government might chip in as well.
- gz5 13y agoLove it when the goal is to be better than the best, nothing less is tolerated, and the engineering makes it so.
- OGC 13y agoThe lack of critism in this thread is astounding.
- ricardobeat 13y agoNot surprising since this is about a celebratory post. There's plenty of time to criticize things on the internet, why the rush?
- gargoiler00 13y agoHN has a raging hard-on for tesla. It's not surprising, but I agree it's ridiculously one sided here. Personally, I hope Tesla fail, and think they will.
- lutusp 13y ago> Personally, I hope Tesla fail, and think they will. Maybe, but you need to realize that the electric car is an obvious and timely technological development, and someone will produce a successful mass-market electric car. Why not Tesla? It's not as though they're making a lot of mistakes.
- gargoiler00 13y agoI don't believe electric cars are technologically better. Lugging a half ton battery around, then waiting for hours for it to charge doesn't seem that clever to me. Of all the things that are banes of our lives these days, surely it's everything that runs on a battery. Remember when phones would last a week or so on a charge? Now you're lucky if a smart phone lasts a day on standby. And people call it progress... So no, I think the idea of having a massive battery in my car is horrible.
- lutusp 13y ago> I don't believe electric cars are technologically better. Lugging a half ton battery around, then waiting for hours for it to charge doesn't seem that clever to me. Early internal combustion engines were also rather embarrassing, but this didn't hinder their adoption -- at the time they were a better choice overall. Imagine the reverse situation -- imagine that electric cars took hold when they were first introduced in the early 1900s and saw a century of improvements. Then someone comes forward and says, "We have an idea! Instead of charging your battery all the time, you carry a tank of explosive liquid fuel with you wherever you go, and you burn the fuel as you drive." Present battery technology is pretty terrible -- not very efficient, too heavy, low energy density, short life. But widespread adoption of electric cars will force technological improvements, just as happened with internal combustion engines. If batteries improve -- greatly -- it will become self-evident that carrying a battery around is a better choice than carrying and burning liquid fuel, both for the environment and in a simple economic sense. At the moment, electric cars aren't an obvious improvement over an internal combustion car, but I think that will change. In a hypothetical future with more wind and solar energy sources, and possibly fusion power in the long term, electric cars will make more environmental sense as well.
- TallboyOne 13y agoHow can I buy one of these? Is there a huge wait time? And how does the performance compare to a regular consumer-level luxury 'sports car' like an audi?
- kirse 13y agoI'm sorry, but as a car enthusiast who spent much of his younger years devouring every ounce of Road&Track/Car&Driver mags, the phrase "any car ever tested" is a bit over the top... I'm almost positive the McLaren F1 (a car 20 years older) fared better than the Tesla in safety testing and was capable of being driven away after the testing finished... F1 @ 30mph: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/McLaren%20F1%20J/XP2_crash_test.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v482/Peloton25/McLaren%20F... F1 @ 40mph: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUPq760LC00 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUPq760LC00 I'm more than willing to acknowledge Tesla has fantastic results, especially for the price... but that top spot still belongs to my childhood automotive idol. ;)
- btilly 13y agoThe article notes that the testing standards were changed substantially in 2011, in ways that makes them much harder to pass. The McLaren F1 might still be much safer, but it did not go through the same testing procedures.
- rplnt 13y agoOne more reason to not compare it to "any car ever tested".
- tankbot 13y agoThat's amazing! I had no idea the F1 was so sturdy. My assumption (probably common) is that these super light exotics disintegrate when hitting large insects, let alone walls.
- sixQuarks 13y agoThere have been several real-world crashes of the Tesla S, and none, as far as I know, have resulted in any injuries to the driver. One was even a head on crash at fairly high speeds which killed the other vehicle's driver. The Tesla S driver walked away. Tesla never fails to amaze me.
- philip1209 13y agoSource on the head-on crash story?
- outworlder 13y agoI found this one: http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=821_1367344455 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=821_1367344455
- schiffern 13y agohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtgTcoT1yRo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtgTcoT1yRo
- sixQuarks 13y agoI was mistaken. Two people were killed in the other car, and the Tesla driver was taken to a hospital with minor injuries. Still, amazing aftermath to a terrible accident.
- alexeisadeski3 13y agoMisleading title.
- philfreo 13y ago> Of note, during validation of Model S roof crush protection at an independent commercial facility, the testing machine failed at just above 4 g's. While the exact number is uncertain due to Model S breaking the testing machine, what this means is that at least four additional fully loaded Model S vehicles could be placed on top of an owner's car without the roof caving in. This is achieved primarily through a center (B) pillar reinforcement attached via aerospace grade bolts. lol, they broke the testing machine
- abalone 13y agoThis is all very good PR.... BUT. The critical safety concern with the Tesla is....... You guessed it. The high voltage system. It can kill you or a first responder with a touch. It's not just about batteries catching fire, although that's gotten a lot of press lately. A chief concern during a Tesla accident is the exposure of high voltage components. It's a big concern for first responders. Read it from the horse's mouth, the Tesla Emergency Response Guide. Page 16 highlights the "no cut" zones of the car. It's practically the entire length of the car. http://www.teslamotors.com/sites/default/files/downloads/20130214_ModelS_Emergency_Response_Guide.pdf http://www.teslamotors.com/sites/default/files/downloads/201... There was a video they put out as well that details the steps first responders need to take to cut someone out of a car. It's HELLA COMPLICATED and in very close proximity to dangerous high voltage components. And yes, gas cars can explode, etc. I don't mean this as fuel for the gas vs. electric debate (no pun intended). I hope very much the industry can improve electrical safety over time. All I'm saying is, never trust Elon Musk PR to tell you the whole picture.
