Putting the Tesla HEPA Filter and Bioweapon Defense Mode to the Test

[Ulmo]

Putting the Tesla HEPA Filter and Bioweapon Defense Mode to the Test

One warning: this is an option. I've been watching most people who order Model S and Model X, and most Model X buyers who are value-oriented tend to NOT buy this option, even though it is a huge health savings long term (and I think it's crazy anybody would buy the Tesla without this option). Luckily, most buyers who buy fully loaded Teslas get this option. Hopefully this update will cause more buyers to get this option in the future (as long as they know it is an option).

 

[Discoducky]

Yep, I'll be getting this option if available on Model 3 which I think it will be

 

[30seconds]

Yep, I'll be getting this option if available on Model 3 which I think it will be

someone ask elon on twitter

 

[X Fan]

From what I understand the BioWeapon defense mode is very noisy when turned on and I suspect very few will use during normal driving patterns.

HEPA filter clearly is valuable though.

 

[aja2460]

From what I understand the BioWeapon defense mode is very noisy when turned on and I suspect very few will use during normal driving patterns.

HEPA filter clearly is valuable though.

Had it on for a 90 minute drive this morning, and don't think that it made any more noise than the AC.

 

[Phil Seastrand]

From what I understand the BioWeapon defense mode is very noisy when turned on and I suspect very few will use during normal driving patterns.

It puts the fan on high (11), but it's not really that loud -- noticeable, but you can still have a conversation.

 

[aja2460]

Updated my signature...

 

[Qualchan]

Not condoning the bizarre 'test' of the Bioweapon Defense Mode in this video (who are these guys, and with over 260K subscribers??? Profanity Warning!!), but here's a test that begins at 6:30 into the video:

​

What can I say? Let me know if this is offensive numbskullery and I'll remove it.
Profanity Warning!

 

[Ulmo]

I'm finding the test case descriptions rather off-putting. Toxic air in a Tesla test. Actual drugs in the Youtube test. But, that's the entire point: it filters it out. This is amazing.

 

[Johann Koeber]

Quote from the blog:

Moreover, it will also clean the air outside your car, making things better for those around you.

This will not be noticable in the real world. Only in the small environment of the test set-up it was measurable. In the real world the effect will not be noticable, because too insignificant.

I wonder how much the filters will cost when they need to be changed.

 

[CTemp222]

Quote from the blog:

Moreover, it will also clean the air outside your car, making things better for those around you.

This will not be noticable in the real world. Only in the small environment of the test set-up it was measurable. In the real world the effect will not be noticable, because too insignificant.

I wonder how much the filters will cost when they need to be changed.

I think its part of the annual inspections, they replace it.

 

[Ulmo]

 

[Ulmo]

Tesla Motors on Twitter (link to go watch short video clip)

Tesla Motors (Verified account) @TeslaMotors

Watch air pollution levels inside Model X drastically drop when we turn on Bioweapon Defense Mode in Beijing:

Tesla Motors on Twitter

5:06 PM - 2 May 2016

 

[tinm]

Has Tesla disclosed how much it costs to replace the HEPA filter, and how often it's recommended?

I ask because for years I've owned a BlueAir HEPA filter air purification system for home (actually I used it at the office for a number of years) and it came with a recommendation of changing out the filter every six months. I dutifully did that, having found that the filter (white when brand-new) was dark gray, full of particles and dust, after six months. It did its job!

But it cost $55 per replacement, via Amazon. Every six months.

And it was small, about 30 inches L by 8 inches W by 4 inches D.

Tesla's is huge in comparison. I'm guessing $100-200 or more to replace. And if you live in a polluted area, and you use it a lot, I bet it'd need replacing more often than every 6 months. So... what are the ongoing costs, Tesla?

 

[GoTslaGo]

My wife desperately wants this. She keeps asking if we can retrofit our S 70D. I keep telling her no, but we can get it with a new Tesla! (hint, hint, nudge, nudge...).

 

[Canuck]

(and I think it's crazy anybody would buy the Tesla without this option).

Tesla promotes them as being good for bad air climates, as noted in the Tesla link you cited, which reads:

"The air filtration system was put to the test in real-world environments from California freeways during rush hour, to smelly marshes, landfills, and cow pastures in the central valley of California, to major cities in China. We wanted to ensure that it captured fine particulate matter and gaseous pollutants, as well as bacteria, viruses, pollen and mold spores."

