Like most electrics, Teslas are generally known as environmentally conscious vehicles. They don’t burn a drop of fuel or spout any harmful emissions from their nonexistent tailpipes, but we had no idea just how eco-friendly they really were. According to a new test by the brand, the new Model X and Model S can literally cleanse the air of deadly chemicals, both inside the car and out.
In a blog post published Monday, Tesla detailed its state-of-the-art HEPA filtration system, which includes what is arguably the best-named feature of all time — Bioweapon Defense Mode. It sounds a bit cartoony at first, but according to the automaker, it’s powerful enough to protect vehicle occupants from a military-grade chemical attack, meaning everyday pollutants don’t stand a chance.
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“Health and safety are important to us,” says Tesla. “Just as we’ve designed Model S and Model X to avoid collisions or protect their occupants when one happens, we felt compelled to protect them against the statistically more relevant hazard of air pollution. Inspired by the air-filtration systems used in hospitals, clean rooms, and the space industry, we developed a HEPA filtration system capable of stripping the outside air of pollen, bacteria, and pollution before they enter the cabin and systematically scrubbing the air inside the cabin to eliminate any trace of these particles.”
The result, says Tesla, is a system that is “hundreds of times” more capable at improving air quality than the filters you’ll find in most cars.
To test Bioweapon Defense Mode, the automaker drove a Model X through the smog-ridden cityscapes of California, but later decided to stage an extreme experiment inside a controlled environment. Essentially, Tesla put the SUV inside of a giant plastic bubble, pumped it full of toxins, and flipped on Bioweapon Defense Mode. In less than two minutes, the HEPA filters had brought the air inside the cabin back down to hospitable levels, and as you can see on the graph above, the Model X even purified the surrounding environment somewhat.
“Bioweapon Defense Mode is not a marketing statement, it is real,” the brand proclaims. “You can literally survive a military-grade bio attack by sitting in your car.”
Let’s hope we never have to find that out for real.
BYD has launched the third-generation Qin Plus DM-i in China, and the first thing that caught my eye is its price. According to CarNewsChina, the plug-in hybrid sedan starts at 79,900 yuan, which is about $11,980. That’s an incredibly low price for a brand-new car, especially by US standards.
What’s even more impressive is the range. The Qin Plus DM-i can drive up to 137 miles on electricity alone, which should cover most people’s daily commutes without using a drop of gas. Once the battery runs out, the 1.5-liter engine takes over. Thanks to its 17-gallon tank and roughly 91 mpg with a drained battery, the combined range reaches up to 1,423 miles.
Apple won the PC market’s worst quarter, but that’s not the entire story. It won the race by stumbling less than everyone else.
PC makers shipped just 57 million computers worldwide in Q3, which might look good, but it’s a 21% year-over-year plunge (via Counterpoint Research). And despite Apple’s Mac shipments falling by 11%, to 5.6 million, its market share rose from 8.7% to 9.8%. How did that happen?
Update (October 22 23:54 PT): In response to our query, GM clarified that offline recording support is already available on eligible vehicles. Like Tesla's Sentry Mode, it requires owners to connect a USB drive to save incident recordings, which can be viewed on the vehicle's infotainment screen. The upcoming Connected Cameras feature will build on this by giving owners remote access to these recordings via the revamped OnStar app, allowing them to check footage without walking out to their car.
General Motors has announced plans to add a new Connected Cameras feature to its OnStar service starting next year, giving drivers a way to monitor parked vehicles remotely and capture footage of certain incidents.