I would have rather seen the battery ignited on purpose , fire would have lasted rather than more of a smitherines unzipped explosion effect
I tried to start a small lithium fire about a year ago. I took the battery out of an old iPhone, folded it in half, clamped it in a vise, and beat on it with a hammer. Finally, I took it outside, put it in a metal can with a few ounces of gasoline to give it a boost and threw in a match. It burned the label off the battery and that was all. What a letdown!!!
When my Model 3 controller hardware went from V2.5 to V3,0, the Nashville Service Center loaned me a 'beater' Model S. The car was clean and probably worked as well as that one could but I did not like it one bit. It did not have AutoPilot which I throughly enjoy. Tesla has been through a significant steep learning curve and I suspect that Model S had the old "MagicEye" driver assistance package. We owned a 2003 Prius between 2005-2016 when the hydrolytic brake booster failed. Located on the firewall behind the engine and wrapped in the air conditioning hoses, it along with the unheated garage was a repair beyond my motivation and skills. Worse, the flywheel oil seal was blown and it leaked oil. Both were best handled with engine removal on a car whose sale value was less than the cost to repair even with 'free' labor. So I have no doubt there are Tesla 'beaters' whose best future are as spare parts (See 'Rich Rebuilds'.) I am not a fan of explosive disassembly now that we live in a world where suicide bombers do the same. Still Mythbusters blew up a concrete mixer truck with extreme use of explosives to 'clear' a mixer that had a load of set concrete. I like explosives but prefer more sedate, rockets, especially the SpaceX type. If others enjoyed the brief moment, fine. I would have preferred to see a 1980 Chevette explosively compressed (each clutch lasted 30,000 miles.) Nominations are open for candidate vehicles deserving of explosive disassembly. Bob Wilson
I had the Pontiac version of the Chevette, the T1000. It was the worst car I ever had. Didn't have enough power to get out of its own way. I don't know why I bought it in the first place. Major brain fart. Then the exhaust manifold broke. I don't remember for sure, but I think it had less than 60k miles on it at that point and I just traded it in. BTW, that cement truck explosion was totally spectacular. Such a shame they forgot to bring the high speed camera.
... latitudes +/- 60 degrees N or S, a Tesla would not rate anywhere near my first choice, for an ECW daily driver. Worst car I've ever owned? My vote for corporate irresponsibility goes to, Ford's SVO Mustang. Mighty high price I paid for being impulsive, that would be the last time I'd wager an automotive purchase, based upon automotive journalists' testimonials. That forever cinched it, no more turbocharged vehicles for me - asj.
point a to point b with decent reliability, that's all i've ever wanted. cars don't excite me for some reason