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Tesla Model S achieves best safety rating of any car ever tested

teslamotors.com

101–110 of 306 posts

Re: Tesla Model S achieves best safety rating of any car ever tested

#101
post #32
post #6

Elon 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.

> 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…

>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"

Re: Tesla Model S achieves best safety rating of any car ever tested

#102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That fallacy is debunked by every sports car ever.

Sports 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.

I'd gladly go up against every sports car that the Tesla beats off the line and the quarter mile. Which is quite a few.

Re: Tesla Model S achieves best safety rating of any car ever tested

#103

Very 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.

I 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.

Re: Tesla Model S achieves best safety rating of any car ever tested

#104
> 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

Re: Tesla Model S achieves best safety rating of any car ever tested

#105

How 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?

From lowest end to highest end, the wait time is 3, 2 and 1 month. It crushes my old 911 C4.

Re: Tesla Model S achieves best safety rating of any car ever tested

#106
post #45
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If 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.

I imagine NASA's crawler transporters would score exceedingly well on most of these tests, assuming the technicians survived.

Well considering they had a max speed of two miles an hour unloaded, you could probably jump off and get a beer before the crash happened.

Re: Tesla Model S achieves best safety rating of any car ever tested

#107
post #96
post #64

Okay, 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.

Scaling up quality is not trivial. You can bet they are working on it.

I'm willing to bet that you've nailed the exact reason he's not doing SpaceX exclusively yet.

Re: Tesla Model S achieves best safety rating of any car ever tested

#109
post #97
post #86

I'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/McLare…

That'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.

Many of them do, although there is the notorious story of an Enzo that got literally torn in half on CA 1 and both people inside walked away.

Re: Tesla Model S achieves best safety rating of any car ever tested

#110
This 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/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.

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