From what I understand, Volvo does a lot of this intentionally. Crumpling is good as it is energy being absorbed. A stiff structure may look better after, but it doesn’t absorb energy and instead transmit it to the occupants of the vehicle. The thing only I would like to see is if there were any pressure applied to the occupants. Interesting video though.

 

Volvo Crash - Worst case = broken arm/leg.

Tesla Crash - Worst case = Severe head injury/concussion, broken neck/spine.

Someone needs to remind Elon that crash tests aren't about how well the car fares, it's about the human inside.

 

I’m glad someone made a video about this! I was so annoyed by that press conference... Acting like the byproduct of needing to protect the batteries was also protecting the occupants

 

I'm glad someone made a video about this! I was so annoyed by that press conference... Acting like the byproduct of needing to protect the batteries was also protecting the occupants

Yes, I just saw this video on YouTube and thought it was intriguing. This also isn't the first time Tesla has pulled a stunt like this. Musk bragged about the Model S being the safest car on the road when it was introduced. However, in the small overlap test it received an "acceptable" score. While that isn't terrible the vast majority of cars that come out today even compacts score "good" in this test. It wasn't something to brag about. Better yet after the Teslas rating got posted by IIHS, Tesla stopped testing the Model S through IIHS.

That brings me to another point. ALL manufacturers should be required to have all their models tested by IIHS (or another institution) and be posted for public view. IIHS tests the vast majority of car however some makers don't test. Consumers should have the right to view these stats. It's safety after all.