Tesla was a common name in the headlines at the end of 2013 due to three Model S vehicles, two in the United States and one in Mexico, catching fire. These fires were said to be caused by the car’s battery being punctured by debris, as detailed in a post to Tesla’s blog on Oct. 4, 2013.
CEO of Tesla Elon Musk stated in a March 28 post on Medium.com that no one was injured in the events due to the car’s safety features. And even if the occupants were to have remained in the car, and the fire department did not arrive, Musk ascertained they still would have been safely protected.
(See also: Tesla Model S Proves to be Incredibly Safe)
However, Musk wanted to ensure to the public that his car is the safest on the road. In the post, Musk stated that Tesla is adding additional safety measures to Model S vehicles, starting with cars manufactured as of March 6. He also noted that existing car owners will have these measures added to their cars upon request or as part of a normally scheduled service, free of charge.
These safety measures include a hollow aluminum bar, titanium plate and a shallow angle, solid aluminum extrusion. These work together to ensure that no debris, stationary or mobile, breakable or non-breakable, penetrates the car’s battery.
Tesla has tested these measures with various objects and has yet to have a battery breach. Over a course of 152 vehicle level tests, the shields prevented any damage that could possibly cause a fire. Below are some .gifs that were included in the post, showing the effectiveness of these shields.
While Musk did not need to take these measures, as the car is already incredibly safe, he did it anyways in order to lay to rest any doubts.
(Source: Medium.com)
(Featured image source: Tesla.com)
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