I even googled it. Lots of places say that it is electrically conductive. I guess it would depend on what type of carbon fiber. I know almost nothing about the subject. So please educate me if you know.
Whether it is or not, how does that affect the Roadster's ability to protect occupants from a lightning strike?
Yeah, I was trying to get a better sense of what you meant. If you really want the details... yes carbon and thus carbon fiber can conduct electricity, though poorly compared to most metals. You can draw an inch long (graphite) pencil line and make a MegOhm resistor, for example. By messing with the atomic arrangement and the type and level of impurities, carbon can be manipulated into being a fairly good conductor to an excellent insulator. (I've done experiments on carbon nanotubes with a variety of electrical and optical properties.)
In the case of the Roadster, we say carbon fiber, but we mean carbon fiber
composite, so it's like a fiber reinforced plastic. For all practical purposes (e.g. providing a ground for an antenna), this is a really poor conductor.
... is it safe to assume that a Roadster provides adequate protection to the occupants from lighting hitting the car while driving?
Safe to assume? I would say no. The path of a lightning strike is the kind of thing that involves chaos theory, but I wouldn't expect much more protection than if the body panels were fiber glass, particularly since the car is a rag top. Your head and body may end up providing the path to ground. There is, however, a metal roll bar (inside the cosmetic CF roll hoop) that's connected to the Al chassis, so maybe that could help. Either way, I wouldn't want to be the subject in that experiment.
Of course we're talking about something highly unlikely. The Roadster is pretty low to the ground. A tall metal truck is more likely to get hit.
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