Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Putting the Tesla HEPA Filter and Bioweapon Defense Mode to the Test

teslamotors.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

91–100 of 150 posts

Re: Putting the Tesla HEPA Filter and Bioweapon Defense Mode to the Test

#91

Post by rl3 »

With both exterior and interior filters, it really goes a long way towards keeping the interior of the HVAC system clean. I'm curious how good a job they do with moisture management though (i.e. keeping the heater core and rest of the HVAC system dry). Considering it's Tesla, I'd wager they're on point.

With some other manufacturers, especially legacy models, you'll usually have little to no intake filtering, and probably minimal cabin filtering. Combined with moisture retention inside the heater core due to design flaws such as insufficient fin spacing or an absent/inactive afterblow module, it can be very bad. For example: toxigenic fungii thriving on the excess moisture, contaminating the passenger compartment every time the blower fan is turned on.

Re: Putting the Tesla HEPA Filter and Bioweapon Defense Mode to the Test

#92

Post by tzmudzin »

toomanybeersies wrote: post #90
tzmudzin wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As this sounded intriguing, here's a video I've found of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C26rJiOnKLk . It appears the tank commander needs to guide the driver on directions, though...

It also appears that the tank is not waterproof, as you can see quite substantial leaking at around 30 seconds in.

Correct. The commentary says it's equipped with 2 water pumps to remove whatever leaks through.

I guess that's German engineering for less-than-perfect road and maintenance conditions. I like the redundancy too!

Re: Putting the Tesla HEPA Filter and Bioweapon Defense Mode to the Test

#93

Post by gambiting »

venomsnake wrote: post #87
forgetsusername wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think people read it too literally right now. Did you even read the article? It literally says this: "Bioweapon Defense Mode is not a marketing statement, it is real. You can literally survive a military grade bio attack by sitting in your car."

There is a subtle but - military cannot use bioweapons due to Geneva. Only in Syria they can, but the market for Teslas there is limited. You cannot charge it, there are barely any roads left to drive it on and you will be dealing with a lot of legal to use military stuff raining on your head that Tesla has no protection from. So that is a statement that cannot be put to the test.

I'll be incredibly pedantic here - isn't it the same as saying that a car can technically go 180mph? The only place on earth where you can drive that fast legally is the German Autobahn, so for 99% of buyers it's absolutely irrelevant. So is defense against bioweapons - what this tells me, is that the car has REALLY good air filtration system, just like the fact that the max speed is 180mph tells me the car is likely very fast. I don't need to use it in a bioweapon contaminated area, or take it to 180mph to find either of those properties useful. They are both useful even when not taken to their absolute limit.

Re: Putting the Tesla HEPA Filter and Bioweapon Defense Mode to the Test

#94

Post by marvin »

adventured wrote: post #86
varjag wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, I always shrug reading convoluted arguments like that. In Norway all of the grid power comes from hydro, so the (sizeable by now) fleet of EVs does have zero carbon footprint without any fine print.

I agree with your sentiment. However, wouldn't a person pitching that argument then counter that Norway built their hydro grid in part using oil exports, ie that Norway is responsible for enabling a lot of global pollution per capita in order to pay for that grid (and the on-going vast per capita oil exports necessary to continue supporting it)? What's the counter to that premise?

Norway also exports and imports energy to Europe to exploit the potential for energy price arbitrage. In effect, any country that is connected to an international energy grid has partial responsibility for bringing down global CO2 emissions.

I don't see how this is an argument against electrical vehicles. In fact electric vehicles should increase the incentive to reduce the carbon emissions of electricity production since now at least improvements there will have a material effect on the carbon efficiency of transportation.

(Norway built out most of its energy grid before the oil industry got started, by the way -- but we do maintain out grid partly using tax money from the oil sector, just like all parts of our public sector).

Re: Putting the Tesla HEPA Filter and Bioweapon Defense Mode to the Test

#95

Post by PinguTS »

Sorry, but that article has something fishy.

Looking at the graph, there is something wrong. According to the graph (measurement) there is a reduction of the pollution from about 1.000 µg/m3 (minute -3) to 800 µg/m3 (minute 0) before the doors have been closed and before the system has been activated. That is a 20% reduction by nothing has changed.

Re: Putting the Tesla HEPA Filter and Bioweapon Defense Mode to the Test

#99

Post by RcouF1uZ4gsC »

I think they are not testing with small enough particles. In the article, they test with PM 2.5 particles which would be around 2.5 micro meters. However, if you look at the table on page 11 of

http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/409903O/respiratory-prote...

Potential bio weapons such as smallpox, anthrax, influenza and the hemorrhagic viruses are far smaller than 2.5 microns.

Also, there are probably issues with the sensitivity of the detection equipment. If you look at the table on page 8 of

https://www.ll.mit.edu/publications/journal/pdf/vol12_no1/12...

And at the table at

http://www.siumed.edu/medicine/id/current_issues/bioTable2.p...

You will see that some of the biological agents can cause infection with as few as 10 particles. I doubt that the Tesla equipment could detect a concentration of 10 particles of these sizes.

This article is basically the biological equivalent of the I can't break my own crypto article.

>Bioweapon Defense Mode is not a marketing statement, it is real.

is false. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and the evidence of Bioweapons Defense Mode working is entirely lacking.

Re: Putting the Tesla HEPA Filter and Bioweapon Defense Mode to the Test

#100

Post by cmdrfred »

forgetsusername wrote: post #70
tristanj wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

GM, Ford, and Chrysler receive billions in subsidies. During the 2008 Auto crisis the US gave those three $70 billion to keep them afloat. The US subsidizes its car companies. It also spends tens of billions subsidizing Boeing, Intel, Lockheed-Martin, IBM, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, and various airlines. Telsa, like many other companies, also receives subsidies. So what? There's nothing special going on here.

> During the 2008 Auto crisis the US gave those three $70 billion to keep them afloat. Sold equity for it.

Why didn't they sell that equity to private buyers if it was so valuable? Oh wait, the companies were on the verge of bankruptcy so that equity was worthless. Gave is the right word here.
Post reply on HN