Technology

Try the same experiment using salt.

The problem isn't really about the water getting things wet, more about the salt in it adding conductivity that can corrode metals making holes and also shorting any exposed electronics.

As much as I dislike tesla and it's unnerving ubiquity along with being under an unstable leader, we have to remember... These are land vehicles, not submarines. They weren't designed for prolonged immersion in salt water. Most of the environmental testing very likely revolved around using chambers to simulate different weather patterns.

Pressure and immersion testing are generally used only for individual components that do get sealed, permanently. So if you were to seal the battery pack or even just sections, you would still need to connect it all to the electronics like the BMS and in/output. With enough time just these two points could allow a path to short the battery causing the cells to overheat, expand, crack any seals (further increasing the reaction), build enough pressure and eventually pop like a shotgun shells fired outside of a barrel

One of the YouTubers I watch, Tavarish, is rebuilding a flooded McClaren. McClaren went to great lengths to water proof the car (IIRC almost all the connectors for the electrical harness and many of the other cables/wires in the car were all fine). The car is an engineering marvel and it still had damage done to the battery and almost every inch of the car had water intrusion.

Not disagreeing with you but salt water tends to fuck shit up. Maybe a better solution is some kind of system with a series of sensors and other inputs that could disable the battery until it's checked out? Or maybe better education on how dangerous lithium batteries can be.

The title is still clickbait.

Titles often get set by the editor. Writers often only suggest them.

right, the scam is taking a flood car north and not disclosing flood damage to an unsuspecting northerner.

It seems like it always happens every time there's a bad flood/hurricane etc.

katrina. was not that long ago and tons of those cars got drug all over.

I looked at this awhile ago. There is a google doc maintained by some anti-Tesla investors who track every fire that can find. It is still much lower than the US average fires per car.

I think it gets more attention because:

1. some people are financially incentivized and;
2. battery fires really are a much worse deal than a normal car fire

The advice I’ve been given (on train/bus batteries) is to shove the vehicle if safe when it starts; then do whatever possible to fully submerge in fresh water. Obviously that isn’t really feasible.

I figured people would have stopped considering one when it came out that Tesla employees made memes out of Tesla drivers as apparently they've been spying on people via the cameras on the car. Which isn't enough that they did that, but they were encouraged to share the memes around the office.

Idk man, and the fact people suggest tweeting (or x-ing) Elon if you run into difficulties with the Tesla stores (such as warranty). I find it insane. That's if you separate Elon from the brand Tesla, but if you don't it's all the more. He is a highly vindictive, self-centred ego fuelled bag of lies which is a personal reason I don't like Tesla.

Were the cars good before he bought the company?

Fact: 100% of fish that come in to contact with saltwater at any point in their lives, end up dying.