
Following a garage fire incident with a Model S EV last year, Tesla Motors quickly sent out an over-the-air software update to adjust how the car charges. Following two on-road fires caused by road debris that struck the underside of different Model S EVs (one in Washington State and the other in Tennessee), Tesla basically said,
that it was a random thing, and the car is perfectly safe. The company
later sent out a software update to have the car ride a bit higher at
highway speeds. Today, Tesla is offering a more substantial solution.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has announced that all Model S EVs built since March
6 have a stronger triple underbody shield that should "bring this
[fire] risk down to virtually zero." The company conducted 152 tests
using, "every worst case debris impact we can think of, including
hardened steel structures set in the ideal position for a piking event,
essentially equivalent to driving a car at highway speed into a steel
spear braced on the tarmac" and is now confident that there's basically
nothing that can break through the new barriers. As you can see
here, the shields prevent a concrete block, a three ball tow hitch and a steel alternator from puncturing the car's underside.

The new shields should "bring this [fire] risk down to virtually zero."
Any Model S owner who wants the new triple shield can ask for it, and
even if they don't ask, the structure will be installed whenever the car
is next in for service. The three layers of the shield include a
rounded, hollow aluminum bar, a titanium plate and "a shallow angle,
solid aluminum extrusion." The new shields, "only have a 0.1 percent
impact on range and don't affect ride or handling," Musk writes, which
means there's no reason for Model S owners not to get the upgrade.
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