Many have probably already seen the rollover of the burning Tesla Model S from AXA Insurance online. You can see a yellow older Tesla Model S, which accelerates and rolls over. Then there is a bang in the lower front area of the car near the battery. Shortly afterwards you see smoke and a flame - a kind of explosion. To crown it all, the fire brigade drives in with a siren. This crash test is intended to show what the fire in an electric car battery looks like. But instead of enlightenment, the test brought more confusion.
In a press release, Axa Germany published that there are more risks from collisions with electric cars and refers to the current crash test with the Model S from Switzerland. A summary reiterates that "impressive crashes" have shown that electric cars cause more collisions than combustion engines, especially high-performance models due to their "jerky acceleration". The underbody of electric cars also turns out to be the Achilles heel.
After the video was commented on several times on the internet and thus went viral, it quickly became clear that this test had nothing to do with a real accident. Pyrotechnics were used, which were externally ignited on the underside of the Tesla Model S. The criticism of this test was loud. It was not until Tuesday that the note "Recreated the fire" appeared in the last scene of the crash film, but it seems to be new. According to the information, the video file was changed in an online folder on Monday afternoon. A report published by Axa Switzerland states that in the event of a crash, the underbody and possibly also the battery can be damaged and start to burn. Because a real fire would have been too dangerous in front of guests, the Tesla batteries were removed and a fire was only "recreated".
Source: Axa Insurance
