Tesla sets titanium shield and aluminum bumpers on the bottom of Model S Bashny.Net

In 2013, as a result of a very unusual accident two cars brand Model S received bottom damage, which resulted in a fire batteries. Unfortunately, this pair of incidents caused more media interest than 200,000 gasoline car fires that occurred last year in North America alone. In both cases, the drivers were able to get out unharmed through the regular system security. Onboard computer warned them of the need to leave the car before the fire has become noticeable. But even if they were inside, and firefighters arrived to the time they would be safe because of fire wall of steel and ceramics, which separates the battery compartment from the passenger compartment.

It is important to note that so far no one has received any burns (and generally no serious injuries) in any car brand Tesla. The chances of a fire Model S is 1 in 8000, which is five times less than the average petrol car, and the extent of a possible fire is relatively small. However, to further reduce the risk of fire, a few months ago, we remotely upgrade firmware all cars Tesla Model S, increasing the ground clearance on large speeds, which considerably reduces the risk of severe damage to the bottom.

However, we understand that it is very important to bring the risk to almost zero and provide all owners of Model S absolute tranquility. Starting from March 6, all coming off the assembly line machines equipped triple underbody protection. The owners have already purchased cars are free to put protection in the service centers Tesla.

We conducted 152 trials, during which protection is successfully prevented any damage that may cause a fire or punch native 8mm bulletproof plate made of aluminum alloy, which now protects the battery compartment all cars Tesla Model S. We tried the worst scenarios clash with lying on the road debris that could only come up with, including the structure of hardened steel, specially positioned to penetrate the bottom - in fact, this is equivalent to Travel to fixed on the highway steel spearhead.

We are confident that these changes will also help to prevent a fire in collisions at very high speed when the machine can pull the wheels, as it happened during another fire last year in Mexico. It happened after a car at a speed of 180 kilometers per hour entered the roundabout, reversal 5 meters of concrete and bump stop losing the left front wheel, and then kicked six-foot concrete fence on the other side of the road, having lost the right wheel, and after that crashed into a tree. The driver was able to get out of the car and leave the scene of the accident on their own without any serious injuries, and the fire, as in other cases, the limited front of the car started after a few minutes. Even with this new crash protection to help avoid fire.

The first level of protection - a hollow aluminum beam form which discards lying on the road thing, or if it is a very solid and stable object, such as a turnbuckle with three balls, softens the blow and sends it up in front of the battery compartment in the front area of ​​the boot, preventing serious damage and maintaining drivability both during and after the collision.

Then comes a plate of titanium, which has an exceptionally high strength to weight ratio, and is usually used in military and aerospace applications. Titanium plate protects against damage sensitive components in front of the vehicle, helping to neutralize the debris lying on the road.

At this stage, the vast majority of the obstacles will be discarded or destroyed. For those rare cases where the first two levels of protection is not enough, we added positioned at a slight angle shield made of extruded aluminum, which further absorbs and disperses impact energy, and if an obstacle is too hard and the still serves as a springboard, lifts the car over it.

During testing we have consolidated under the vehicle speed camera to see what is happening at running on different types of debris that may be encountered on the road. The footage below shows how the new protection or destroys any obstacles, including the generator with steel casing and concrete block or cast aside the fact that it is impossible to destroy:




Hook with three balls i>



Concrete Block i>



Generator i>

New protection significantly strengthens the bottom, and its influence on other characteristics of the machines is minimal. Overall mileage cars decreased by only 0.1%, and the ride and handling are not changed. Blowing in the wind tunnel also revealed no significant changes in aerodynamics.

Experience shows that the additional protection of the bottom there is a specific need in terms of security. However, it is important to reduce the inconvenience of the owner in the collision and to overcome the doubts of people in the safety of electric vehicles. Six years since the release of the first cars Tesla, which has not happened for a single fatal accident and no serious injuries, gvoril that now there is no safer car than Tesla. Additional protection of the bottom only reinforces confidence in this.



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