I'm sure this has been said 1,000 times already but...here is my non-scientific two cents that probably nobody is going to care about.
The cars are already built nearly like tanks but remember ...even tanks all have SOME level of vulnerability. There are "tank killers". I agree that you cannot design for every possible threat that may present itself.
On the other hand, I also believe the brilliant minds at Tesla understand all too well that when you are putting forward new and disruptive technology, you have to be better than, not simply as good as entrenched traditional technologies and business models. I think Tesla has done much to show that they ARE better, not just what they say but what they have done and what they continue to do. I would also put money on it that they will not just sit by without giving serious thought to the question "is there more we can reasonably do now". I don't think these people ever stop thinking about continuous quality improvement.
I just look at the handling of this car and the fact that a nearly 5,000 lb curb weight vehicle stops on a dime. It stops better than our Prius!!! There is some awesome engineering in this vehicle. I am reminded of this every day. I have been able to react instantly in numerous situations to avoid a potential crash due to nut jobs doing dumb things (like pulling a u-turn from a curb in front of me [responsiveness], making a left turn in front of me when I was already in the intersection [braking]). Sometimes I think the Model S came secretly equipped with the "Cloak of Invisibility". I wonder if I could have pulled it off (not the cloak, the avoidance) with the other car.
So how do you balance the "perception" of this "vulnerability" that is getting all the attention now when the bigger picture of the masterful engineering of this vehicle is being taken for granted because the Model S generally does it all with such grace. Not an easy task.
Sure when the news first broke I was a little apprehensive and confused because I already knew somebody personally who had been presented with a really substantial piece of road debris and no opportunity to avoid it (see Dr. Computer's post). His Model S battery pack was dented and there was some damage in the front that was repaired but it all checked out fine. His friend traveling with him in a roadster had essentially the whole bottom end torn out and no fire there either.
There have, unfortunately, already been a number of really serious other accidents involving Teslas. I notice it's the other car that seems to fare much worse than the Teslas. I saw a Model S one day at side of the road with the entire frunk crumple zone having been "used" during some impact. No fire there either.
I also look at this in terms of what I, as Model S owner/driver can learn from this that is particularly useful. For one thing, knowing the appropriate actions by the early responders could come in handy. First, cool it down with lots and lots of water. As I understand it, battery fires take a lot to cool them down. I took note of Elon's words in his response. I had read the "early responder's guide" once out of curiosity but it obviously didn't stick with me. When I read the fire department report that had been posted online prior to Elon's reponse, I didn't immediately recognize some of the mis-steps that may have made the fire worse. Now, however, I think I'd be there yelling at them trying to get them to do it right if I were in that same situation. They might not listen, but I'd be trying. As time goes by and EV's are more commonplace, hopefully there will be a greater knowledge base of how to deal with the odd situations like this which will hopefully continue to be a rare occurrence.
Other than that, let's look again at the consequences here. Sure, bummer to lose the cool car but the driver was able to get the car off the highway and get safely away without injury before the fire emerged. Not the worst outcome there ever was or could have been.
