Entertaining Or Outright Lunacy? Tesla Model S Blown Up With Dynamite

Entertaining Or Outright Lunacy? Tesla Model S Blown Up With Dynamite
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Entertaining Or Outright Lunacy? Tesla Model S Blown Up With Dynamite
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It was Go time and everyone was waiting in anticipation to see how things unfold

The era of YouTube & social media has significantly blurred the distinction between truth and viral videos. This video from the Finnish YouTube channel Pommijätkät, which translates literally to “Bomb Dudes” would have us believe that a dissatisfied Tesla Model S owner contacted them and asked them to blow up his electric car. 

Entertaining Or Outright Lunacy? Tesla Model S Blown Up With Dynamite
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Entertaining Or Outright Lunacy? Tesla Model S Blown Up With Dynamite
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Meet Tuomas Katainen from the Suomi, up in icy Finland

Meet Tuomas Katainen. In the video, which by the way you can watch with English subtitles, the man says that his 2013 Tesla Model S recently developed a slew of issues, prompting him to have it taken to a Tesla service facility. Four weeks later, after inspecting the vehicle, Tesla notified him that it would require a new battery, which would cost $22500.

Entertaining Or Outright Lunacy? Tesla Model S Blown Up With Dynamite
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Entertaining Or Outright Lunacy? Tesla Model S Blown Up With Dynamite
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With such a steep quote, Katainen chose not to fix the car and instead decided it would be more fun to blow it up, possibly in the hope that the advertising revenue produced by the film would enable him to buy a new car. Either that or perhaps he was so fed up with the whole thing that he set out to destroy it regardless. To ensure the Tesla’s demise, Katainen fastened close to 70 pounds of dynamite to the Model S’s exterior and placed a mannequin of Elon Musk in the driver’s seat. The vehicle was then parked beneath a small rocky cliff, and the rest is history.

Entertaining Or Outright Lunacy? Tesla Model S Blown Up With Dynamite
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Entertaining Or Outright Lunacy? Tesla Model S Blown Up With Dynamite
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Or be it a dummy, it was Elon Musk of course. They chose to strap on this dummy onto the passenger seat

The entire explosion was filmed by high-definition cameras recording in slow motion, and although it’s seldom pleasant to witness a car needlessly wrecked like this, it’s intriguing to watch how rapidly the car was almost instantly engulfed in a ball of fire. The explosives used were more than adequate to fully destroy the automobile. The Tesla was completely decimated after this. Was this taking it a bit too far? You be the judge. The video has raked up over 1.3 million views on YouTube so far.

Entertaining Or Outright Lunacy? Tesla Model S Blown Up With Dynamite
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Entertaining Or Outright Lunacy? Tesla Model S Blown Up With Dynamite
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And before you know it, the entire car was engulfed in flames

Now this Model S in question was obviously an early example and belonged to an era when people still had their doubts about EVs and Tesla’s were notorious for bad build their myriad of build quality issues. But, Tesla has vastly improved the quality of their cars since and has closed the gap to the legacy automakers. What remains to be seen is if they can hold on to that position. But in the end, the brand did succeed in helping sway the entire auto industry towards electrification.

You can watch these guys destroy this 2013 Model S with dynamite in the video below


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You Might Want to Think Twice About Putting Big Wheels On Your EV

You Might Want to Think Twice About Putting Big Wheels On Your EV
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You Might Want to Think Twice About Putting Big Wheels On Your EV
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In typical EE style, you’ll get to see a fair share of formulas and calculations that help explain why bigger wheels hurt range. It’s also important to note that Mr. Fenske refers to that particular case when overall tire diameter remains the same, but the wheels are actually bigger. This basically means the car will have to ride on smaller-sidewall tires. At the same time, width also plays a role, because it dictates the frontal area of a tire.

In the end, it all comes down to aerodynamics and airflow, in particular. Specifically, a 20-inch wheel is going to mess up the airflow (aka create turbulence) around it more than an 18-inch wheel, for example.

You Might Want to Think Twice About Putting Big Wheels On Your EV
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You Might Want to Think Twice About Putting Big Wheels On Your EV
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To counteract that effect, more and more carmakers are starting to use aero covers for the wheels. That’s also the reason why McLaren opted for covered front wheels for the Speedtail – to shut down any turbulence that might increase drag and therefore slow the car down.

In an electric car (just like any other car, for that matter) more drag means that the powertrain has to work harder to push through the air (i.e. needs more energy), which in turn depletes the battery quicker, hence a shorter range.

You Might Want to Think Twice About Putting Big Wheels On Your EV
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You Might Want to Think Twice About Putting Big Wheels On Your EV
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Ideally, you’ll want to have a flat surface throughout, with the tire and the wheel perfectly aligned in a solid sheet. In reality, that’s impossible to achieve because brakes need cooling so the wheels has to have some free space to let the air flow in to the calipers and rotors and then go out.

Of course, this is all backed up by numbers and calculations and if that’s what you’re into, check out the video below.