Image: Chillin' with Chet/YouTube
A Tesla Model S Plaid, submerged underwater with the additional weight, remained functional, proving its reliability even in an extremely stressful situation. The owner has big plans for the future of the car as he will fight for the 1/4 mile world record.
Submerging a vehicle in water is highly undesirable and dangerous, especially for an electric vehicle. Nevertheless, Tesla cars have repeatedly proven their reliability in such situations and, to the delight of their owners, remained efficient. But, in a new experiment from Chillin' with Chet/YouTube, the new Model S Plaid is subjected to a very stressful test and was almost completely submerged.
The erratic host tried a similar experiment with a car last month. However, due to poorly thought out plans, he did not succeed. His crew added 4,000 lb of extra weight, but instead of drowning, Model S Plaid became a safe boat for a while. Although Chet's experiment failed, it demonstrated superior performance in a vehicle capable of protecting its occupants even when in deep water.
After analyzing the situation, the host drew conclusions and decided to achieve his goal, so he began to prepare a new experiment. The team again dug a huge trench seven feet deep and completely filled it with water. This time around 9,000 lb of extra weight was added to the car, bringing the Model S's total weight to approximately 14,000 lb. In addition, all the seams and possible places where water could get into the car were tightened with oilcloth and glued with tape.
Even with such a huge extra weight, the first attempt was unsuccessful. Model S still behaved like a float, without completely submerging underwater, which is highly valued in the real world. Chet made the decision to cut the oilcloth, which was preventing water from entering under the hood. After that, he slowly drove into the water, giving enough time for the water to flow inside the car and achieve what he wanted. Plaid was submerged underwater.
After the Model S crossed the makeshift lake with the help of a rope by which it was pulled, surprisingly it turned out to be in working condition. Chet drove out of the lake, which required climbing a small slope, and impressively drove some distance to where it was unloaded.
Nevertheless, such an experiment did not pass without a trace and the water got where it should not be. As a result, the car reported errors, which scared Chet a lot. The irresponsible host got scared that he sacrificed his car to get the attention and new subscribers. But, to his great happiness, a day later, when the car was completely dry, all the systems started working properly again. Although the future consequences of such an experiment remain unknown, the Model S Plaid performed well, under the circumstances. Chet now plans to beat the 1/4 mile world record in it.
Obviously, cars are not designed to be driven or floated on the water. However, in recent years, the entire world has witnessed major climate change. Many countries have experienced unprecedented rainfall this summer, leading to major flooding in some areas. Owning a Tesla car can give confidence that even in such a stressful situation it can still function and deliver owners to safer ground.
© 2021, Eva Fox | Tesmanian. All rights reserved.
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Article edited by @SmokeyShorts, you can follow him on Twitter
About the Author
Eva Fox
Eva Fox joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover breaking news as an automotive journalist. The main topics that she covers are clean energy and electric vehicles. As a journalist, Eva is specialized in Tesla and topics related to the work and development of the company.
