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

Post by outworlder » Tue, Aug 20, 2013, 4:12 PM UTC

justin66 wrote: post #149

abalone wrote: post #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…

> I hope very much the industry can improve electrical safety over time. With regard to the electrical aspects, isn't the safety record on these cars perfect or close to perfect up until this date? That means it's only going to get worse. That does not mean electrical cars are unsafe, it just means there isn't much of a record yet. My expectation is that there will over time be a small number of electricity-related a…

Post by nraynaud » Tue, Aug 20, 2013, 4:40 PM UTC

kmfrk wrote: post #203

nraynaud wrote: post #152

Here in Europe we use EuroNCAP, do you have any news about a testing by this laboratory? Google doesn't yield any interesting result.

I 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.

Post by sliverstorm » Tue, Aug 20, 2013, 4:51 PM UTC

lostlogin wrote: post #168

sliverstorm wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Err... what? If what you are trying to say, in the most roundabout way possible, is the Tesla accelerates fast- sure. But so does a top fuel dragster, and neither is a sports car. A sports car is a small, usually two seat, two door automobile designed for spirited performance and nimble handling. Sports cars may be spartan or luxurious but high maneuverability and minimum weight are requisite. -- Wikipedia (Notice it…

That's surprising to me. I have always considered a sports car to have a bit of extra power. I guess I'll have to open my mind a bit.

Post by mpyne » Tue, Aug 20, 2013, 5:18 PM UTC

abalone wrote: post #172

lutusp wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They're going to be focused on containing the energy not draining it. In an emergency that involves extracting passengers from an electric car, the most likely outcome is that the battery will get shorted to the car's chassis, at which point the emergency links in the battery will open up, isolating the battery from the rest of the car and its passengers.

As the video explains, even when the battery has been isolated there are other components that remain electrically hazardous such as capacitors and the converter. Also there is the possibility that the battery itself may be physically compromised in an accident, e.g. it could protrude into the cabin (it sits right under it). Not much you can do to isolate it then.

Post by lutusp » Tue, Aug 20, 2013, 5:27 PM UTC

gargoiler00 wrote: post #236

lutusp wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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 introduce…

Take an AA battery. Now go back in time 30 years and look at an AA battery. Identical. Why has battery technology not improved one bit in the last 30 years? Well, obviously there's a massive disincentive - the better the battery, the less people buy, but I don't think that's the main limitation. I don't think conventional batteries can improve all that much more.