Photo: Tesla China
All variants of the Tesla Model Y from Giga Shanghai now come with an extra airbag as standard. The move aims to improve all-round safety.
The Chinese-made Tesla Model Y now comes standard with an extra side airbag across all variants, the company announced on Tuesday via its Weibo account. The innovation was introduced following a recent upgrade of the production line at Giga Shanghai.
The airbag is installed on the inside of the driver's seat back in order to reduce contact injuries between front passengers in a possible side impact. With the addition of this airbag, the Made-in-China Model Y now has a total of seven airbags. To date, only the Berlin-made Model Y has the same additional airbag, according to the Model Y Owner's Manual on the Tesla website. Model Y currently made in the US are not yet equipped with far-side airbags, but they have a right-side front airbag and a knee airbag, which Chinese-made vehicles do not have, according to the Model Y Owner's Manual.
According to Euro NCAP, about one-quarter of road traffic accidents result from side crashes, with half of the resulting occupant injuries coming from far-side crashes, which are likely to be very serious. An additional airbag between the driver and front seat passenger will provide a higher level of safety.
© 2022, Eva Fox | Tesmanian. All rights reserved.
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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.