- sitharus 13y ago> All I'm saying is, never trust Elon Musk PR to tell you the whole picture. Never trust anyone's PR to give you the whole picture! Though as a counterpoint, I've seen cars with the roof cut off to extract people, but never the side doors or the floor cut open. I don't think they'd cut the floor since it's quite thick and has all sorts of wires and pipes anyway.
- abalone 13y agoYou've never seen doors cut off? You must not have seen much then.. happens all the time. Google jaws of life. BTW here is the Tesla first responder training video that shows how to cut off a door(!) and move the dash without electrocuting yourself. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntK3rvVl2Qw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntK3rvVl2Qw It's a pretty cool video, I expect most people on this thread would enjoy watching it. I sure did.. although I'm not sure I'd want to be stuck bleeding in a Tesla while they figure it out. Also a little concerned about a short happening during an accident and electrifying passengers.. would like to know more about the risks there.
- jchrisa 13y agoHow do pedestrians fare when hit by a Tesla? I'll save my cheering for when they have a self driving one so I no longer have to worry about drunk or distracted drivers.
- mzs 13y agoMy guess is they would do pretty well. There is not a rigid engine right under the hood, the wipers mounts seem well protected under the hood, and no other protrusions really in the front. Euro NCAP provided pedestrian safety results, but the site does not work for me from here. You can go see if you want though if there is anything for the Tesla Model S there.
- DonGateley 13y agoI keep fearing this guy is going to pull a John Gault on us. He's the closest thing to an Ayn Rand character I've seen in my lifetime. Too close for comfort. Atlas Shrugged came out when I was entering high school and almost ruined me according to my dad back then (and he was a republican.) :-)
- Uchikoma 13y agoTesla S is an excellent car. Loved it when I sat in one. What came to light in Germany some years ago, with a heated discussion, is that automotive companies seem to optimize their cars towards specific tests. The discussion raged around what tests are more realistic, with those that let the car makers look bad (foreign tests) being "not realistic".
- TeMPOraL 13y agoThat's what you get when you think about your product first, and profit second. Musk wants to give the world a great car, not to make profit on cars. This breeds quality we see.
- nraynaud 13y agoHere in Europe we use EuroNCAP, do you have any news about a testing by this laboratory? Google doesn't yield any interesting result.
- kmfrk 13y agoI was in a European Tesla retailer this month or the last, and the person told me that no tests NCAP test had been made at the time.
- so898 13y agoMaybe they should find someone try to hack into the system. I believe this computer based car will have the same virus problem as PC. If it has function to connect the internet via wireless network, things might be worse...
- ciwk 13y ago"While the exact number is uncertain due to Model S breaking the testing machine, what this means is that at least four additional fully loaded Model S vehicles could be placed on top of an owner's car without the roof caving in." jeez. couple that with this and it's safe to say these have been a good couple of months for tesla http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2013/05/video-the-tesla-model-s-is-our-top-scoring-car/index.htm http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2013/05/video-the-te...
- constapop 13y agoHere are videos of model s crash tests: Frontal - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz2FMfv-CSc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz2FMfv-CSc Pole - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Al3IUHt9Wc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Al3IUHt9Wc Side - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNyjiFmjfxw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNyjiFmjfxw
- njharman 13y ago> While the exact number is uncertain due to Model S breaking the testing machine... The tone of this press release is perfect.
- lnanek2 13y agoSeems a little disingenuous to bring up better rating than SUVs. SUVs of the same rating as cars still have a 4.5 times better survivability rate. The rating is for comparing similar cars hitting each other. A comparatively light and low to the ground car is not going to fare well vs. a heavy, higher off the ground SUV. That's just simple physics.
- coin 13y agoAt $70,000+, it's still out of reach for most people.
- X-Istence 13y agoThe way cars collapse and fall apart at crashes is absolutely amazing. Just over 30 days ago I was involved in a head on collision with a Nissan Titan full-size pickup truck WITH cargo in the bed, and walked away from an accident the EMT's, fire fighters, and police all told me it was almost impossible I did. The adjuster didn't believe me when I told him the state of the car, but when he did go out to check it out he called me and asked me if I was sure I was alright... Here are pictures: http://imgur.com/a/nIMOP#0 http://imgur.com/a/nIMOP#0 I was driving 20 Mph, turning left at a traffic light, the pickup truck was driving (according to the driver) 45 - 50 Mph, although the adjuster and off-duty police suggest he may have been driving faster. --- One thing I will note though, my car is significantly cheaper than the Tesla... and fares extremely well in the NHTSA tests.
- DavidWanjiru 13y agoIs there not a way an emergency responder, or anyone else for that matter, could fully discharge a battery like the one on a Tesla? As ask coz back in the day before digital cameras became mainstream, we used to repair point and shoot cameras at the photo processing lab where I worked. A point and shoot camera has a capacitor for the flash that can give you a short but not insignificant shock, and to avoid it, we'd take a normal light bulb and use it to discharge the capacitor. I realize a cap batteries stores a lot more power, but couldn't some mechanism be built that does the same thing?
- thufry 13y agoThe Tesla is a great car but it's absolutely insane that American taxpayers are donating $7500 to allow rich people to buy $75,000 luxury cars.