Fiery Tesla Crash Was Faked Using Pyrotechnics
French insurance company Axa has been caught using pyrotechnics as part of a fake crash test demonstration that tried to make it look like a Tesla burst into flames following a collision.
As Electrek reports(Opens in a new window), Axa wanted to show that electric car drivers cause 50% more collisions with damage to their own vehicles when compared to conventional combustion engines. The company decided the best way to do this was by allowing an audience to watch a fake crash test resulting in a Tesla Model S bursting into flames.
The crash can be viewed in the tweet above, with the vehicle flipping over in mid-air, landing upside down, and then after a brief pause, smoke and flames appear at the front of the car.
Following the bizarre demonstration, Axa has admitted to German website 24auto.de(Opens in a new window) that it had actually removed the battery cells from the vehicle because, "demonstrating a battery fire would have been too dangerous due to the guests present."
No batteries mean zero chance of a fire breaking out, so Axa installed pyrotechnics in the vehicle to achieve the desired effect. You can also see the tow bar on the ground used for propelling the car forward because it had no way of powering itself.
Anyone watching this crash test video without knowing it was fake would understandably walk away concerned that Tesla's vehicles can easily catch fire. I suspect Tesla will take issue with this test and Axa could find itself on the receiving end of a lawsuit because of it.
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