I spend many of my hours on the road driving from my home to my cabin through pine filled mountain passes in BC. Why would I ever want to have close my windows/roof and breath filtered car air? I crave the smell of those forests, especially after a hard work week and the great thing about an electric vehicle is that I can breath the air untainted by an ICE under the hood in front of me. That rejuvenates me like no bio-filter air can ever do. The air filter looks like a waste of money to me. If I lived in Beijing, or regularly drove the California highways, it would certainly be a must have. But there's some of us who are not crazy and don't want or need it.

Also, like Johann above, I sure rolled my eyes when I read this:

"Moreover, it will also clean the air outside your car, making things better for those around you."

Come on, Tesla, this is just plain kooky! You have so many excellent points to make when it comes to selling your vehicles but this is not one of them. I'm surprised Drudge hasn't linked to it with some sensationalized headline to make Tesla marketing look nuts.

But this has to be the icing on Tesla's kooky cake:

"You can literally survive a military grade bio attack by sitting in your car."

I think if there's a military grade bio attack, the last thing to go through my mind will be "good thing I got the bio-filter option on the Tesla!" ...

Please Drudge, keep away until Tesla comes to its senses with these downright nutty marketing claims!

 

[Skotty]

The HEPA filtration system is another smart move by Tesla. Some people still see it as a gimmick, but it didn't take excessive engineering effort and it has real utility to remove smells and make the air you breath cleaner. Even ignoring health benefits, it is far superior to internal recirculation as it still works when the smells or offending particulates are already in the car (e.g. recirculate only helps if you remember to turn it on before you reach the water treatment plant). And very few other automakers have ever done this, if any. It could also be a big selling point in some areas of China where Tesla could use a boost in sales.

I wouldn't be surprised to see a few automakers copy this in the next year or two.

 

[apacheguy]

I would dispute that this is a huge health benefit.

I have my MS set to recirculate. Studies show that this reduced PM2.5 levels by nearly 80% compared to fresh air mode. For the several hours per week I spend on the freeway, this doesn't appreciably alter baseline exposure. I always roll my windows down when in clean air locations. I also have HEPA filters installed in my home which is a far greater advantage.

 

[Spidy]

The HEPA filtration system is another smart move by Tesla. Some people still see it as a gimmick, but it didn't take excessive engineering effort and it has real utility to remove smells and make the air you breath cleaner. Even ignoring health benefits, it is far superior to internal recirculation as it still works when the smells or offending particulates are already in the car (e.g. recirculate only helps if you remember to turn it on before you reach the water treatment plant). And very few other automakers have ever done this, if any. It could also be a big selling point in some areas of China where Tesla could use a boost in sales.

I wouldn't be surprised to see a few automakers copy this in the next year or two.

I don't buy this. Either it took a lot of work to get such an amazing new filter into the car or it's marketing and the filter is not much better than existing ones.

Because if you look around a bit then you see that car filters already exist for this PM2.5 stuff and you actually get a lot of Chinese pages.

 

[Ulmo]

I'd like to know too. One thing that occurs to me is that maybe the truth is somewhere "close to" that these filters are marketing and they are not much better than the Chinese ones, that Chinese want, in China, for China, because of their pollution levels, and the Chinese ones are quite good for their purpose, and all of that means that these filters really are all that they are being made out to be by Tesla. How possible is it that the truth is somewhere close to that type of conclusion?

My basic consideration here is that Chinese have the capability and interest to make good air filters for their vehicles right now. The regular "Chinese" as a quality metric applied to most things meaning that it is very bad doesn't necessarily fit this particular topic. I still believe it is a bad idea to get in bed with Chinese and communism in terms of using low-morals labor for low-quality products shipped to USA, but realistically, I don't think it's always the case that their work is bad, much as we already experienced with Soviet technology. For instance, the low quality output of USSR computing chips with all of their faults created a whole high quality error-resilient knowledge base of programming and good programmers that at first outstripped USA capabilities in this area (although I think that's historical at this point). But, most things in USSR were (and are) bad. Doesn't mean all of them.

I'd like to see more independent third party tests. But, I have a feeling that so far, these things are useful as-is.